The learn to sail (LTS) program was a great success this year with 95 kids enjoying their time on the water. Registration was strong with some students being turned away from full sessions. Five students who otherwise would not have had the opportunity enjoyed lessons made possible by donations from local business/individuals.
The success of the program was in large part due to the excellent instruction and guidance of the four capable instructors who completed the four sessions safely.
Head instructor Jaz Chodak developed wonderful teamwork with the other instructors Katie Jaschinski, Robbie Parsons and Jake Gjerdalen. All the instructors are graduates of the LTS program and have spent many hours getting the qualifications required to teach these classes. In addition, there were excellent assistants who hopefully will be future instructors.
None of this would happen without the background work being done by the members of the Gibsons Yacht Club (GYC), Coleen Gould, Andrea Kerr, Dale Stranaghan, Bruce Kerr, members of the Learn to Sail committee and the many other helpers who prepared the boats and acted as safety officers.
The GYC is also excited to announce the addition of four new optimist (Opti) boats to the LTS fleet. These boats allow accomplished young sailors to compete in local and regional regattas, providing an opportunity not afforded to them before now. The Opti boasts the largest youth racing class in the world and is intended for use by sailors under the age of 16.
In addition to purchasing new boats, the club changed over to the new CANSail program this summer. CANSail is designed to get sailors excited about sailing and promote sailing as a lifelong sport with more time on the water and more fun while learning skills that match their age and developmental stage.
GYC has been running youth sailing programs for 34 years with more than 2,000 young sailors trained. It is supported by registration fees, local donations, municipal and provincial grants.
For more information, see the website at www.gibsonsyachtclub.ca.
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