JibeTalk

Day-In-The-Life of a Junior Instructor

Name: Adriano Atallah 

Age: 15

Teaches at: Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club Junior Sailing Program 

Resides in: New Rochelle

Sailing Experience: Two Years 

 

"All of our consulers in training are perpetually helpful to have as sailing instructors. Not only can they lend us a second pair of ears, eyes, and hands, but it also helps prepare them for the responsible role which they will presumably endow." Says Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club Head Instructor Caroline Farina. 

For this article, I took a look at a day for Adriano Atallah, a Junior Instructor at Horseshoe. 

Adriano Atallah usually wakes up at 6am. Not because he’s he needs that long to get ready for the day, but because he’s studying Latin for school and Arabic out of interest. After an hour of studying, Adriano eats breakfast, packs his lunch and heads out. Commuting by bike, he leaves his New Rochelle house at around 8am to get to Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club at 8:30. Then his work day begins. Campers arrive at 9am, so for the half hour before kids are at the club, Adriano and the other instructors get ready for the day. This could consist of planning the day’s events, cleaning boats, preparing sail parts, etc. When sailors begin to arrive, Adriano welcomes them, and then goes down to the docks with them to help prepare their boats. At Horseshoe Harbor, only Optimist and Pixel dinghies are available to sailors, and Adriano helps out with campers in the Optis. After a morning on the water, sailors and instructors come back in for lunch, which is usually spent just hanging out with the kids, playing Ping-Pong, cards, or foosball. After lunch, the sailors re-rig and head back out. “Out on the water, we’re usually practicing maneuvers and doing mock races,” Adriano told me. “Of course, we still leave time for fun. It’s not uncommon that the day ends with a follow-the-leader game, or something along those lines.” After derigging and cleaning up the dock area, sailors leave. However, Adriano and the entire instructor staff clean up the deck at Horseshoe, lock up the sailing equipment for the night, and after the clean up is done, he heads home. 

 

Manhasset Bay YC Junior Sailors and Instructors Share Plans for Fun Summer

 

Instructors work closely with sailors to ensure they learn how to sail while having fun.

At Manhasset Bay Yacht Club, approximately 70 sailors take part in the summer junior sailing program lead by around a dozen devoted instructors.  For new sailors, the sport can be challenging at first, and young kids may get discouraged early on.  

Yet at Manhasset Bay, sailors keep coming back every day with grins on their faces excited for a fun day of sailing.  Interested in learning more about their program and finding out what makes it such a fun experience for its participants, JSA of LIS Media visited the program on Friday and got the scoop from the sailors and instructors themselves.

Manhasset Bay’s junior sailing program is a full-day program that incorporates on-water sailing instruction with learning nautical skills on shore.  Throughout the program, individual instructors have different methodologies and strategies on how to teach; however, for most, a huge focus is placed on making learning fun, enjoyable, and engaging.

“We try to make our drills and learning activities into games,” explained Anne Wachowicz, a third-year instructor for beginner Optimists.

Particularly with beginner sailors, instructors seek to instill a passion for sailing that will lead them to become lifelong sailors.  First, however, they must get the sailors to know their boat and feel confident sailing it.

“I want to make them feel comfortable in their boat,” shared Kristin Hanley, an instructor for beginner Pixels and Blue-Jays, returning for her fourth summer at Manhasset Bay.  “I feel that when they’re comfortable they have more fun.”

“We definitely try to not scare them,” added Wachowicz.

At the same time, in more advanced classes geared towards racing sailors, the fun and games get toned down a bit, in favor of more serious racing practice.  These classes also tend to draw older sailors who generally prefer to be taught straightforwardly.

“There are fewer games and they learn a lot as advanced sailors,” remarked Robert Wands, a third-year instructor for advanced Pixels.  “And as older sailors, they like that.”

Some of the sailors themselves really value their time spent with their instructors, and can see them as both a teacher and a friend.

“We have a lot of fun together sailing,” explained Carter Shields, a fourth-year Laser sailor.  “But we still work hard.”

“I think the instructors really prepare us to race because they do lots of drills and start practices,” shared Nicky Fuhrman, an advanced Pixel sailor.  “But they’re all fun, and that helps keep us motivated.”

 

Aliandra Homayuni helps a group of eager junior sailors practice tying knots.

An aspect of Manhasset Bay’s program that distinguishes it from many other clubs is its on-shore program.  Taught by three dedicated on-shore instructors, the program teaches sailors practical skills such as knot tying, navigation, and signal flag reading as well as some non-sailing related activities, like yoga and arts.  

