The Northport Sailing School is on track to having another record year in terms of student numbers, with approximately 176 kids filling 207 class spots this summer.
The school has been operating for the last 16 years in the village of Northport and functions with the help of the board of directors and several different committees. This year, the program has three full time sailing instructors, 17 youth counselors, and numerous volunteers and family members that help to make classes a success for all to enjoy.
“We came roaring back (after the pandemic) and the numbers have gone up. We’re up at least 10% over last year, maybe closer to 20%,” said Andy Neal, the sailing school’s board of directors’ president. “By the first of May, we had well over 150 kids registered.”
The sailing school located at the tip of the peninsula gives kids ages 8 to 18 both from the area and from out of town the opportunity to learn about the water sport in a safe and fun environment. Classes begin in July and are held for five weeks until August each year, with morning and afternoon sessions available.
Based on how much a student already knows about sailing, there are several class levels to register for. From the youngest students called “little puffs” ranging from 8 to 9-years-old, to more advanced classes focused on solo sailing skills and racing, there’s opportunities to suit just about anyone interested in learning the functions of sailing.
“Classes are six to eight students… and each instructor will have at least one counselor, so there’s almost one staff member for every three kids, sometimes it’s even better than that,” he said. “We have a really good staff to student ratio. Our goal is to keep our pipeline full of people so that we can always have enough people that we can hire from within our own ranks.”
One of the first important lessons taught to beginners in class is how to capsize their boat and get it back up right. Neal said capsizing and then getting back in the boat is all part of small point sailing, and is essential to grasp and learn. Students also learn how to rig and take apart the boats they use, as well as other important sailing concepts such as the points of sail in relation to the wind.
“It’s really incredible, they (the kids) go from just being absolutely bewildered by the terminology, by the ropes, and by the end of the week, they are sailing the boats, and they’re doing it intuitively the way we learn to ride a bicycle,” he said. “They all learn it sort of organically when they learn it at this age, and it’s a much better way to learn something.”
After operating for so many years, Neal said they’re now able to bring youth on to the team to teach classes rather than hiring from the outside. Many of the instructors the school has brought back, all of which have earned their U.S. sailing certification, were once students/class counselors when they were younger.
“It’s amazing to watch the counselors mature. For most of them, it’s their first job, so they grow over the years, too. So we’re teaching kids to sail, but we’re also teaching older kids how to be responsible and good members of the community,” he said. “Our kids (registered) this summer are from 17 states, and at least one lady on the waiting list is from England. We also have 22 kids from Leelanau Township. 10 of those are funded by a grant from the Leelanau Township Community Foundation, and we fund the rest from other donations. In addition to the township kids, there’s probably another 10-15 from elsewhere in Leelanau County.”
The student tuition for classes this summer is $185, which covers only about 35-40% of the actual cost, Neal added. The rest is paid for by a steady base of community donors.
“The support is broad and we have a nice relationship with the village of Northport, we’re sailing out of their park — they’ve allocated part of South Beach for us to use and they let us put up our boat house there,” he said. “We’re very proud of the number of local kids we get involved in this — and the parents of the local kids get involved and are very helpful. It’s a great little sub-community of a larger community.”
Besides the high school and college-aged instructors and counselors, mostly everyone involved in the sailing school program are volunteers. Neal said there are hundreds of hours put in outside of the program’s five week duration to help organize classes and everything in between before the start date. And on Fridays, more volunteers and the sailing school get together for an afternoon picnic/potluck where the kids can demonstrate what they’ve learned throughout the week.
“We would not function without volunteer time. We would not have money in our budget to pay anybody for most of the work… it’s a pretty well oiled little machine,” he said. “We have 12-15 regular volunteers, and then we’re assisted by dozens of parents over the five weeks that we operate.”
