Every sailor has a sailing classroom. Maybe yours is under tree by the water, in a garage beneath the club, inside a shipping container, or on a remote island. Here are a few photo entries from our previous monthly contest… Enjoy!

 

“This is the Venice Youth Boating Association classroom. All of our chalk talks happen here! One of our photos is sailors practicing their knot tying skills on some of our coaches!”

-Alyssa Jongsma

“Milwaukee Yacht Club on our lawn where we teach and the dock we launch from where the was a little accident”

– Elizabeth Hambrook

“I am a dedicated laser sailor from Hoover sailing club and my mom just signed me up one year and I have loved coming here sailing every day”

– Maximiliano Rodriguez

“Located at the Memorial Union, and just steps from the shore of Lake Mendota, the Wisconsin Sailing Team gathers together in our sailing center. Here, badger grit and determination is forged, through numerous chalk talks, film sessions, and debriefs. Our sailors can often be found studying or sharing a meal here together before practice. This room also holds the team’s trophy case, filled with achievements from the last 72 years. It is a pleasure to welcome other ICSA teams into our space throughout the season as we host regattas, such as Fall Fury and Wisco Women’s. Go go Wisco!”

-Ella Engel, on behalf of WI Sailing Team

“We are from South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee, Wi and this is our junior club house. We are set up to teach around 20 kids in here at a time. As you can see, our club house is very well loved. We use it as a space where kids feel like they can be themselves. On our walls are various items that hold meaning to us; everything has a story behind it. Though it has a very “eclectic” look to it, we treat our clubhouse as a scrapbook, putting our old memories up as a way to remember them and to share our old stories with the kids that hold the future of our program, hoping that they look forward to one day being able to tell their own stories to the next generation of sailors. Our walls also help us make our club house feel more like everyone’s space, so that the kids learn to take pride in our space and take care of their equipment. We want our clubhouse to continue to hold the nostalgic feeling of home that it does for all of us who grew up in the program. (Also if you zoom in close enough, you will see the first blockheads to the island award that some of our instructors won in the 2025 Race Chicago to Mackinac!)”

-Ingrid Stollenwerk

“This is the Spectrum Sailing group before heading out on the water in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. With the nice weather, the group gathered outside of the Yacht Club to learn. Spectrum Sailing is an autism-centered organization that uses sailing to build lifelong skills and well-being. It is not a ride-along sailing program. Kids learn about weather, knot tying, and sail trim. They learn to steer, and by the end of day three, many are docking the boats.  Spectrum Sailing has held more than 45 camps in 14 locations. More than 1,000 sailors have attended a Spectrum Sailing Camp. The organization continues to innovate.”

-Spectrum Sailing Committee