Youngsters Learning to Sail Downtown -- on the Saginaw River
Saginaw Bay Community Sailing School, 922-SAIL, is Non-Profit Sponsor
August 20, 2004
By: Dave Rogers
"Sailing Mom" Laurie LaVictor takes pictures of son Kyle, 14, polishing his sailing skills under the tutelage of Zack Bowdish and Drew Hilger of the Saginaw Bay Community Sailing School.
Zak Bowdish, left, and Drew Hilger, help a young sailor get underway at the Wenonah Park dock during a Saginaw River sail training session.
Dozens of youngsters, and adults, too, are learning to sail on the Saginaw River right in downtown Bay City.
The instruction is provided by the non-profit Saginaw Bay Community Sailing Association, headed by Joe Parker, an employee of Gougeon Brothers, Inc.
Zak Bowdish, 22, instructor, directs his little fleet of three fiberglass "Transfusions," 15 1/2 foot sailing trainers, shoving off from the temporary dock in Wenonah Park.
"C'mon, you guys! Are you ready?" he shouts to five young neophyte sailors. "Get your lifejackets on."
Mr. Bowdish, 22, is in training himself -- to be an elementary teacher -- so this exercise is right on track for him, an early internship so to speak. He is a senior at Saginaw Valley State University.
Sailing mom (like a soccer mom only involving boats and water) Laurie LaVictor watches son Kyle, 14, grab the tiller of a Transfusion with confidence and quickly skim across the river toward Veterans Memorial Park. "He loves it," she exclaims. "He took the youth classes last year and now is in intermediate." Kyle is a student at Western Intermediate School.
Laurie explains that neither she nor dad Brad LaVictor are sailors but they are pleased that Kyle is learning a new skill. "I'll have to try it some time," says Laurie, "it looks like so much fun."
Drew Hilger, 17, a freshman at Saginaw Valley State University, gives the final sailboat a push and then jumps in a little outboard-driven rubber raft. He circles around the youthful sailors, giving advice and providing an extra measure of security for the classes.
Mr. Bowdish has been an instructor for four years. During the winters he and other volunteers are cooped up inside the Gougeon Brothers boat shop building eight foot Optimist prams of laminated wood using the Gougeon's WEST System epoxy.
Ten prams, used in training the younger kids, are stacked three high in racks on the dock near the Jennison Place condominiums.
Nearby, perhaps for inspiration, is docked Appledore IV, the stately "tall ship" that plys the river and bay on educational cruises. There is no connection between the Appledore and the sailing classes, Bowdish explains.
Depending on the year, from 50-75 young sailors are trained through the program, Bowdish said. It has been in existence for about 10 years and he hopes more people can learn to sail via the classes.
All classes are taught by an instructor with a U.S. Sailing Association certification, First Aid and CPR training. Most of the instructors are also active in sailboat racing on Saginaw Bay.
After completing training, members have the opportunity to use SBCSA boats. In addition to the Optimists and Transfusions, SBCSA has several other boats available for the use of members.
For adults there are larger boats, including the 23 foot long Columbine, a donated boat, docked at Bay Harbor Marina, Bowdish said.###