Youth Activities
in the History of the Bremerton Yacht Club

The first mention of Youth Activities in the archives is a note that preparations began for a Junior Yacht Club in 1934. Development of by-Laws and a constitution were the first order of business. On September 20, 1937, the B.Y.C. formally started the Junior Club for all kids under 21 years. Captain E. Watkins assumed the sponsorship of the Junior Club and it was very successful until the start of the war. There is no mention of the Junior Club after World War II. Despite the demise of the Junior Club, youth played a role in the Yacht Club during the decades immediately after WWII as evidenced by photographs obtained by the Towline. This picture shows a campfire on a club cruise of yesteryear. Can you find Sharon Morris Leedy? It's Laundry Day at Malibu. That is Sharon Morris Leedy hard at work on the right. That's Lewie Morris and Dennis Haven with the catch of the day at the Tacoma Yacht Club. It's easy to see that this is mostly history since the boat has no float chambers or motor and the boys didn't die from eating the fish. Rafted up for Salmon Bake at Pt. Monroe In the spring of 2002, Joe Payne and a few of his sailing friends decided it would be a good thing to introduce a Youth Sailing Program in the club. Joe contacted Skip Peters of the Poulsbo Yacht Club and as they say, the rest is history. Skip loaned the club six DeWitt dinghies and two instructors and two weeks of beginner sailing school were presented by the club. By the summer of 2003, the club owned seven DeWitt dinghies, had hired its own instructor and assistant and provided four weeks of sailing instruction. One of these weeks was for intermediate sailors. Two of the students from the first summer returned as students in this class. By now, the club had constructed floats for the dinghies; a dock box was in place and all in all the club had a first class set up and a great program for kids. With the summer of 2004 approaching, ambitious plans are in place to extend the opportunity of learning sailing to more students. A total of seven weeks is planned including an intermediate class, a class for older youth (age 16 to 80) and a week for Boy Scout Merit Badge training. Sail training will begin on June 21 and extend to August 6, weekdays from 9 AM to 330 PM. On the water, its practice, practice, practice With almost no wind, the DeWitt makes way. The little boats sail well and are very rugged The sail program teaches the students how to rig the boats, the basic principles of sailing and provides a lot of practice time on the water. Most of the students have trouble with the tiller at first. It just doesn't make sense to push something to the right when you want to go left. Most try to drive the little boats like power boats, at first. Of course, that just doesn't work either. By the third day of classes, nearly all the students can actually sail the boats on all points of sail. Later in the week, a course is set up and they learn the fundamentals of racing. Some become quite competitive. In addition to the sailing, the students also learn a few basic knots including the bowline, clove hitch, square not and sheet bend. They also learn a little bit about team work. It is amazing how fast the boats go in the water after about the second day of lessons. For those who take to sailing, an intermediate course is offered. In this course there is a lot of racing around the buoys as well as a short cruise, planned by the students.