By ALEX SPONSELLER
The Edgewood Sailing School in Cranston is set for another busy summer as it looks to provide top-notch instruction and opportunities to sailors old and new.
The school recently began its youth programs. The Starter Sailor program focusses on sailors, ages 8 and 9, and teaches them the basics of the sports in a half-day format. There will also be the Opti program, which is for kids ages 10-13 that have some previous sailing experience. The purpose of this class is to broaden participants’’ knowledge and zero in on operating their own boats individually, as well as prepare them for competitive sailing.
For older children who have graduated out of the Opti program, the 420 program is available for teenagers ages 13-17. 420s are a double handed boat that teach teens about the importance of teamwork and communication in the sport of sailing. Students in the 420 program have the opportunity to compete against other programs around Narragansett Bay at regattas.
Edgewood Sailing School President George Shuster is looking forward to another summer on the water and takes pride in all the services that the school provides for local youth sailors.
“There are kids in Warwick, Cranston and beyond, that don’t have access to go out on the water on the Narragansett Bays. Sometimes it’s limited to once or twice a year, but we allow kids access every single day. That access is important for kids in Rhode Island,” Shuster said.
Shuster believes that the youth programs teach lessons beyond just the fundamentals of sailing.
“Our program also provides kids with confidence and risk management, and an ability to go out on their own and challenge (themselves) on the water, in the boat that they’re in control of. It provides a level of leadership training. You’re out there on your boat, but you’re with a group of kids learning the same thing, the same way, so they learn how to help each other,” Shuster said.
The school will be taking part in multiple regattas this summer.
The 12th Annual Edgewood Optimist Invitational will return on July 14th and will be the school’s largest event of the season, with an estimated 50-100 boats competing. The NBYA Junior Race Week takes place in the first week of August and features students of all racing ability levels.
A fun event that is scheduled for July 5 is the 11th Annual Opti Elders Regatta. This is a fundraiser for the school that welcomes adult sailors to compete in youth boats, which usually draws a crowd and provides plenty of fun and laughs. The event raises money through a betting system, where sailors are given odds and donors can wage their bets on their favorite sailors.
“It was our idea and it has really taken off. It raises a few thousand dollars and it does it in a very painless way because everyone is doing something fun and we are doing something different to relate to the kids,” said Shuster. “Sometimes we assume that kids should be learning to sail much faster than they are, but then we get into the kids boats and try to figure it out, we see just how hard that is.”
The season will wrap up on Aug. 8, which will mark the date of the Youth Program Awards Night. For more information on this coming summer, check out the school’s website at edgewoodsailing.org.