Summer Camp 2009

That time of year is here again. Summer Camp. Currently we are halfway through our 2nd session out of 5. Everything has gone very smoothly and no major miss haps have happened. We have lucked out so far and been able to sail almost everyday. I don't think I have ever been that fortunate in a summer camp. The kids have been great on and off the water. We are already keeping on eye on some of them. They have started off very good and have a lot of potential to come to our race team try outs.

All the kids are having a blast so far and that's all we can ask for. Some are having so much fun that they are coming back for another class this summer. Some have said this is the best summer camp that they have ever been to. That puts a smile on the instructors faces.

Our summer camp consists of teaching the kids basic seamanship and sailing skills while having fun and being safe out on the water. Starting with Day 1 we give them a swim test and then do the capsize drill. The capsize drill is where the sailors flip the boat one on one and right it by themselves. We do this so if they are ever out sailing by themselves and flip they know how right the boat and get back in it and start sailing again.

After that we start teaching them what each part of the boat is called and what it does. Next we go into points of sail and where your sail should be while on that certain point of sail. When we get them on the water for there first time they take turns sailing. We have them reach back and forth getting a feel for the boat and doing some tacks and jibes. After that they are in the boats by themselves for the remainder of the session. Some fun things we do with the kids while they are here is take them to the pool and let them cool off after sailing. They take turns jumping off the diving board and the kids have belly flop, cannon ball and diving contests.

Some other things we do is take them a bait shop on Snead Island often called Stinky Dave's. Here they can buy all sorts of goods such as candy, soda and snacks. We usually do this on the day that we take them over to Terra Ceia Bay for our Nature Hunt day. Terra Ceia Bay thrives with all kinds of nature and your almost always guarenteed to see some Manatees and Dolphins. On the last 2 days of the session we have a race day where the kids can put all the stuff they learned together and race each other. The last day we sail over to a beach and hang out and give the kids snacks and sodas. On this day parents are allowed to come along and watch and ride in the coach boat. This is very exciting for the kids because they get to show off everything they've learned to mom and dad. It's so much fun I wish I could go back and do it again!!

We will post more blogs later in the summer with pictures of the kids sailing.

Have a fun and safe summer everyone!!

End of the 2009 racing year!

The end of the 2009 racing season has finally come upon us. In the very short 2 months that I have been here I have gotten to enjoy some great times with the sailors and parents and get to know them all. There are many people who I personally need to thank but the list is to long. THANK YOU to everybody who has helped me out since I have joined the pram fleet! You guys have made this transition for me very smooth and enjoyable!


After the School's Out Regatta, we had one more weekend of fun with each other till we were done for the year. On this day the yacht club asked us to join in on the blessing of the fleet. We arrived at the yacht club early to unpack boats from the regatta and to get rigged for the event. Since it was being held on the cut at Bradenton Yacht Club the kids couldn't sail thru and I would have to tow them thru till we got out into open water. We were one of the last to go in the blessing (guess they were saving the best for last) and it was a great time. I drove our new coach boat and Mike Dowd, our Red, White, Blue coach rode along with me. Also riding with me was Alan Capellin and his daughter Grace. His other daughter Darby would be getting towed thru and her boat was getting blessed. When we made our way thru Commodore Joe McClash introduced the Pram Fleet and announced all the kids names who were in their own boats. After that the Priest gave us a blessing and when he was finished we got a good ovation from the crowd and a good blow from the cannon.

After the blessing of the fleet, we took the kids out to sail around a little bit and to play some ball tag. We didn't let them stay out to long since we had our end of the year party to go to. We brought them in around 11:30 and let them de-rig and clean their boats off before we went for the real fun. On the way to the party I let each sailor drive the new coach boat for a couple of minutes. All the kids were excited since the boat was less than 2 months old and they had all been bugging me to drive it since we got it. By the time everybody was done we showed up for the party fashionably late. Oh well it's our day to do what we want.

The party was being held at the Norrie's house on the Manatee River. Why they decided to let us all kids run around there all afternoon was besides me but a very gracious thank you goes out to them! They had a huge backyard so the boys threw the football around for awhile and the girls went straight to the pool. After letting everybody have there own fun we all gathered for some cheeseburgers and grilled chicken. There were lot's of sodas and snacks as well. We all sat around and ate and told jokes and laughed and had a good time.

