Washington Sailing Marina Turns Students into Sailors for its 50th Year

Photo by Bryan Bougher/Flickr The Basic Sailing Camp covers the basics of sailing, parts of a boat, steering, use of a sail, capsizing and safety issues.

Their gigantic smiles say it all to Amy Zang.

“That was so cool!” the young sailors shout as they wrap up another day at the Washington Sailing Marina.

As the marina’s Camp Director, Zang is all about building the camper’s self-confidence. In addition to being the director, Zang is also a special education elementary teacher and combines her knowledge from teaching to create an even more enriching environment for the students.

“We get them right out there,” she said. “It really builds the kids up for success.”

The Washington Sailing Marina’s summer sailing camps thrive off of hands-on learning, interaction and teamwork.  
 
Beginning with an on land lesson and moving on to a drill on water and a reinforcing game on water, Zang and the camp’s counselors use creative ways to help children go from students to sailors.

As the 2008 Best Seasonal Program Director and a 2009 Sailor of the Week by U.S. Sailing, Zang knows exactly what it’s like to be in the rubber-soled shoes of a young sailor. It’s been her dream to be a sailing camp director since she was a young girl at sailing camp herself.

“We make sure the kids are actively engaged in a safe environment, but we also make sure there is no down time,” Zang said about the camp.

With 20 years of experience with the Washington Sailing Marina, Zang has been the camp’s director since 1988 and the owner of the sailing school since 1994. She has developed great bonds with many campers who have grown into counselors over the years. The majority of the sailing camp counselors are previous students who Zang has known since they were 10 years old.

While counselors must be at least 16 years old, many 15 year olds who have been through the camps will volunteer to give even more individual attention to campers who may need a little extra help. Zang believes that counselors who were once campers make the camp that much better since the counselors are familiar with what makes the camp fun for the children.

Zang, along with others at the Washington Sailing Marina, received a big surprise this summer when they found out that this year is the 50th year of summer sailing camps.
 
The marina is a concession of the National Park Service which has been operated by Guest Services, Inc. for the past 43 years. Zang was excited to find out this summer that the marina had more history than even she was aware of and had actually been offering sailing lessons for seven years before Guest Services Inc. gained ownership.

The marina is home to many one-design fleets, including Hobie, Lightning, Albacore, Flying Scot, Thistle, Mobjack, Penguin and Capri.

Continuing through August 21, the marina will be offering sailing lessons to both children nine and over as well as adults. Each Monday, a new five-day camp starts up, turning inexperienced beginners into sea captains of the Potomac River, and the still has availability for new sailors to sign up for classes and camps.
All summer camps run Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students can sign up for one week or multiple weeks of different sailing camps. Fees for the classes and camps range from $325 to $375, and the marina offers many different camps and classes.

The Youth Sailing Day Camp is for children from 9-12 years old where they will learn hand on experience from sailing 90% of the day. Students may even compete for trophies in a youth regatta.

The Basic Sailing Camp on the Sunfish covers the basics of sailings, parts of a boat, steering, use of a sail, capsizing and safety issues. It’s the best camp for a first time sailor.

The Intermediate Camp on the Flying Scot covers boat handling, the points of a sail, sail trim (main and jib), terminology and basic navigation.

On the Hobie 16, children 12 and older can learn all about boat handling with multi-hulls, hull flying, points of sail, sail trim (main & jib), racing techniques, tuning the rig and extra features such as adjustable jib car travelers and trapeze.

The Junior Racing Camp allows students ages 12 and over to learn the art of racing on board a Flying Junior or a 420 with a focus on developing boat handling and racing skills through an array of specific drills designed to demonstrate the various elements of racing both on and off the water.
 
The camp clinic will teach sail trim, rounding marks, starting, tactics on the downwind and upwind legs and how to approach marks properly. Students will also learn the effects of hydrodynamics of the hull, rudder and keel, the aerodynamics of the sails and how to utilize these effects in developing boat speed.

Students who are 12 or older also have the opportunity to participate in a windsurfing camp where they will learn the basic skills needed to maneuver a windsurfer independently around a small course in a contained area. The first session is in a simulator so that the students can “get the feel” before stepping onto a real windsurfer.

Adults, ages 16 and up, can join in on the sailing fun as well.

The Adult Basic Weekend Class and the Adult Basic Weeknight Class as well as the Adult Basic Day Camp are all on board the Flying Scot and is a two day course where beginners can learn steering, use of sails (main & jib), docking, tacking, jibing and basic nomenclature.

For the experienced day sailor, who is looking for something a little bit bigger, there is the Adult Basic Keelboat Weekend Class on board the 25’ Catalina. Students learn basic keelboat sailing, including preparation to sail, crew operations, sail theory, leaving and returning to dock or mooring, boat control in confined waters,  overboard recovery, and safety.

The camp introduced a referral program this summer for new and old students. Each new referral who signed up for a session before June 20 allowed the person who referred them to earn a free participation in a two hour “open sail” day for two people.

For more information on the Washington Sailing Marina, visit www.washingtonsailingmarina.com.

Contact the writer at ksigety07@ehc.edu.