Happy Canada Day!
What better way to celebrate the birthday of our country than with the first day of sailing club! The instructor team couldn’t be more excited to welcome new and returning sailors to another fun-filled summer at SLSC! We hope that this summer will be the best yet!
SLSC has a lot of exciting things in store for this season!
We are happy to announce that construction on the new building is now complete with the upstairs and downstairs now fully finished. This new facility will fill many needs, from lesson space and an instructor office to a movie theatre on Tuesday nights!
In addition to the fabulous new building, SLSC is now equipped with 7 new boats. There are three new Picos to add to the CANsail 1 and 2 fleet as well as a brand new 420 for the race team. SLSC now has a new class of dinghy, the RS Feva. The Feva is a fast dinghy with an asymmetrical spinnaker that will be used for the CANsail 3 level. For a sneak peak at what the RS Feva has to offer, check out the pictures below of two instructors trying one out! Finally, the instructors are very pleased with the new coach boat which gives us a total of 6 coach boats at our disposal this summer.
Instructors Erik Nyhuus and Owen Thomas trying out the new Feva!
THE TEAM
SLSC has seven fantastic instructors, who are keen and ready to kick-start the sailing season. The instructor team is a mix of familiar and new faces this summer!
Kate Thomas will be returning this summer as a Co-Head Instructor along with Keira Webster. In addition to her co-head duties, Keira will also be instructing the CANsail 4 level.
Amy DesBrisay is our Race Coach and CANsail 5 and 6 Instructor this season. She is excited to carry-on the racing enthusiasm from the past summer.
Owen Thomas will be our CANsail 3 Instructor once again. Do not fret Opti sailors the Elite Opti Race Squadron is back in action! Instructors Owen Thomas and Erik Nyhuus will be leading the Elite Opti Race Squadron this season.
Claire Lourie will be our CANsail 2 instructor this summer. Claire is thrilled to have the new and improved fleet of Pico’s at her disposal this summer.
John Gilchrist, has been sailing at SLSC since he was young and is excited to become our CANsail 1 instructor this year. Erik Nyhuus another past sailor at SLSC, is also part of our instructor group this year as the Wet Feet Instructor.
Erik and John have fit into the instructor team perfectly and are sure to contribute to the enthusiastic and welcoming nature of SLSC.
Stay tuned as the instructors have a lot of exciting things planned for this summer!
THIS WEEK
This week, SLSC is welcoming the Ontario Sailing Team to the club. Coach, Thomas Fogh and 6-9 Laser Sailors (age 16-18) will be joining the morning program from July 2nd to 5th. The Ontario Sailing Team will participate in the morning festivities and sail with SLSC’s Race Team. Thomas Fogh and Amy DesBrisay will work together to provide fun and educational on-water and off-water drills for the collaborated team. The Provincial Team will then train in the afternoon giving SLSC’s coaches a chance to shadow Thomas Fogh and benefit from his coaching experience.
FUN DAY
AAARRGH! This week’s Fun Day is Pirate Day! Hopefully no one will have to walk the plank. For all new comers, there is a fun day each Wednesday where sailors from all levels participate. As this fun day is pirate themed, come dressed in your best pirate attire: eye patches, pegged leg, and maybe even a parrot!
Every Fun Day, there is also Pizza Lunch! For $7.50, you can have two slices of pizza, lemonade and an ice cream sandwich. What more could you want! Pizza arrives at 12:30 so pickup on Wednesdays is 1:00pm. The money for pizza lunch can be given to Leslie at registration on Monday mornings or sailors can bring their money to club on Wednesday morning.
DANCES AND MOVIE NIGHT
This Tuesday will mark our first movie night in the new building! Woohoo! The first movie is suitable for all ages and begins at 6:30. The second movie, which starts right after the first around 8:30-8:45 is for kids aged 13 and up. Each movie costs a dollar and includes popcorn and juice! Don’t forget to bring a reusable cup.
“Oh what a night!” This Friday will be the first dance; so start practicing your dancing moves! The theme for the first dance is Pajamas! Dress up in your comfiest pajamas and come on down to the sailing club at 7:00! Dance admission is one dollar. Pop is also sold for a dollar and freezies for 25 cents.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON RACES
There will be weekly Wednesday night races again this summer starting the second week of club! Sailors of all levels can join in on the fun. After racing, the instructors will provide s’mores around the campfire.
The 2013 Sunday Afternoon Race Series begins this Sunday, July 7th!!! Anyone is welcome to join the Sunday races; we welcome sailors from all levels and ages. The three other Sunday Afternoon Races will be held on July 28th, August 11th and August 18th. The afternoon excitement begins at 12:30 with the first race starting at 1:30pm. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there!
DON’T FORGET
As our first newsletter comes to a close, we have just a few reminders of things to bring to sailing club! In promoting a waste-free sailing club, we ask that all sailors bring a reusable water bottle to club. There will be water available to refill your bottle during the day. As always, don’t forget a PFD, closed toed shoes, a change of clothes, weather appropriate gear (we sail rain or shine!), sunscreen, a hat, and of course a snack!
Finally, if for any reason you would like to speak to the commodore, Will Ollerhead, as opposed to the instructors, feel free to contact him at [email protected].
We’re excited for the start of another action-packed season!
See you on Monday!
Kate and Keira