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VENICE YOUTH BOATING

VYBA is located at:
1330 Tarpon Center Drive
Venice, Florida 34285
941.468.1719

VYBA is a non-profit sailing organization that serves the youth of Venice, Florida, and surrounding areas. Housed in the Pram Shed on the grounds of the Venice Yacht Club, we hold summer learn-to-sail courses for beginners and advanced classes for more experienced sailors. We also maintain a year-round racing team that practices on Saturdays and competes in many major regattas state-wide.

Each summer, VYBA teaches over 100 youth, ages 9 through 14, basic sailing skills in International Optimist Dinghy (IOD) class boats. Although our main purpose is to teach basic sailing skills during summer classes, advanced classes are offered to those sailors who show interest and skill. Some of the advanced students are also offered the opportunity to join the VYBA Green Fleet year-round program.

First-year sailors on the year-round team are placed in the Green Fleet. The following year, they are split into Red, White, or Blue fleets, based on age. After the age of 15, a sailor can no longer race IOD’s and must advance to the Portsmouth Division. The Portsmouth Division consists of Sunfish, Lasers, and 420’s.

In order for a sailor to join VYBA, they must first complete both the beginning and advanced sailing courses. Go to SUMMER SAILING to register, or call 941.468.1719.

 COME SAIL WITH US!

Our History:

Established in 1952, the Venice Youth Boating Association's primary mission is to teach youngsters how to sail. Anything beyond that simple goal is considered icing on the cake.

It's learn to sail program extends from June 2 through Aug. 9 and is divided into five sessions. These sessions run Monday through Friday for two weeks and young people have the option of taking a morning class, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, or from 1 to 4 p.m. This gives them a total of 30 hours.

Summer mornings are often light air or no wind sessions, but with afternoons there are thunderstorms lurking around the area. However, Venice's Roberts Bay, site of most of the instruction, seems to escape the wrath of many squalls.

VYBA instructors may let the young people sail in the rain, but they are quick to herd a class back to shore if they detect a thunderstorm approaching. And they have electronic lightning detectors to help.

Safety comes first in Venice. Second is the philosophy that sailing is an activity or sport that one learns best by doing in a fun and safe environment. Neophyte sailors can read books and watch videos, but it won't be until they have their hands on the tiller that they really understand sailing.

Therefore, instruction is short in the classroom but long on the bay. It is overwhelmingly hands-on, on-the-water training. A third philosophy is to learn and have fun.

All teachers are certified as Level 1 (small boat) instructors through US Sailing, the national governing body of the sports. To earn this designation, they took an intensive 40-hour course that went from running a powerboat to giving presentations. In addition, they maintain current CPR and First Aid cards.

Venice's learn to sail instructors have come up through the ranks, having learned how to sail on Roberts Bay themselves and having served as helpers during summers when they were too young to be certified. Some programs have problems when they hire from within, but it works in Venice.

Helpers consist of year-round sailors who can easily relate to the youngsters. One advantage is that helpers gain community service hours - required by schools - by assisting a non-profit organization.

Also they garner experience and an insight as to whether or not they want to become instructors when the time comes. By like token, VYBA officials are able to pick out prospective instructors by watching their interaction with other young people. It is a win-win situation.

The learning curve is steep the first few days. A swim-check-to make sure a young person is comfortable in the water- is one of the first items on the agenda. