You're Never Too Old or Too Young for SailingBy Anne McKay Garris
CLEARWATER - On Sunday, May 18th, the children, some of them as young as eight-years-old, took to Clearwater Bay in their Optimist Prams. Neither the stiff wind, nor the watching adults fazed them as they maneuvered their tiny boats off shore of the Clearwater Sailing Center, under the watchful eye of instructors in a nearby motorboat. Watchers marveled at the skill of the young skippers. Just when one of the boats dipped towards the water with every sign of dumping its skipper, there was a flick of the tiller and the boat righted, dancing off in a new direction. Often the small boats came within inches of a collision, avoided at the last minute by the wary skippers. Nearby, a larger boat, sailed by older youth, turned over. The audience watched, fascinated, as the young sailors swarmed over the side and quickly righted their boat, sailing happily away on another tack. The Optimist Pram, designed to be "child safe," was first launched on Clearwater's shores over 50 years ago. Old-timers among the spectators rejoiced to see the fleet sail again in Clearwater Bay. The newly started youth program at the Sailing Center is supervised by the Youth Sailing Committee who sponsored the fundraiser. In addition to the sailing demonstration by the young people, the approximately 200 sailing enthusiasts in attendance enjoyed a feast from the Island Grill and dessert from the Cold Stone Creamery. An extensive silent auction of a variety of services and merchandise, most of them sailing related, added to the entertainment, uping the approximate benefit from the event to $10,000. This money will help fund some of the expenses of the youth sailing program, making it possible to reduce the cost of sailing for the young skippers.
Inquiries about the youth sailing program should be made to the Clearwater Community Sailing Association at 727-517-7776.
City Councilmember John Doran and his wife, Stephanie, (left) enjoyed the Sailabration with Joe and Staycee Calio (right). As founder of the Clearwater Community Sailing Association which has greatly increased the usefulness of the Sailing Center, Mr. Calio was guest of honor at the event.
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