Englewood Sailing Association | |
Building Confidence, Character and Community through Sailing | |
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LOTS TO SEE IN THIS NEWSLETTER
3rd Annual Lemon Drop Regatta
November Adult Learn to Sail
Fall Youth Program
Slow Flight Coastal Cruising
Mike Fijas Family Profile
Junior Instructors Interview
Boats for Sale
A Rope is a Rope
Things My Mother Taught Me
Debibrillator (AED) Training
Englewood Learning Process
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3rd Annual Lemon Drop Regatta |
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Sailing in a regatta is a fun and exciting time for our young sailors. It gives those who desire to compete and learn some of the more intriquit skills in sailing.
When CH Ritt became president he vowed to get more children interested in learning to race. And he's done it.
Both regattas, 2021 and 2022 were very successful, with last year nearly doubling the entries from the first year. It is now an annual December tradition for Englewood Sailing.
To learn more and register for this year's Lemon Drop Regatta, click below.
Lemon Drop Regatta
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November Adult Learn to Sail | |
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Our November Adult Learn to Sail just graduated 13 new sailors. The picture on the right includes our new sailors and most of the volunteers who gave up four days to teach our neighbors how to sail small boats.
Several of the new graduates have joined ESA and signed up for our adult and family sailing on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
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Fall Youth Program Wrapped Up
by Mike Basch
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Once Summer Camp is complete, those students can move onto the beginner training on 10 fall Saturdays. This year 18 of our Summer Campers moved into the Fall Youth Program.
In addition to these beginner sailors we had an additional 11 intermediate and advanced sailors hone their recreational and racing skills.
This year, CH Ritt put together a special trip across the bay to Manasota Key middle beach.
Finally, student board advisor Michaela Fijas and her brother Connor joined John Riehl's Junior Instructor Program. JIs put together lesson plans and on water instruction.
See below to see an interview with our JIs.
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Our Fall Youth Sailors heading across Lemon Bay | |
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Slow Flight Coastal Cruising
by Mike Basch
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Shawn Beeson relaxes while his coastal cruising sailors do the work. | |
This is an interview with Shawn Beeson who piloted our first adult cruising program. Shawn was joined by Marie Naisby and Otto Afanador.
Slow Flight, our Catalina 27 has enabled Englewood Sailing to offer ocean and coastal cruising capability for our kids and now for our active volunteers.
Our youth coastal program was conducted by John Riehl and Marie Naisby last spring for some of our advanced youth sailors.
This fall, a similar program was offered to our volunteer members. This time led by Shawn Beeson, Marie Naisby and Otto Afandor.
The instruction was delivered with a combination with one shore day and four sailing days, all on Saturdays. Slow Flight cannot comfortably handle all of the seven sailors who took the course, so the sailing days were every other Saturday with the sailor students were divided into two classes.
Primarily, the course was focused on teaching the students to handle the boat as if they owned it.
They got to know the boat and where everything is stored. They learned navigation, how to read and use charts as if the GPS was not working. They learned rules of the sea for larger boats.
Exercises included how to leave and approach the dock and man overboard drills.
The sailors filed float plans which are required to take Slow Flight for a spin whether for a day or a week.
Slow Flight is available for charter at $50 a day for qualified sailors. For qualification, you will need to do a check-ride with John Riehl or Steve Rosen or if you have passed this cruising program.
Think about crewing
If you don't know whether bigger boats are for you, you can sign up as crew for a trip.
The ESA website has a place where members, who are not yet qualified, can sign up as crew to get the coastal experience. Great opportunity to see if coastal cruising "floats your boat."
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Dianna Borton at the helm of Slow Flight | David and Dawn Costanzo team up | Ian Inman takes his turn at the helm | |
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Mike Fijas Family: Volunteer Profile
by Mike Basch
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"Seeing the world and
bringing fun to people"
What I like most about putting our newsletter together is getting to know more about our incredible volunteers. Although everyone comes from interesting backgrounds, I gotta say Mike Fijas is one of the most interesting.
Mike grew up in the Buffalo, NY area. As a teenager, he found a job as an antique car operator in a theme park. He kept getting promoted in the park business and later worked his way through Kinase College in Buffalo.
While working in the theme park industry, he went to a world water park convention and decided on a career. First, moving to work for Silver Dollar City, a major theme park just west of Branson, MO.
Then on to White Water Park outside of Atlanta where he ended up doing safety inspections (this explains Mike’s interest in AEDs-see article below).
He then moved into insurance loss control.
He went back into park life at Big Kahuna’s Water Park in Destin, FL where he eventually married the love of his life, Julie.
They then moved to Oswego, IL where they had Michaela and Connor, our two new Junior Instructors. He operated a park there for a family group. Then onto Portsmouth, NH taking over a park there.