“I think it’s important that they learn these skills before they go out on the water, then they know them well and can apply them while they’re sailing,” explained Aliandra Homayuni, one of the three on-shore instructors.

There are also themed “Fun Fridays” that give sailors and instructors alike a fun event to look forward to every week.  Themes include a patriotic day, Halloween, and a jersey day.

“I’m looking forward to Halloween,” claimed second-year Opti sailor Lucas Vermeulen.  “I’m getting dressed up for it.”

Overall, sailors find the Manhasset Bay program captivating and practical in different ways, and there is surely no shortage of cheerful instructors eager to help them enjoy learning how to sail.

“We have a great group of kids here,” described instructor Hanley.  “So far, we’re having a great summer!”

Want to get featured on this blog?  If you would like to feature your junior sailing program in JibeTalk, please contact Brendan Rogers, News Editor, at (516) 507-9070 or [email protected]

New Year's Frostbite Regatta in Manhasset Bay

If don't have warm-weather plans for the holiday break, head over to Manhasset Bay to race InterClub dinghies on Dec 30 and Jan 1 (no racing Dec 31).

Ideal 18, Lasers and other frostbite one-design class sailors are also invited. Whatever you sail, you’ll be able to say that you ended 2012 and started 2013 in a boat! 

You’ll be part of the original regatta that started winter sailing back in 1932. In the 82 years since, this regatta has been among the most competitive in the country, attracting many of the best amateur and professional racers.  

These winter regattas led to massive growth in dinghy sailing and ultimately the start of collegiate dinghy racing. Frostbite sailors may take an occasional wintry bath, but they outrace the hibernators when spring and summer arrives, because their summer talents are sharpened by the multiple starts and short courses of winter sailing. 

The InterClubs are doublehanded, cat-rigged, roll-tacking boats that provide excellent short course racing that some say is the best dinghy sailing you can do outside of college. Borrowed ICs may be available, or you may find an opportunity to crew, if you reach out early enough to Peter Beardsley, commodore of the Frostbite Yacht Club, or Pedro Lorson, regatta chair.

 

Frostbite Yacht Club burgee

 

See the NOR with full contact and registration information on the Manhasset Bay YC website.

 

Helping After Super Storm Sandy

Yesterday we saw a notice from the Connecticut Red Cross encouraging volunteers to email if they would like to help in the aftermath of super storm Sandy.

And today we saw Facebook notices from Dinghy Shop in Amityville and Oakcliff Sailing in Oyster Bay asking for volunteer assistance.  

So we wondered if JSA LIS could use our media channels as a clearing house to connect the various junior sailing sites in our area that have cleanup needs with willing volunteers, including youths who are out of school this week.

Although many restoration activities will need to be done by professional workers, there may be simple tasks that are perfect for an enthusiastic volunteer working party, such as cleaning up flotsam, sand and mud from the premises.

Here is an example in which a high-school sports team helped a homeowner return sand from the front yard to a Westport CT beach.

If you know of a sailing program site in the Long Island Sound area that may be able to use volunteer labor, please email or phone the JSA LIS office so we can discuss how to inform our members about that service opportunity.

Bob Whittredge
JSA LIS Office
[email protected]
914-834-4202       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Pequot Junior Yacht Club, Keeping the Tradition Alive

To kick off the summer season, many clubs take a leaf out of history’s book for their annual commissioning ceremonies.

Ship commissioning dates back to the ancient world, when dignitaries in ancient Greece would wear olive wreaths, drink wine in honor of the gods, and pour water on new vessels as symbols of blessing.

In more modern times, naval fleets assembled for ceremonies where officers read commissioning directives and raised pennants for new commands. In recent years, naval commissionings remain formal ceremonies, with addresses and guests gathering to celebrate new officers.

There were no olive wreaths at Pequot Junior Yacht Club’s commissioning ceremony, but there was plenty of pomp and circumstance to go around as members met in late June to mark the official opening of the summer season.

The junior flag officers are elected by their peers at the final awards night in the prior summer. They then assume leadership roles in the junior program for the following year. The PJYC officers officiate the commissioning ceremony, attended by sailors, club members, and senior flag officers.

Bridget Clarke, this year’s Junior Fleet Captain, commented on the ceremony.

“I felt privileged to wish luck to all the sailors in the audience. Now I realize that the commissioning is not only the chance to reunite with past summer friends, but also the chance to be positive for the upcoming season. Beginning the sailing program with a content attitude will only benefit our time as junior sailors,” said Clarke. 

For Clarke, and many others at Pequot, club traditions such as these play an important role in having memorable and successful summer seasons. 

“In every Pequot commissioning, we will remember our past summer memories and focus on creating new ones," she said.

