We had three students show up for some Sunfish sailing last Wednesday, 7/31/24. The Sailing Center is happy to accomodate adults who have never sailed and those who sailed long ago and want to get back into it. Here’s a short video:...
Continue readingNewbies Sailing Across Charlotte Harbor
On the last day of our week-long Kids Sailing Camps we like to let the kids sail from the Port Charlotte Beach Complex across to Punta Gorda and back. It only works if the kids have learned enough and the weather cooperates and we got both this week! A pic of the group of Sunfish and one Minifish sailing out Alligator Bay toward Charlotte Harbor. Sunfish and Minifish crossing tacks on Charlotte Harbor. Sunfish sailing upwind to Charlotte Harbor....
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Kids Camp #3 Sailing Pictures & Videos
We have a couple of older teens in our last Kids Camp of 2024. We like to see people of all ages learn to sail. This youngster is big enough to right a Sunfish if he should capsize it. This girl has been with us before and knows how to sail a Minifish. It really helps some of the new kids to talk to someone their own age or younger, or just to follow her around as she sails. Light winds shift around a lot in the sheltered basin so the kids learn to pay attention to it....
Continue readingCom-Pac 19 Donation July 2024
The Sailing Center has been donated a 1985 Com-Pac 19 sailboat. The most recent registration sticker on this boat is 11 years old and it’s easy to believe no one has sailed it since then. It’s dirty and neglected looking. Boats like this can be hard for individual owners to sell. It needs so much work that hiring it out would consume the sale price and people can’t or won’t do it themselves, so the boats deteriorate until they find their way to a landfill. We interrupt that process with volunteers who are willing to use a little elbow grease on an old boat so we can sell it to support The Sailing Center. If you have a boat to donate or if you are willing to help us rejuvenate donations, contact us today!...
Continue readingAdult Sailing Lesson 7/3/2024
Wednesdays at The Sailing Center we are happy to see our adult students come in for sailing lessons. This woman sailed long ago and wants to get back into it. The protected basin provides a great place to relearn basic skills and get comfortable in the boat again....
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Kids Sailing Camp #2 Highlight Pictures and Videos
Kids got in some light air sailing on our first day of Kids Camp #2 for 2024. The two teenagers are in Sunfish and two younger girls are in Minifish. It’s always fun to watch new sailors struggle and then the lights come on! We also teach basics indoors in an Optimist Pram on wheels. It’s on wheels so that we can move it in response to kids moving the tiller. It’s indoors because we have air conditioning and kids learn better when they’re not trying to manage a deluge of sweat. Day Two featured almost no wind. We got in a little sailing when possible. Day 5 got off to a slow start with no wind until after 10:00 but some breeze finally came in and the kids got out sailing. Full sails, smiling faces! Turned into a great morning for sailing! Kids sailing Charlotte Harbor....
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Repairing A Dismasted Catalina 26
Our latest project boat is a Catalina 26 that was dismasted in a hurricane. We’re in the process of adapting a mast from another boat to fit. The boat has a working diesel engine and isn’t in bad shape. We will sell it to support our sailing programs. The original mast was mangled beyond repair but the mast we are using for the boat was another donation. It was the mizzen mast on a cruising multihull....
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2024 Hibiscus Cup Regatta
The Hibiscus Cup Regatta Was Held May 4th, 2024 Several Sunfish and a Weta trimaran turned out for some fun racing! The Hibiscus Festival in downtown Punta Gorda’s waterfront Gilchrist Park 2024....
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