The junior sailors, ranging in age from six years through to 17 years were taught the ropes by former graduates of the Great Lakes Sailing Club learn to sail program.

Lilly Smith, Hamish Wilson and Emily de Berg gave up their valuable school holiday time to ensure the success of the program.

Lilly, who has been sailing for five years and recently competed in the Laser State Championships, said the Great Lakes Sailing Club had taught a great number of people to sail.

“We have all been taught to sail by the members of Great Lakes Sailing club,” she said.

“It was great to be able to pass that knowledge along to newcomers to the sport, as well as learning a few things ourselves as the junior sailors found themselves in some interesting situations.”

The first two days of the program had perfect conditions for a learn to sail program, with a nice 10 knot breeze seeing the beginners reaching across the bay adjacent to the shores of Booti Booti National Park.

Club Commodore’s Bill Stokes was very happy with the conditions.

“It really is the perfect location to learn to sail, with the sandy shore and the shallow water it enables kids to build their confidence really quickly,” he said.

“That’s because when they capsize, they are able to stand and right their boat before heading off again, removing that fear of the deep water until they get more confident.”

The shallow waters are not only good for the junior sailors but also the instructors and senior volunteers who were able to stand in the water to provide one on one instruction to the new sailors.

All sailors started sailing with crews and by the end of the program many had mastered the art of sailing single handed.

The third day of the program saw a distinct change in the weather when a 25 knot southerly plunged the Wallis Lake waterways into a sea of whitewash and challenging conditions.

Despite an early start, the conditions were deemed too dangerous for the junior sailors to go out alone so three of the club’s most experienced sailors volunteered to take the junior sailors for a fast reach across the lake.

Most juniors crewed in the tough conditions and smiles quickly spread throughout the group as they realised the adrenaline rush of sailing at great speed.

Some of the more adventurous young sailors took the helm and, under the guidance of senior sailors, were able to master the conditions.

Instructor Hamish Wilson said he was “amazed at how adventurous and confident these new sailors were in the tough conditions.”

Unfortunately, the strengthening wind saw an early end to the third day of the learn to sail program, however the Great Lakes Sailing Club is looking forward to seeing many of the participants out on the water again soon.