A total of 30 youngsters took part in the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources' 2017 Summer Sailing Club Program, and met the minister, Renward Wells, at the dock on Montagu Beach last Friday to acquaint him with the 100-plus year-old tradition of miniature sloop sailing using kamalame boats.
Minister Wells said his ministry, which is responsible for regattas throughout the country, "is focused on getting the youth involved in the sport because it opens the opportunity for the youth to experience the culture, sustain it and keep the interest going".
Each of the 30 participants sail kamalame sloops and race in the Sunfish Class. The practice has been part of Out Island culture passed down from generation to generation, where young people are taught to carve the two-foot boats out of kamalame bark, sew the sails and mount them onto the boats, then compete with each other by racing them in E-Class regatta races.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources, which has always sponsored the 10-year-old sailing club program started by Sheldon Gibson, is partnering for the first time this year with C.V. Bethel Senior High School to expand the program. It runs for four weeks and incorporates instructors of swimming, sailing, first aid, craft making and sea survival.
C.V. Bethel school is known for supporting the pilot program and especially for having its own boat called "Old Faithful". Each of the participating students had to assist with repairing the boat as well as practice the skills they learned in how to build boats, sew sails and race them.

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