One of the things we had the kid's do at the party is come up with awards for Mike and I since we had done awards for them shortly before that. After letting them deliberate for awhile they said they had come up some funny things for us. My award was the 'Slow and Steady Award. They gave me this because everything is done slow but steady and always gets done. They also gave me a very large coconut that had fallen off a tree. Mike's award was the 'I don't Know Award'. They gave him this award because they said whenever they asked him a question, he would just shrug his shoulders and say I don't know. They also gave him a coconut but it was much smaller than mine. We laughed for 20 minutes over these awards.

The party was winding down and I had one last thing for the kids to do before we all departed for the year. BANANA SPLITS!! All the kids got to make their own Banana Splits and eat as much of it as they wanted. After eating 2 boxes of ice cream I think they had enough. We started to pack every thing up and clean up the mess we had made. I have to give another thank you to the parents and the great support they have given me and to the Norrie's for letting us hold our party at their beautiful home.

On another note I have to tell all the sailors how extremely proud of them I am for all the accomplishments they have made this year. I also need to thank them for trying hard at practice and every regatta they come to. You guys have been such a joy to teach and we are gonna have alot of fun in the years to come. Keep up the great work. I'm so very extremely proud of all of you!! I'm very proud to be here as the Director of Sailing and very excited as to what lies ahead of the Manatee River Pram Fleet! Stay tuned for updates on the Summer Classes.

Fair winds and fast sailing,
Danny Wiedenhoft
Director of Sailing

School's Out Regatta 2009

This years School's Out Regatta had mixed success and weather. Saturday started off with light breeze that steadily built through out the day. Sailing in Green fleet for this event was Paul Nolan. He was out only green fleeter to attend this one. After sailing very consistently the first day he was in 4th place, 1 point out of first. He came very close to winning the 2nd race but lost it by about 1 boat length and ended up 2nd for that race. He has been sailing very well that past few regattas so it was great to see that success carry into this one.

Sailing in the Opti RWB class for this regatta was Ben Boulch, Alicia Muscatto, Brooke Conrad, Darby Capellin and Nica Ellis. The RWB course was a little less fortunate the first day of sailing and only got 2 races in versus the Green fleet course's 3 races. RWB was tucked closer to the land so the breeze was not as consistent or steady. Out of the 50 RWB boats only 17 boats finished the 2nd race due to lack of wind. After sitting around for awhile and the breeze filling in, Race Committee sent us in after looking at the radar and seeing some nasty weather approaching. It was a good call on RC's behalf because it became very breezy with some thunder and lightning. We all sat around and waited for dinner. Some put together a puzzle in record time while others waited for the weather to pass over so they could get back in the pool. Nobody had any broken gear so we all agreed that so far the regatta had been a success.


Now, day 2 was a whole other story. RC postponed us on shore in the morning due to inconsistent breeze. After waiting about an hour and a half RC sent us out on the water with very little breeze. The Green fleet RC tried started a race but it took 5 boats about 10 minutes to cross the line so they very wisely abandoned the race. RWB RC never started a race. It was really hot and no wind and it wouldn't change for the rest of the day. There was a teaser puff for about 5 minutes and they were going to start a race but they never did. They fed the kids on the water and around 1:30 in the afternoon sent us in for the regatta due to lack of wind.

We came in, packed the boats up in the trailer real quick and went and hid in the shade and in the pool. The kids enjoyed some ice cream provided by the yacht club and received their awards. Finishing in 4th place in green fleet was Paul Nolan. Paul was 1 point out of 1st place as there was a 3 way tie for 1st place. Alex Conlan finished 9th overall and 5th in Red fleet. Ben Boulch was 15th overall, Alicia Muscatto 29th overall, Brooke Conrad was 30th overall, Darby Capellin 34th and Nica Ellis 44th overall respectively. Everybody agreed that overall the regatta was a success and they were happy with their results. Everybody said that even though there was a lack of wind for the weekend everybody still had alot of fun.