10/05/2012
Hi Everyone,
As the sailing season winds down once again I would like to take the opportunity to let everyone know about another successful summer for the Learn to Sail program. This summer we saw a lot of action and travel this year as several of our students and coaches attended 3 major sailing competitions around Manitoba and Ontario. I would like to congradulate Heather Boyle, Peter Dyck, Gabriel Odowychuk, and Jayde Hansen Young for such a great week of competition at the Manitoba Summer Games in Swan River in July. They made a big impression on the other coaches for their constant positive attitudes through rough cold weather and tough competition. Heather and Connor Boyle also competed in the Richardson NO Coast District 4 Championships in Kenora further improving their sailing skills before heading off to the 2012 Youth Nationals in Gimli. At Youth Nationals Heather earned a Gold medal and Connor received Bronze in the 4.7 class therefore a congratulations to my new coaches is in order for such an amazing summer of sailing and competition.
Although the Learn to Sail program was closed for 2 weeks this summer we were still able to reach 52 kids in our youth program and 13 private lessons throughout the summer. I must express my appreciate for our 3 new coaches, Connor and Heather Boyle and Annie Munroe, for doing such a great job and working so hard all summer to learn the ins and outs of teaching. It was a great experience watching their sailing and coaching development and improvement throughout the sailing season.
The Learn to Sail program was also able to acquire 2 new lasers and finish the rebuild of a broken one bringing us to a total of 7 lasers which is a great addition to our program. Thursday night racing was another great success this year as many of our students were able to come out each week and race against one another in some fun competition while learning the basic rules of racing. As for our final races, Little Bird was not without its share of excitement this year but I am happy to inform everyone that my brain is still very much intact after the mast incident.
I would also like to thank Trevor Maguire once again for donating so much time and effort to the Learn to Sail program. Our fleet would not have grown as big and as beautiful as it is without his dedication to making the program a success. Also, to all the other volunteers who helped out with the LTS program, Thank you. Your help makes all the difference to us.
Sincerely,
Shelby Williams
Pelican Yacht Club Head Sailing Instructor
