MANITOULIN—One of the prime motivating factors behind the founding of the Little Current Yacht Club was to encourage and expand the joys of sailing beyond the boundaries of the club membership. To that end, one of the first programs the club instituted was the formation of sailing classes. The classes proved to be very popular, but the advent of the pandemic forced the classes into hiatus. This summer, they are back in an expanded format.
“We are absolutely delighted to have the classes up and running again for the first time since 2019,” said Club Commodore Jeff Marsh. “The youth sailing program provides opportunity for kids to learn how to sail. This year we are offering the courses in three communities.”
The program may be aimed primarily at youth, but adults also have an opportunity to learn how to sail through custom classes.
Bryce Mastelko and Katie Chapman have been hired as instructors for the season. Mr. Mastelko has taken on the lead in organizing and setting up the classes.
“Right now, Gore Bay classes are filling up the fastest,” said Mr. Mastelko, who noted the other communities featuring the classes are the traditional Little Current group at Low Island and, new this year, Wiikwemkoong.
“We have been very fortunate to have NEMI and Wiikwemkoong helping to sponsor the classes,” said Mr. Mastelko. “They have really help us to keep the costs down and the classes accessible.”
Classes usually consist of six small sailboats, with two students in each. The instructors, in the meantime, are close by in a “coach boat” Zodiac-style inflatable. “That allows for a quick reaction if there is an emergency,” said Mr. Mastelko.
This year the coaches have managed to secure a larger vessel that will enable them to offer the next two levels of sailing instruction.
“We can offer adult classes on the Island in the evenings and weekends,” he said.
“People can sign up right up to the start of classes,” said Mr. Marsh, “but we anticipate the classes will be full up before the start.”
“Our CANSail Program started as an extension of the Canadian Yachting Association program with their instructors coming to town to teach a one week program for Level One, Two and Three,” explained Mr. Marsh. “In 2009, we took a big step towards expanding our program by hiring our own instructor, who tailored the program to our needs and expanded the number of weeks. Since then, we have acquired six Pico boats and a dinghy chase boat. In 2015 we were able to provide an ‘Introduction to Sailing,’ ‘Taste of Sailing,’ ‘CANSail 1,’ ‘CANSail 2,’ ‘CANSail 3’ and individual instructions to both youth and adult students. We also introduced a racing night for the participating students that proved to be very successful.”
Little Current Yacht Club is offering the 2023 CANSail program under the direction of Ontario Sailing. CANSail programming is designed to be a set of progressive learn-to-sail standards focused on providing sailors with a solid foundation of core skills, explained Mr. Mastelko. “The CANSail system allows sailors to learn and progress in any type of boat and consolidate key skills before adding more complex skills.”
Classes are scheduled in Wiikwemkoong July 3 to 7; in Gore Bay July 10 to 14 and again July 17 to 21; in Little Current July 24 to 28, July 31 to August 4, August 7 to 11 and August 14 to 18. All courses are $200 per week per student.
The Government of Canada, TD, Orr’s Valumart and Sam Nardi are also sponsoring the program. Contact Mr. Mastelko at cansail@LCYC.ca for adult course options and pricing.
Signing up for the classes is as easy as navigating to LCYC.ca and following the link labeled “learn to sail” or by contacting cansail@LCYC.ca. Payment can be made by credit card, e-transfer, cash or cheque.
