[Photo copyright owned by & courtesy of Jennifer Kroon] 

For those of you who may not have heard, or didn't know to begin with, we receive an annual grant from the Department of Boating and Waterways (now Parks and Recreation Department) to teach safe boating in the Bay. Our introductory open house sails, youth rides, beginning dinghy, beginning windsurfing, and keelboating courses and instruction all serve towards providing affordable access to the water for the public, all while teaching safe boating. 

Each year, we write an application for the grant and report on our past year's activities. In addition to all of our regular programming, we also partner with local programs like helping the Berkeley and Albany fire departments train their rescue swimmers by sending some of our fleet out and asking the sailors to act like a bunch of fools for training purposes :)  We also partner with local schools and youth groups to take underserved and minority youth out on the water. For many children on our Youth Rides and youth and adults on our open house introductory sails, this is their VERY first time out on the water! And we get to teach them about the importance of wearing life jackets, safely moving around the boat, getting on and off the boat safely, wearing appropriate attire to avoid hypothermia, etc. 

We recently received the news that we'd be getting our grant again this year (woohoo!) to apply towards a new RS Venture (trainer dinghy), new novice windsurfing boards and sails, and new masts and rigging to keep our fleet well maintained and safe during the summer months. Grant funds should go directly to helping provide access to the water for beginners, and teaching safe boating.

Big thank you to all the volunteers who helped make our programs a big success in 2014! And thank you in advance to those who will help keep our programs strong in 2015. It is hard for all volunteer-run programs like ours to successfully receive funding because they do not provide the level of instruction and structure that we do, so thanks for helping keep the wheels on as well as you all do :) And remember that a big part of why we're here is to take people all the way from fledgling sailors and windsurfers up to superheros taking kids out for their first sail and getting more people out on the water.

Cal Sailing Club's explosive financial growth is entirely due to the passionate leadership of our Treasurer, Stel Lababy, who shared a few insights.

Have you always sought leadership roles?

Oh goodness yes!  Even as a puppy I led my team in teat-chewing and runt-killing.  I was always at the front of the pack harassing the pigs on the farm where I grew up.

What shaped your passion for leadership?

Adversity.  When the farm's meth lab blew up, I had to refocus and map out my career goals again, putting in long hours as a rescue dog, then as a lowly family dog, before realizing my passion to succeed as CFO at CSC.

[Photo courtesy of Seamus Vanecko: http://www.seamusvanecko.com/gallery/sailors/]

Have you ever taken a dinghy lesson at Cal Sailing? Then chances are you have met Michael "Mike" Sherrell. He has been teaching lessons every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday for as long as I can remember. On innumerable occasions, he has saved the day, being the only instructor to show up. And as many club members can attest to, Mike is very serious about learning as much as he can about sailing, and then passing that knowledge on to his  students. 

Mike is a Berkeley native who, after retiring from biotech-related business, has the luxury of splitting his free time between sailing and his other passion, horses. In fact, he has four of them, and loves to go camping out with them. If you haven't seen him around the club recently, it's because he just got back from an epic camping trip in Oregon and Utah.

Mike was kind enough to answer some questions about sailing and his dedication to CSC

When did you start to sail, and what convinced you to try it out?

 The Berkeley Bay Festival Open House on Saturday, April 12 was a huge success with 303 adults and 78 children going out for sails on CSC dinghies and keelboats--that's a whopping 381 people in attendance! We had a big cook-out afterwards with nearly 100 people hanging out and dancing at CSC. We had two phenomenal bands who kept us groovin' throughout the day, and gorgeous weather. Big thank you to everyone who came out and volunteered to provide free sailing to members of the community, teach safe boating, cook massive amounts of food for the volunteers, and show your support (and best dance moves) for CSC!  Tide and wind was tough for this one and you all were troopers. See you on Sunday, May 18 for the next OPEN HOUSE! 

Tons more great photos from Lon here: https://plus.google.com/103254638147711764669/posts/LrWgSgWEMhL 

Busy day!