Successful, Expanded Summer Youth Sailing and Rowing Program Right Here in the Outer Harbour
The Outer Harbour Sailing Federation offered an expanded Learn to Sail and Learn to Row program to youth who otherwise couldn’t afford it again this past summer 2011, after a small pilot program in 2010. In July and August, youth between thirteen and seventeen came from a variety of agencies and centres for week long programs made possible by volunteer effort and financial contributions from the OHSF member clubs.
The photographs here and more photos (here and here) and videos (click these links YouTube sailing, YouTube rowing) tell the story. The youth had a blast, were in a totally different environment from their everyday lives, and learned a new skill. As they say in the videos they would recommend sailing or rowing to anyone else.
Hanlan Rowing Club offered two wonderful weeks of rowing attended by twenty six youth from a wide variety of backgrounds. They rowed in special, stable fours (quads) that they had been lent, as well as doubles, with all the training provided by volunteer coaches. Some of the youth did not even know that Toronto was on a lake, but all of them enjoyed it once they found it! A few of the participants were so good and enthusiastic that Hanlan is considering setting up a scholarship program so that the best students can come back next summer into Hanlan’s regular youth training and compete.
August saw four great weeks of sailing running out of the Toronto Multi-Hulls Cruising Club clubhouse using boats from the three community sailing clubs Westwood, St Jamestown and Mooredale. The paid instructors were Alex Yardley who teaches adults at J-Town and Janek Kmiec, who had worked with Alex at Harbourfront, assisted on the first day of each week by club members who took youth out sailing. There were forty different students at the sailing camps the keenest of whom attended more than one week for a total of fifty five student weeks of sailing. They sailed, capsized, went to Ward’s Island, played cards, swam and had an all around great time. This year one student got White Sail III and in future years we expect to see more achieve this level as they return.
This summer (2012) the sailing and rowing programs will continue, and for the first time there will be ten places for low-income youth in the regular youth windsurfing programs offered by the Toronto Windsurfing Club. It is wonderful to see the program grow each year. Information on next summer’s program is found on the OHSF website.
The program doesn’t only give young people a wonderful summer experience, it also shows how the Outer Harbour Sailing Federation can make a difference in the City and how important it is to have the clubs here on the Waterfront. Thanks to all the volunteers and the clubs for making it happen.