PORT TOWNSEND — While the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the Northwest Maritime Center from offering many of its usual courses, the center will provide summer classes for experienced sailing students.
“The staff are really looking forward to some sense of fun and normal amidst all the challenges we’ve all been experiencing these last few months,” said Robin Mills, program director.
The camps are Monday through Friday starting next week, and they will be open to students between the ages of 10 and 17 who have completed the Maritime Center’s Beginner’s Course and who are residents of either Jefferson or Clallam counties. Each class is limited to eight students.
The beginner’s class will not be offered this summer since students will be taught on individual 8-foot-long Optimus sailboats when on the water.
“The idea is those sailors will be able to rig the boat and handle the boat more on their own, as opposed to closer contact with instructors,” Mills said.
Northwest Maritime Center sailing instructor Erik Brown works on cleaning the Optis sailboats that will be used for the summer classes he will teach this summer. (Zach Jablonski/Peninsula Daily News)
The one-week intermediate and advanced courses cost $225 each. They will be from noon to 3 p.m. for the five days.
The intermediate course, which requires only completion of the beginner’s course, starts next week and will occur every other week through the week of Aug. 17.
The advanced course — which requires both the beginner’s and the intermediate courses — starts July 13 and will operate the weeks the intermediate course does not, according to the Maritime Center’s website.
To register, go to tinyurl.com/PDN-YouthSailing.
Spacing out the classes and using individual boats are part of the maritime center’s efforts to maintain social distancing for students and instructors.
Other precautions include having students wear sailing buff face coverings while not on the boats, having classroom instruction outside, and limiting the courses to small class sizes, Mills said.
“Pretty much everything that we’re doing is based off of public health recommendations by the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and industry standards from regional organizations,” she said.
The courses will be taught by experienced sailors Alyce Flanagan and Erik Brown, both near-lifetime-long experienced sailors, Mills said.
The most challenging aspect is to prepare for those days when the wind is too strong for safe sailing and the students have to remain on land.
“The instructors have said that their focus will be meeting up and then quite quickly getting the kids out onto the water, because that feels like the best social-distance place,” Mills said.
The classes had almost filled up as of Tuesday.
The high registration “speaks to the desire that parents have to get their kids out of the house and just doing things outside,” Mills said.
“It is a little bit of a challenge that we can offer more classes than we’re already offering.”
Staff members are excited to bring back some semblance of pre-COVID-19 normalcy.
“Just the sense that life can be fun, even though we’ve all been so isolated,” Mills said.
________
Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached by email at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com or by phone at 360-385-2335, ext. 5.
