Thursday, January 19th, 2012
The EYC is justifiably proud of its sailing school. The EYC operates one of the oldest and largest sailing schools in the United States. In just nine weeks in 2011 the EYC taught over 250 student sessions, up over 10% from 2010. Every year we get lots of compliments on the quality of our lesson program, and enrollment grows, so we know we are doing it right!
Even so, we strive to make the EYC’s sailing school better every year. In 2012 we are making more improvements to the curriculum and to instructor training.
To learn more about the EYC’s lesson program, and to sign up now for 2012 lessons, go to www.eyc.org/lessons. Sign up early before the most popular session dates and times fill up!
Some popular features added in 2011 will continue in 2o12. Beginner lessons exclusively for teenagers are offered in the afternoon in Sessions B, C, D and E. Adult lessons are offered in the afternoons in one-week sessions. Alternatively, adults can take lessons every Thursday evening for four or eight weeks.
Tips for parents:
1. Please carefully read all the information provided during the on-line signup process.
2. The most popular (and crowded) sessions are sessions C, D and E, in the mornings. If those sessions are full, or if you prefer to maximize the chance that your child will experience a lower student/instructor ratio, sign up for sessions A or B, and/or sign up for afternoon lessons instead of morning lessons. In order to encourage signup for afternoon lessons, most lesson levels are offered at a discounted price in the afternoon.
3. EYC membership is required in order to take lessons. A junior student must be the child of a Family member, or a Student member. Being the niece, nephew, grandchild, or house guest of a Family member is not in itself sufficient to entitle a junior student to take lessons. Student membership is only $50, no initiation fee required. Family members should already have received membership renewal notices via U.S. Mail; Student memberships are purchased during the lesson sign-up process.
4. Sign up your child for the correct lesson level (one level above the level most recently successfully passed. Note that just because your child took a lesson level does not mean your child passed that lesson level.) If you do not remember which level your child most recently passed, check the report card you received at the end of your child’s final lesson session. If you can’t find the report card, just make your best guess and the EYC will adjust the student’s level if necessary.
Questions? Contact Education Committee chairman Jay Lott jaylott01@gmail.com
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011
The EYC’s fleet of International Optimists is one of the EYC’s most popular fleets for racing. In 2011, sixteen junior skippers raced in the EYC’s Saturday afternoon Optimist series, and nineteen skippers raced in the Tuesday evening series.
The Optimist class also saw a number of days during the peak of the EYC’s season when the number of EYC juniors seeking to use an EYC-owned Optimist exceeded the eight Optimists in the EYC-owned fleet. On July 16, to use the most extreme example, there were seventeen EYC juniors seeking to draw an EYC Optimist for that evening’s racing. While ”more racers than boats” is a good problem to have, the EYC is exploring ways to increase Optimist racing opportunity for 2012.
Fundamentally, there are only two ways to increase Optimist racing opportunity. The first is to hold more races, which the EYC is likely to do.
The second is to increase the number of Optimists in the EYC Optimist fleet. The EYC has received one donated Optimist (thanks, Joel and Suzy Dykman!) and is actively seeking donations of additional Optimists. Depending on the EYC’s financial situation, the EYC may attempt to purchase a second Optimist to increase the EYC-owned fleet to ten for 2012, an increase of 25%.
However, the EYC’s board of directors recently reviewed its fleets and reaffirmed longstanding EYC policy that the EYC determines its investment in its various fleets by the needs of its lesson program and not by the maximum number of racers who may wish to race in an EYC boat for free. The EYC can use ten Optimists in lessons; however, the EYC does not contemplate owning twelve, fourteen, or seventeen Optimists any time soon, unless they are donated.
So, parents who wish to guarantee that their child always has an Optimist to race, should purchase their own Optimist. Late summer and fall are excellent times to buy used Optimists as parents put up for sale Optimists which their children have grown out of.
Optimists are relatively inexpensive; a new one purchased from Laser Performance Inc. is less than $2500 (see http://na.laserperformance.com/home); from McLaughlin Boat Works, a new one costs approximately as little as $2350 (or $2000 if you purchase an “event boat”) (see http://optistuff.com/info/boats.html).
Used Optimists in very good condition can be had for as little as $1000. Two used Optimists are currently for sale to EYC members on the EYC Classified Advertisements page for $999 and $1100, respectively. See http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=44558737326&topic=13918 Additional used Optimists in your area can be found with a simple Google search.
Furthermore, because the Optimist is the most numerous one-design sailboat in the world, and because the EYC’s lesson program creates a steady stream of new junior sailors, your Optimist readily can be sold when your children move on to Lasers, Flying Juniors, 420s and Flying Scots.
In 2011, did your child or grandchild come away from an EYC Optimist boat draw frustrated and sad because he or she did not draw a boat? There is only one way to guarantee that won’t happen again in 2012: buy your own Optimist.
Thursday, July 28th, 2011
The EYC’s final two-week group sailing lesson session of 2011 begins Monday, August 1. The deadline to sign up for lessons is noon on Sunday, July 31. For more information about group sailing lessons at the EYC, or to sign up for group lessons, go to www.eyc.org/lessons.
Private lessons will be available by appointment through most of August. To learn more about private lessons or to arrange for a private lesson, stop by the EYC, e-mail Director@eyc.org, or phone the EYC (920) 854-7107.
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P.O. Box 331 10071 Water Street Ephraim, WI 54211
Summer Phone 920-854-7107
The Ephraim Yacht Club is a family oriented non-profit organization focused on forwarding sailing education and racing to students of all ages located in the town of Ephraim, in Door County, Wisconsin on beautiful Eagle Harbor.