Next: world travel…
Mike was asked to assist in building a park in Thailand. They moved as a family there. Great way for kids to learn a new culture.
In a different interview, I asked Connor and Michaela what it was like to move to a totally different culture. Michaela was about 7 and learned a great deal and able to compare her experience. Connor responded with “I don’t remember much about the United States. I was just 4, so the Thailand culture was all I knew at the time.”
After Thailand, they moved once again to take over a park in the United Arab Emirates. By this time Mike was a theme park expert.
While overseas, they often came back to Buffalo on vacations and decided to buy a home for his mother which provided a place for the family to come back to the US.
He began working with a man who had started a theme park consulting company based in Orlando. Julie’s parents lived in North Port, so they decided to move to Venice. Julie is currently a teacher in the Sarasota school system.
Whew! I thought I had moved a lot.
The primary consulting role is to aggregate all the necessary services to build theme parks.
“We know the right people and are able to put the team together for design, dealing with the manufacturers, installers, etc.”
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Mike, Connor and Michaela Fijas | |
Why Englewood Sailing Association?
"Water has always been an important part of our lives. Fishing, boating lifeguarding, etc.
"We have always been fascinated by sailing and wanted to expose our kids to new experiences."
Julie saw something about our sailing camp and the rest is history. Both Connor, 11 and Michaela 14 took to sailing like ducks to water.
As the kids got excited so did Mike and Julie. They felt welcome with the volunteers, coaches, and the happy inclusive feeling.
“The program seems to give our kids a great feeling of accomplishment and empowerment. On a sailboat, kids are the captain of their destiny.”
After the summer camp, the kids joined the Fall and Spring programs and are currently serving as Junior Instructors, teaching our beginning students in the Fall and Spring programs. Mike and Julie took our adult Learn to Sail program and the safety boat training.
Although Mike has a full-time job, he’s found the time to join our board and become a very active volunteer. He believes that activities like sailing have a very positive effect on kids in this age of social media and both parents working.
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We are honored to have the Fijas family as part of Englewood's Sailing Family. | |
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Our New Junior Instructors
Connor & Michaela Fijas
by Mike Basch
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Connor and Michaela Fijas have gone through several of our Fall and Spring Programs and this Fall, they became Junior Instructors.
The Junior Instructor Program enables kids to teach their peers. It's often been said: "If you really want to learn something, teach it."
This program provides the very rare opportunity for kids to learn how to lead and to teach others.
I have broken up this interview into video clips as I believe what they have to say deserves a special place in our newsletter.
I was hoping you could watch the video here, but you will be taken to a special page on our website.
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Q: What got you into sailing in the first place and what was your beginning experience?
Click on the picture to see the interviews.
| Click on the picture to see the video clips | |
Other Questions answered in the interview:
What's it like to teach your peers?
What do you hope to accomplish through sailing?
What advice do you have for parents and friends?
What have you learned by teaching your peers?
You have experienced Thailand and Saudi Arabia. What was that like?
What would you like to say to ESA members?
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A Rope is a Rope
Rocky Jones: provided by Andy Paine
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Note from the author
"I suppose every mariner has had fun telling landlubbers and people new to boating that, once it comes aboard a boat, 'rope' needs to be called 'line,'"
says Rocky Jones, who joined the U.S. Navy in 1946, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary in 1988.
Over the years, Rocky finally decided that this nomenclature problem wasn't so funny anymore, that a better explanation was needed, and that he was the man to give it.
Two decades ago, he wrote this poem, and has handed it out to folks under his command ever since ...
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A rope is a rope,
but sometimes a line.
Or it might be a painter
towing the dinghy behind.
From fiber to yarn,
then strand into rope.
It's the twisting that does it
which makes strong at the scope.
There's polys and sisal,
manila and hemp.
But when buying nylon
your money's well spent.
The big one's the howser
with strain to defend.
The little one's the small stuff
for seizing the end.
The rode holds the anchor
in mud, sand, or rock.
The bow, spring, and stern lines
hold the ship to the dock.
You pay out a drogue line
when caught in a gale.
But pay out a halyard
and down comes the sail.
A bell rope it might be
clanging the time of the day.
Or it might be a cable
holding the mast with a stay.
On wash day at Granma's
clothes pins were used.
But a sailor needs clothes stops
to hang up his blues.
If you pull on a sheet
your toes will get cold.
When on a boat
the sails will unfold!
Be it braided or twisted
fiber or steel.
It's still just a rope
if it stays on the reel.
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Things My Mother Taught Me
by Anonymous
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Being a mother these days is not for the weak of heart.
Social Media, busy schedules, school shootings, etc.
Hopefully, here's some humor to lighten it up.
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1. TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE - "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. RELIGION - "You better pray that will come out of the carpet!"
