Edison Sailing Center celebrates 40 years

The Edison Sailing Center, a non-profit organization f o u n d e d i n 1 9 8 4 , i s c o m m e m o r a t i n g 4 0 y e a r s i n Southwest Florida

The sailing center is dedicated to teaching children and youth 8-18 the passion of sailing Over the past 40 years, the Edison Sailing Center has taught more than 17,000 children

A 40th-anniversary celebration will be held at North Shore Park, 13019 N Cleveland Ave , North Fort Myers, on Saturday, Aug 12, from 9 a m – 3:30 p m The event will also celebrate the 80th birthday of co-founder Ross Webb

The schedule of events includes:

∫ 9 a.m.: gathering for sharing memories, photos, and stories Includes light refreshments

∫ 10 – 11 a m : Hobie Cats available for sailing

∫ 1 – 2:30 p m : "FUN" Gatta, racing in Optimist Cubes

∫ 11:30 a m – 1 p m : BBQ lunch Donations accepted Alumni, civic leaders, and friends are welcome to roast Ross Webb

∫ 2:30– 3 p m : Dessert and awards

C o - f o u n d e r R o s s W e b b , a l i f e l o n g r e s i d e n t o f Southwest Florida, started sailing on the Caloosahatchee when he was 8

"I started sailing because I was asthmatic and couldn't do anything else," he said "It saved my life by getting out in the fresh air and doing something on my own "

A pharmacist by profession, at the age of 40, he decided to take some time off work and give back to help kids

"We started doing it for a couple of younger relatives of mine in borrowed boats The program took off Parents wanted their children to learn sailing and selfreliance The kids enjoyed spending time on the water," Webb said

Although sailing's image may be as a sport of the middle and upper classes, the sailing center works to teach children from all parts of the community The center offers outreach programs to the STARS Complex and the Quality Life Center in Dunbar, the Boy Scouts, and Sea Scouts

Ross's wife, Stephanie Webb, who also volunteers at the sailing center, said the center has a "sense of paying it forward " Kids who want to learn sailing can do that at

The Edison Sailing Center’s programs include:

∫ Youth Learn to Sail: Each summer, Edison Sailing Center schedules sessions weekly and welcomes more than 200 children ages 8-15 to sailing In these weeklong sessions, instructors teach the basics of wind and current, points of sail, common knots essential to sailors, tacking, and boat handling

Youth grow in confidence, self-reliance, problemsolving, and teamwork while learning to maneuver their boats from the shore to the river and back again Depending on the boat, sailing can be an individual activity, a pair, or even a crew with a skipper The center uses the Optimist Dinghy & McLaughlin Cube, the Laser, and the Vanguard & Zim 420

∫ School Year Programs: Incorporate recreational and competitive sailing, emphasizing enjoying sailing as a lifelong activity. The School Year Program incorporates a calendar similar to the schools, roughly 32 weeks Instructor(s) teach sailing skills that include embedded academic skills (broad categories of mathematics and science) As their skills develop, students may be afforded opportunities in keelboat sailing, c r e w i n g o n l a r g e r s a i l b o a t s , a n d l o c a l regattas Throughout the year, students will demonstrate the proper way to rig/unrig a sailboat, understand and use basic terminology correctly, apply knowledge of weather (wind and current) to sail away from – and back to – the beach, and apply principles of navigation to sail to a specific destination and back. Sailing's unique platform provides opportunities for increased independence and collaboration

∫ High School Sailing: The sailing center participates in the ISSA (InterScholastic Sailing Association) the Edison Sailing Center. "Ross has never turned a child away because of their inability to pay " The sailing center has taught more than 6,000 children that would otherwise not be able to have the opportunity to experience the water

"Edison Sailing Center taught our daughter Ali the life skills to become the person she is today," said Damien Lin, a retired Sunfish racer whose husband, John as part of the South Atlantic District (SAISA) Any high school may participate with a minimum of four sailors

∫ FGCU Collegiate Sailing Program- the sailing cen ter w elco mes n ew an d ex p er ien ced co lleg iate sailors from our local university to extend their skills and participate in collegiate regattas when possible

∫ Safe Boating: Edison Sailing Center offers N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f S t a t e B o a t i n g L a w Administrators NASBLA-approved Safe Boater education programs that comply with state law which states that To operate a motorboat of 10 hp or greater, anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1988, must complete an approved boating safety course and obtain a Boating Safety Education ID Card Edison teaches the U S Powerboat Safe Powerboat Handling course and the Florida Bobber Card course, How to Boat Smart, which includes time on the water in various types of outboard boats

∫ Powerboat Training: The ESC teaches youth ages 10 -17 and adults ages 18 and older Youth boater e d u c a t i o n c o m p r i s e s F l o r i d a F i s h & W i l d l i f e Conservation Commission's How to Boat Smart boater education course This is referred to as the Bobber Card course While this course teaches the content knowledge, it does not provide for any on-the-water skills development The U S Coast Guard and NASBLA have identified 30+ specific boat handling skills that all beginning boat operators must be able to demonstrate Edison teaches these on-the-water skills as part of its safe boater education training and requires satisfactory demonstration of the skills

Yarbrough, is a past president of ESC. "At 10 years old, she taught sailing in the summers and got a real paycheck Unlike the yacht club kids, the ESC kids learned how to take care of things independently, without mom and dad doing everything for them From running the motor boats to putting boats in at the ramp and keeping the fleet of racing boats in working order, our kids