After-school sailing club returns to the water next week

The San Juan Island Sailing Foundation shares some news about the return of their after-school sailing program.

SJISF will be re-opening the net shed and kicking off the spring sailing season with a work party on Saturday, April 2 from 1 to 3 p.m. We’ll be setting up boats for the season, and many hands make work light. 

Sailing Club is open to all island middle- and high-school students with or without sailing experience. Students sail in single- and double-handed boats provided by the Foundation.

Sailing Club meets on Wednesdays and Fridays, from after school until 5:30 p.m., between April 6 and June 8. Instructors will be there to start meeting sailors at 2:30 p.m., and it’s fine that kids from different schools will be arriving at different times.

All coaches and all on-land assistants have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and we strongly encourage all sailors to get the vaccine as well.

The Sailing Foundation will provide the boats, life jackets for anyone who didn’t bring their own, help with rigging and launching, and a coach and safety boat while out on the water.

Bring your PFD and wetsuit if you have them, and dress to get wet! Each sailor will take a swim test, with a PFD on, at the start of each season.

Spring season tuition is $100, with full and partial aid available, courtesy of a grant from the San Juan Island Community Foundation. Gear and clothing are available for students needing them.

If there’s enough interest for a racing team, sailors from Sailing Club can compete with the sailors at Sail Orcas this spring, and up and down the West Coast this summer. Team racing is a great activity for college applications, not to mention great fun for sailors and parents.

Online registration for Sailing Club is now open.

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