By By EDWIN MODLIN II
Staff Writer
As children of summer enjoy some of Pamlico River’s finest sailing opportunities, they’re also enjoying some of what Washington has to offer — fun on the water.
The Little Washington Sailing Club is made up of dedicated sailing enthusiasts who have created a sailing school for the youth of the area, with two-week courses introducing the fundamentals of sailing to beginning sailors.
Monte Rish, lead instructor with the sailing club, said the only requirement for students right now is that each student weighs at least 70 pounds.
“The only reason for that is so they can handle the boats because they (the boats) will toss you if you’re too light,” he said.
Rish added that the program is designed to promote self-reliance, awareness of safety, sportsmanship, team work and respect for others as students learn about rigging the boats, launching them, retrieving them and maintaining the boats and equipment.
The school has six 14-foot-long Vanguard 420 sailboats to use in its series of courses.
Currently, there are five two-week sessions per summer. The first one began June 14 and ends today. The remaining sessions run June 28-July 9, July 12-23, July 26-Aug. 6 and Aug. 9-20.
There are two sailing session slots to choose from. There’s a morning session from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. An afternoon session runs from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The sailing courses are for youth between the ages from 10 through 18. The cost for the sailing course is $200 per student. People who want to sign up for the two-week sailing course may contact the Little Washington Sailing Club at 252-946-3969, visit its Web site at www.whda.org or contact the club by way of its Facebook page. Information about the club also may be found at www.washingtononthewater.com.