Lopez Sail, our local sailing program, has been the center piece of the Lopez Summer Workshops for 21 years. First, a donation from Sally Bill was used to acquire several sailboats, and soon after a small grant was received to expand the fleet. The summer program is currently run by the Lopez Island Family Resource Center. Maintaining the fleet is a tremendous undertaking, and there are many hard-working sailors on the sailing committee dedicated to keeping our sailing program afloat. Not only do they meet all year long but they store the boats each fall, spend the winter working on our boats and put them in the water in the summer. We are eternally grateful for this group and all that they do to support this program.
In addition to the sailing committee, the sailing program has some fabulous instructors. A salty sailor and boat man, Russ Levine, stepped up to help get the program started and has been part of the Sailing Committee ever since. Russ has been a sailing instructor for 16 years and will be utilizing his expertise again this year teaching the adult sailing classes in July.
Mike Kaminskis, the instructor for the youth sailing classes, is back again after his first round of teaching last summer. Kaminskis happily shared his sailing experiences during an interview last week. Under a full brimmed straw hat, he appeared comfortably ready for the outdoor interview and the sun-reflecting ocean. Having a boat from the age of 10 and racing to Hawaii at 18 to win the First Pacific Cup in 1980 has taught him a lot about the importance of being prepared when on the water. Resourcefulness, responsibility, empowerment – these are all qualities that came up during our conversation and seemed to be part of the impetus for his saying “YES, that would be so COOL” when asked to be the youth sailing instructor last year.
You do not need to know how to sail to take a class; the only requirement is that you can swim. The sailing instructors will help you with the rest. We offer beginner and intermediate classes for ages nine to adult and also advanced youth classes. Classes start with four students per boat taking turns with all the boat jobs. A team effort is crucial so that everyone is on the same page when someone yells, “Jibe, ho!” and the boat takes on a new direction. All students will learn how to capsize and then self rescue, whether they are on the very safe and slower Lidos or the more speedy Splashes. In addition to learning how to sail and tie knots like the bowline and clove hitch, participants will have fun swimming, having water fights and meeting other kids. As Kaminskis says, “sailing is a vehicle to other things that you like to do.” As their skills develop over time the mobility of learning to sail is quite empowering for youth, and after all, living on an island it is important to be able to get off of it. Many past participants continue to sail and some have even become sailing instructors for the program including this year’s sailing assistant, Avery Fulford.
The LIFRC is offering a few other water sports classes this summer. In August the high school and middle school seafaring trips will set out on the tern for a five-day camping trip to explore several marine parks in the San Juan Islands. This program is a collaboration with the Lopez Seafaring and Voyaging Program, a group dedicated toward providing recreational seafaring workshops to youth and adults on Lopez. If sailing isn’t really your thing, the LIFRC’s Lopez Summer Workshops includes a variety of Kayaking classes for different skill and age levels as well as a fly fishing class (ages 12 to adult) to work on your fishing skills in a private pond stocked with rainbow trout.
To sign up for these classes and more, visit our website at www.lifrc.org and go to the Summer Workshops tab. Brochures are available at the library, Isabel’s, Holly B’s Bakery, Chamber of Commerce, South End General Store and the ferry landing. Call 468-4117 with any questions.
