Midland Sailing Club
John Lister said that although everyone knows Rotary does a lot he was glad the Club was able to come down and see the reality of one project it's supporting. The Club started in the 60's and has grown to 150 boats and all along it has made every effort to encourage sailing. The school started at a cottage with a boat that had washed up on the shore and last year had 149 students and 282 hours of Able Sail instruction. The Club also offers training to Little Brothers and Sisters.
Midland Rotary contributed towards the Club's Able Sail boat which is built in Australia and can be steered with a joystick. There are 8 on the School's Committee, including Steve Killing. He discussed how the Club improved its facilities to enhance accessibility including a tent for shade, paved walkways and special low docks. The stainless steel was donated as were the blocks, thanks Don, there was a Trillium grant and a lot of work by members. Wenneker co-ordinated the dock construction and the Midland and Penetang Builders' Association did a lot of the work, with more members helping.
They have three dinghys and the keelboat and John says they have been surprised at how much damage can be sustained so the equipment needs to be high quality and repairable. These boats allow people to sail independently, though the keelboat does have a crew when it goes out. John said the Club plans to break even on the shool operations. They hire 7 instructors and the head is Aiden.
Aiden is in his 4th year of teaching and 3rd as chief. He says they take kids aged 9 and up with all levels of experience and they teach CYA levels 1,2 and 3 and Bronze 4 & 5 which takes kids up to higher performance boats including trapeze and spinnaker work and even some physics - how a sail works. They are pioneering a 'pre silver' course in August. Adult members co-ordinate and train older students in the evening. They want to expand the Able Sail program. It is the only one north of Toronto. The hardest part is teaching the parents to trust the program. This year some students with disabilities are being integrated into the regular class which learn to help and empathize.
Jim Thomas is the co-ordinator of the Able Sail recruiting and says they have success with the integrated program. They are helping a quadriplegic now who weighs 260 lbs and it's a challenge but they are able to do it and are looking forward to more challenges. A visitor from the Toronto organization is coming soon to see how they do things here.
John added that they also work with Community Living Huronia and the Mental Health Centre. Then he invited the Club out to the docks to see the boats and watch while some willing members went for a sail.