Earlier this century (always wanted to say that!) the local Algoa Bay Yacht Club in association with Lovelife embarked on a programme to bring sailing to school children, some of whom had never been to the sea before.
Carefully selected youth from LoveLife were trained to become sailing coaches and then employed for a year to train children as part of the Lovelife programme.
The greatest success from the sail training was witnessing Yacht Club Members queueing up to employ the coaches as their year came to an end.
Towards the end of the partnership with LoveLife both parties experienced financial pressure with grants being cut, a major fire at ABYC and devastating damage to the marina, resulting in ABYC embarking on series of austerity measures whilst the club and marina was rebuilt. The appointment of new caterers in the Chartroom Restaurant has helped place ABYC back on a sound footing.
Sailing has been proven to aid children with concentration and has been likened to playing maths and chess on the water. From personal experience I can attest that sailing assisted my children with time management, taught them responsibility for their actions and helped to produce focused, succesful mini-adults.
As a responsible organisation that is constantly looking to contribute to the wider community, and in keeping with their constitution which states; “ABYC exists to foster an interest in sailing”, ABYC is once again offering sail training to children, youth and adults. A highly discounted membership fee makes it increasingly possible for people from all walks of life to enjoy and take part in sailing in Algoa Bay which has been praised by international sailors as one of the best areas in which to sail.
Candidate sailors below the age of 15 have access to dinghies whilst youth and adults have access to 19 foot sailing boats in which to train on a formal basis.
ABYC is inviting members and interested parties to attend a meeting of all persons interested in learning to sail or contributing to the ABYC Sailing School on Monday 31 October at 5:30 pm in ABYC’s Chartroom Restaurant.
The yachts create a spectacle on Algoa Bay and sail close inshore for spectators.
