During the summer Lake Ontario regularly has dozens of boats sailing on the choppy waters. But now a young group is contributing to the fleet.
“I think I will go to a much bigger boat and hopefully be on a race team,” 11-year-old, Jackson Pringle said.
The green fleet clinic put on by CORK and the Kingston Yacht Club teaches kids as young as 7-years-old the ins and outs of sailing.
Whether it’s how to get their boats ready for the water or taking on the whitecaps.
Kingston Yacht Club race coach Emma Dale is helping lead the clinic and knows all too well how hard it can be to get comfortable on the water.
“I mean when I started sailing, my first summer I was underwater half the time, but that’s just half the fun,” Dale said. “A big importance is making sure the little guys can see what they’re working up to.”
The youngsters found that out in a hurry, with the wind on the water reaching as high as 16 knots on Thursday.
“It’s sort of stressful but it’s still really fun,” 11-year-old, Alexandra Thomas said. “And I usually get really wet so I brought my windbreaker today.”
Alexandra’s boat hit so many waves it took on water and forced her coach to step in and help empty the vessel. But with both teacher and student keeping calm, cool and collected, Alexandra was back to sailing in no time.
“It was really windy, so it was a little rough out there. But we got a lot of practice in,” Thomas said.
“Practice is progress. the younger you start them, the more opportunities they will have,” Dale added.
With experience on the rough waters off the shores of Kingston, it shouldn’t be too long before these kids are sailing in a competitive regatta.