A Sailing Community For Kids

Published: Thursday, September 27, 2018
By: Zoe Kyle

Hi, I’m Zoe. I am 14 years old and would like to consider myself a “junior sailor.” I’ve been sailing since practically the day I was born and sailing has been a huge part of my life for some time. So, when my mom asked me if I would like to take a sailing camp, I was all for it. She told me Sandusky Yacht Club had an amazing program and I got super excited. I went there once before, and it truly was awesome.

When my sister, Ella, and I walked into the Sandusky Junior Sailors, we were submerged in warm smiles and hellos, which made us feel very welcome. The instructors sat us down with the other kids and Mackenzie “Mic” Kaufman, an instructor, told us what to be expecting from this class. After Mackenzie’s introduction, we marched our way up to the pool for a swim test, then back down to the marina for a capsize drill where we learned to have one person hold onto a handle while another puts all their weight onto the centerboard, making the boat go upright.

On the second day, the younger kids were all put on Optimists, and my sister and I were put in 420s - bigger boats with jibs - and off we went. We sailed courses and otherwise tooled around playing follow the leader. Every day was like this, out on the water, learning new things. We learned how to tack and how to jibe safely, which is how to change directions without hitting your head on the boom!

Even I, as a kid who knows a lot about sailing already, learned a lot, such as how to use a rudder, where to put the sails in all wind directions, and a ton of new knots. We also learned how to “rig” boats, which is putting them together.

To better describe Sandusky Junior Sailors, I asked Mackenzie about his experience and why he loves working there.

“My favorite part about teaching sailing is the fact that I not only get to teach people the sport that I love, but I watch people learn a new skill and see the light bulbs go off and watch them learn something that very few people in the world know how to do,” explained Mackenzie. “It's really neat because it not only teaches people to sail, but the life skill of problem solving.”

“[Sandusky Yacht Club] is kind of a little hidden-gem place... We have a great place in the marina here to teach kids how to sail. The bay is really protected as well, so we can take them out there and it doesn't get super wavy or windy or anything.” Mackenzie continued, “We all really care about what we do. Plus, a really neat thing about this program is that the cost is really low because we’re a non-profit.”

All in all, I found my experience in this program exceeded all my expectations, was truly excellent, and I would recommend it to all kids wanting to sail. From learning all types of knots, to sailing all by yourself, Sandusky Junior Sailors is an ideal way to start off your sailing expeditions throughout your young life.

You can find them on Facebook @SanduskyJuniorSailorsInc or by visiting www.sanduskysailingclub.org.

This article first appeared in the Fall Issue (Sept/Oct) 2018 of Great Lakes Scuttlebutt magazine.