Pequot's junior sailing program chair, Tim Clarke, said the commissioning ceremony "allowed us to point out some of the awards that Pequot sailors had won over the winter or past years. This included the Everett Morris, the Clinton Bell, and the Thomas Fowler. So it was a nice way to showcase the JSA of LIS tradition in the context of the Pequot tradition."

Images: Top - PYC sailors and families, Bottom - Junior Flag Officers at PJYC, L-R: Nathan Arndt, Vice Commodore; Bridget Clarke, Fleet Captain; Karl Forst, Mentor Leader; David Watkins, Commodore. Photographs courtesy of Tim Clarke.

Junior Sailor Meets Sailing Idol

Anna Tunnicliffe recently won the 2010 Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award, becoming the first woman in the award’s history to earn it three consecutive years. 

But what we find most interesting about Anna is this glimpse into the small world of a sailing rock star and a junior sailor from Manhasset Bay.

In her On The Bay column that appears regularly in the Port Washington News, Andrea Watson writes:

Anna has not only captivated the sailing community worldwide, she has captures the hearts of those who have met her when she has raced here on Manhasset Bay. Anna and her team competed in the 2009 and 2010 Knickerbocker Cup and all those who came in contact with her were impressed with not only her racing skills, but her genuine kindness and thoughtfulness. A story that emerged from the 2009 Knickerbocker Cup highlights the type of person she is.

 
2009 Knickerbocker Cup photo by Andrea Watson

The story goes like this: Sabrina Lorson, who was just 10 years at the time, really wanted to meet Anna. Young Sabrina sails in the Junior Sailing Program at Manhasset Bay YC and crews for her father, Pedro, in the IC Dinghy during the frostbiting season. She has been known to take the tiller of the IC Dinghy and do quite well.

During a no-wind afternoon at the Knickerbocker Cup, Sabrina had a chance to interview her idol. Readers, I wish you could have seen Anna and Sabrina sitting on a couch talking as if they had known each other forever. Just two sailors hanging out. Then Anna took Sabrina around to all the other racers for signatures. Each of these match racing “rock stars” spent time with Sabrina, and posed with her for a photo. As the winds filled in on Manhasset Bay, the interview ended. The women grabbed their gear and as they headed toward the dock, turned one more time to give big waves to this young sailor.

It doesn’t get much better than this – an Olympic Gold Medalist and a junior sailor, together, talking about the sport they love. Your columnist, who took the photo of Sabrina with Anna and her team, gave the photo to Sabrina, who according to her parents, still has the framed photo on her night table right next to her bed.

Yes, Anna Tunnicliffe is a true champion who has left her mark on our corner of the world."

Sabrina has been mentioned in print before, in an article from WindCheck magazine where we found this photo. 

Frostbiting at Manhasset Bay is truly a family affair. Crews Sabrina Lorson, Johanna Silbersack and skipper Pedro Lorson on a Sunday afternoon racing IC Dinghy #536. Sabrina is the youngest crew member in the fleet and won the Frostbite Crew Championship Trophy in 2007.

Starting the Season at Riverside

I had the chance to visit Riverside Yacht Club as they were starting off their summer program. It is great to see kids getting on the water and getting geared up for a summer of sailing and racing. I went out on a powerboat with Riverside's Head Instructor Evan Oleson, and got to see kids out racing on only the second day of the season. Riverside has quite a big program this year, with 70 sailors in the morning and 30 in the afternoon. 

Riverside is trying something new this year to enhance the kids' experience and practice time on big boats throughout the summer. At the end of the day, kids who have signed up can then go big boat sailing with Evan or Morgan Kellog of Indian Harbor. 

I loved how Riverside is such a community-centered club. You could tell from walking around and seeing kids having fun with their friends, going to the pool, playing on the beach, and enjoying the water. Evan told me: Some of the older kids have such full schedules, I don't know how they do it. They JI for us in the mornings, sail in the afternoon, have an hour off and then come back for big boat sailing. The level of involvement by juniors and adults at Riverside is really something. 

As the summer season gets going, Riverside sailors are looking forward to a bunch of great activities. Riverside is going to be hosting an Opti Open on July 11, which promises to be a big event. All of the sailors and instructors are also looking forward to Captain's Cup, a weekly competition between the Greenwich yacht clubs Riverside, Indian Harbor, Belle Haven, and Rocky Point. It is only one week in, but it looks like things are shaping up well for a fun summer.

One of the things I really enjoy about the JSA is how many different clubs with different atmospheres we have. I want to visit as many clubs around the Sound this summer as I can, and take photos and hear stories about the everyday life of the junior programs. If you are interested in having me come by, drop me an email.