It’s been another year of fun and learning at Little Washington Sailing School. Wrapping up its 10th year of sailing fun on the Pamlico last weekend, the nonprofit finished the summer season with a day of racing during a regatta in Chocowinity Bay, hosted by Cypress Landing Marina.

“This year was another successful year for us,” said LWSS Director Kevin Clancy. “We met our numbers that we were looking for, and we’re close to capacity.”

Since the organization was founded, the group has given more than 100 scholarships that allowed students to attend its weeklong program. This year, the program has seen marked improvements thanks to a $32,000 grant from Duke Energy, which allowed for the purchase of a new safety boat, improvements at the LWSS dock and training for instructors, according to Clancy.

“The really exciting part was the 20 scholarships they bought and paid for,” Clancy said. “We also started a STEM program, and it was our first year doing that.”

Two students participated in the STEM program this year, learning about the science and mathematics behind sailing during the final week of the sailing school. During the regatta, these STEM students served as crewmembers alongside the sailing school’s traditional regatta sailors, providing scientific insight. In the end, the two boats with the STEM students placed first and second.

In addition, LWSS continued its partnership with the Inner Banks STEM Center this year, bringing in students from the nonprofit’s boating and aviation camps to learn how to sail.

For years, the community has supported the program by donating scholarships to help kids attend. To sponsor one scholarship is $325; two is $650; and three scholarships is an even $1,000.

This weekend, the sailing continues with an adult sailing course LWSS added on last year. To learn more about the organization and its mission, visit www.littlewashingtonsailingschool.org.