Program Feature | CYC Foundation Launches First Annual SOS Children’s Villages Sailing Camp

“I know I can’t say left and right – it’s port and starboard.”

- Navaeh, age 13

August 15, 2022

A few rainy days couldn’t dampen the excitement of 10 Chicagoland kids from SOS Children’s Villages Illinois who got their first taste of sailing through a new camp sponsored by the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation.

For nine-year-old Randi, swimming in the lake was the best part of the camp while Nevaeh, 13, liked learning boating lingo. “I know I can’t say left and right – it’s port and starboard,” she said.

The inaugural SOS Illinois sailing camp brought kids ages 9-14 to Belmont Station for six full-day sessions taught by CYC sailing school instructors. The camp included on-the-water instruction on the Club’s Sonar keelboats as well as classroom games, shoreline walks, and STEM activities.

“First and foremost, our goal was to get kids down to the lake. Many kids from Chicago live just a few miles from the lake but haven’t seen it with their own eyes,” said Greg Miarecki, CYC Foundation President. “It’s a chance to be outside and learn new skills in the context of a nautical environment.”

The sailing camp is an extension of a longtime partnership with SOS Illinois forged by both the Club and the Foundation. SOS Illinois creates stable families for vulnerable children, keeping siblings together in an individual home in the care of a full-time, professional foster parent. Both the CYC Foundation and SOS Illinois are beneficiaries of the CYC’s Chicago Regatta, scheduled for Saturday, September 10th.  Additionally, the Foundation together with the CYC Cruising Sail Fleet annually sponsor a lakefront cruise and dinner for SOS Illinois children, foster parents, and chaperones. This year’s event took place on Tuesday, August 9th with more than 60 SOS children and family members joining the Cruising Sail Fleet for a great evening on the water.

The new sailing camp was conceived to give the kids a more immersive boating experience along with the opportunity to just have fun on the water.  

“We wanted to help the kids develop a comfort and understanding of being in and around the water and on boats,” said Katie Tinder, CYC Education Director. “We also wanted them to associate fun with the experience.”

Based on feedback from the kids and SOS Illinois staff, the camp succeeded on both fronts.

“The kids had a great time. They came back with a million stories,” said Emily Brown, Education and Activities Coordinator for SOS Illinois. “It’s an adventure of a lifetime for a number of them. They don’t get out on boats. They don’t have experiences like this.”

Beyond time spent on the keelboats, the children made their own anemometers to measure wind speed, learned about different fish found in Lake Michigan, and walked along the shoreline collecting debris that they later turned into artwork.

Joe Cannon, CYC volunteer sailing instructor, said life lessons also were woven into the curriculum. “We emphasize being respectful to one another and being safe at all times. And we try to encourage teamwork. Sailing is really about teamwork,” he said.

That lesson resonated with 13-year-old Dania. “Working together to set up the boats so we can go out – and encouraging each other – that was my favorite thing,” she said.  Dania said she also liked steering the boat. “You’re in control so you feel all of the weight of turning the boat – but once you understand the dynamics of it – it’s pretty cool.”

SOS Illinois’ Brown said she was especially appreciative of the Foundation’s commitment to making the kids feel comfortable on the water – and just having fun being kids.

“I think the Foundation was so conscientious about the fact that for most of our kids – this was a brand-new world,” she said. “And in both the cruises and the camp, our kids never walk away feeling they’re different. They never walk away feeling anything other than – that was so cool. When do we get to do that again?”

The answer to that question is “next summer.” The CYC Foundation will use all proceeds it receives from the Chicago Regatta to fund similar immersive sailing experiences in 2023. “We’re looking forward to making the Second Annual SOS Sailing Camp even bigger and better next year,” Miarecki said.