3. About TIME TRAVEL - "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. LOGIC - "Because I said so, that's why."
5. MORE LOGIC - "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. FORESIGHT - "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. IRONY - "Keep it up and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. OSMOSIS - "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. CONTORTIONISM - "Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
10. STAMINA - "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
11. WEATHER - "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
12. HYPOCRISY - "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
13. CIRCLE OF LIFE - "I brought you into this world, and I can take - you out."
14. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION - "Stop acting like your father!"
15. ENVY - "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."
16. ANTICIPATION - "Just wait until we get home."
17. RECEIVING - "You are going to get it when you get home!"
18. MEDICAL SCIENCE - "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."
19. ESP - "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
20. HUMOR - "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
21. HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT - "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
22. GENETICS - "You're just like your father!"
23. ROOTS - "Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
24. WISDOM - "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
25. And my favorite: "My mother taught me about JUSTICE - "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"
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Automated External Debibrillator (AED)
Interview with Mike Fijas
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In our interview with Mike Fijas, we talked about the AED purchase and training that Mike provided.
What is an AED do and why do we need it?
An AED is a portable medical device designed to deliver an electric shock to the heart to help restore normal heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart’s electrical system malfunctions, causing the heart to quiver instead of pumping blood effectively. This can lead to a life-threatening condition, and if not treated promptly, it can result in death.
Why do we need it?
We need to be prepared for a potential negative event. Many of our volunteers are retired and heart issues can happen at any age. Thanks to Mike, we now can help each other recover from a heart issue which could save a life of one of our students or volunteers.
Mike was quick to point out that an AED will not restart a stopped heart. That requires different equipment and expertise.
The AED is useful if certain cardiac issues become apparent. Issues such as pain in the left arm, slurring words, chest pain or loss of consciousness.
The advantage of this machine is that it is nearly totally automated. Mike has also provided initial training.
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The process:
We notice someone displaying one of the mentioned symptoms. We ask regarding their symptoms if he or she is conscious. If a cardiac event is suspected, the first step is to call 911 and get help coming.
The second step is to get the AED, next to our new shed. Make sure the patient is dry and then follow the verbal instructions provided by the AED.
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For Sale by ESA Member Hugh Moore: 1990 Seaward 23
Specs: LOA 24'6", LWL 21', Beam 8'4", Draft 2'1",
Displacement 2700 LBS, Ballast 900 LBS
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Designed and built by Nick Hake (Stuart, FL), the Seaward 23 is an ideal boat for the shallow coastal waters of SW FL.
Destiny is in good condition and well equipped. Asking $8,500.
She is slipped in Englewood, FL, and comes with a trailer. Aux power is 9.9 hp Merc (4-stroke).
See photos (more available). If interested, contact Hugh Moore at (941) 321-6707 or email at
hughmoore27@gmail.com.
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For Sale by ESA: 2000 Montauk 170
90 Horsepower Mercury
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This boat has been well cared for and was donated to ESA. Unfortunately it does not make a good safety boat.
Asking price: $22,500.
Contact Steve Rosen for details:
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The Englewood Sailing Model
by Mike Basch
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ESA has a great model. Kids spend a week in Summer Camp. They learn enough to know if they like it and want to learn more.
If he or she does, they enroll in the Fall Youth Program as Beginners. Then the Spring Program. At the end of the Spring Program, they can opt to go to a coaching clinic and coach at the next year's Summer Camps.
They continue on this upward cycle and can opt in to become a Jr. Instructor, sign up for our Coastal Cruising program, get into racing or just continue to learn.
Sailing is one of those sports that can be quickly learned, but take a lifetime to master.
There is no better way to learn than to teach others. There is no better way to become a leader than get some leadership experience as part of the child's development.
This year's fall program will begin on Sept 9th at 10 AM to 1 PM for beginners and from 12 Noon to 3 PM for intermediate and advanced sailors.
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Membership and Sailing Activities | |
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Membership and Sailing Activities
If you haven't renewed or signed up for your 2023 membership, you can do it here.
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2023 Calendar is Official | |
You can see our calendar here or on our website. | |
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Most Activites can be found on the ESA website under "Home", "Calendar"
July Activity
- Summer Camp III
- Sat Family Sailing
- Wellen Park Celebration
August Activity
- Sat Family Sailing
- Wed Adult Sailing
- Prepare for the Fall Program
Board Recognition
- Our Youth Coaches recognized for their support of our Summer Camps.
- Mike Johnson recognized for his work with our storage sheds and boat racks/
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October Board Meeting Highlights
(Your board typically meets via Zoom on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.) All members are invited.
Board HIghlights:
- Reviewed Fall Youth Program
- Discussed how to best apply for WCIND grants for new sailboats and possible new safety boat.
- Discussed the River Romp Regatta that two of our youth sailors sailed in.
- Discussed the possibility of hosting US Sailing's Instructor program.
- Discussed selling our Boston Whaler mentioned above.
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