"LifeSail program goal is to build character of disadvantaged youths through sailing"
I would like to thank you for accepting my son into your summer sailing program.
It is great to see the personal growth in a kid over just a few weeks.
The program is wonderfully balanced. It covers all the fundamentals in an orderly step-by-step fashion and also provides interesting and creative opportunities for the kids.
What Fun !!!
It is wonderful to see the spirit of friendly competition develop as the kids sail to their limits and even if they capsize they will right themselves, bail out their boats and continue. I saw one kid do this 3 times in one race. He was the fastest bailer I have ever seen !!!
Thank You LifeSail for giving my son and all the kids a summer they will never forget.
Sincerely,
B r u c e B y a l l
3 1 0.9 8 9.7 7 1 6
.... determined squint I found in the eyes of a 16 year old preparing to embark on a defining trip on the world's oceans.
Volunteers: Dr. David Benson DDS, Rowanda RN, Kris Davis - business owner dental equipment, Lori Kallestad - Filmmaker, Matt, Pat - Pilot came from Hongkong on his off days, Dr. Mellman emergeny at Sea education and TeamDr on call, Brian O'Malley, Denny Dew, (active LifeSail contributors). Donors: Mr. + Mrs. Hinerfeld, LifeSail Inc., Anchors Away Ventura, CA, Local West Marine stores, SeaTek Mast & Spars, Schaeffer Marine, Garhauer Marine, SchulzSurveyors, Zeke Quezaba Photographer & writer, Pat Reynolds owner of 'The Mariner Magazine' author & writer, marine industries business owners, Danny Dew (varnish, maintenance), Santiago & crew painter, electricians, rigger, Brian O'Malley, and other private contributions. Goal: Leaving in 3-4 weeks (end of April 2008) Giving Zac a good base for the success in financial, recourses, emotional & payer support from start to finish. Work to be done:
Complete rigging, sea trail vessel to Ventura, CA for a free haul out, complete parts of the interior & electronics installations. All Sailors are encouraged to provide him a tremendous and memorable harbor send off as Zac is sailing into his dream.
Hundreds of sailors and folks are expected to fill the breakwaters, waving American Flags and framing his keel water.
Zac Sunderland, 16, prepares his 36-foot sailboat in Marina del Rey for an attempt to solo-sail around the world that begins May 31. Rafael Ochoa, right, a boat builder and rigger, is helping Sunderland prepare the rigging.
Email Picture
With his parents' encouragement, Zac Sunderland aims to be the youngest to circumnavigate the globe. And yes, he says he'll do his homework.
Pete Thomas
May 26, 2008
Zac Sunderland is admittedly nervous but experiencing no second thoughts, he assures, as he counts down to what promises to be one of the greatest adventures a 16-year-old could imagine.
The CATALINA KIDS
Three Kids establishing a Record Sailing to Catalina Island in an 8' Optimist
How it all began, see page 10 & 11
"The Mariner Magazine"
The San Pedro Channel Crossing
Start: Palos Verdes Point 118,26.95W - 3346.42 N
Finish: Between Ship rock & Eagle's Reef 33,37.67N 118,29.77W
Est. disatnce: 19 nmi (nautical miles)
"LifeSail program goal is to build character of disadvantaged youths through sailing"one (1) mile from shore -on August 28th 2008 ETS at 0945 h
Young sailors to brave ocean in bathtub-sized boats BY PAT REYNOLDS
In the wake of 16-year-old Zac Sunderland's voyage around the world that started in Marina del Rey, another event involving young sailors has come down the pike.
After many weeks of training in light and later heavy winds, small and big swells the OPTI Team arrived in Catalina Isthmus after 6:37 hr crossing the San Pedro Channel at Ships Rock.
KING HARBOR - Before three youths from the LifeSail organization prepared to set sail for Catalina Island last summer, they tore themselves away from training in their 8-foot Optimist also helped 16-year-old sailor Zac Sunderland, who is currently out to set a record for the youngest solo circumnavigation in his 36-footer, "Intrepid". At the 2008, Olympics over 85% of the medal winning boat skippers were former Optimist sailors
As the tack of the calendar barely digs into the wall — hardly enough to hold all the pages beneath it — it's plain to see that another year has come to an end, and I figure, since things are rather calm, it's time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months in the watery world that is our collective backyard. The highlight of 2008 would have to be our own Zac Sunderland beginning his solo circumnavigation from the docks of Marina del Rey back in mid-June. Only 16, Sunderland climbed aboard his Islander 36, Intrepid, and crossed the ocean to Hawaii en route to a round-the-world voyage where he looks to be the youngest person to ever manage the task. After young Zac departed for lands far, far away, in his outfitted and strong cruising boat, Matt Shultz, founder of the Marina del Rey-based youth group Lifesail, staged another incredible event. Shultz cherry-picked three of his best sailors from his program — one just 12 years old — to sail eight-foot bathtub-sized dinghies across the ocean shipping lanes to Catalina Island. The trio made the journey successfully, at times sailing in waves as high as their masts.
Comment by LifeSail Inc.:
The description used in the newspaper "the little 'bathtub-sized' boat" is very good. The OPTIMIST is an International one design class.
Sailed in over 110 countries by over 150,000 children,
it is the ONLY dinghy approved by the International Sailing Federation exclusively for sailors under 16 years of age.
Perhaps it would be a good idea at this point to explain what an Optimist sailing dingy is.
The OPTIMIST is a quiet & simple boat, in which the Young people of the world learn how to sail in.
At the 2008 Olympics over 85% of the medal winning boat skippers were former Optimist sailors.
The ‘Opti’ is now becoming more popular, on this LA coastline, thanks to Kerry Dair (CYC Junior sailing Director - MDR, CA). The Opti is mostly sailed in open bays, like Santa Monica Bay or “Hurricane Gulch”.
Technical information http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-technical.html
Building a wooden Optimist http://www.optiworld.org/ioda-technical.html#iisit
Burt Rappoport was inspired by LifeSail Children
Burt Rappoport achieves goal in N-Sabot, crossing from Los Angeles Harbor to ...
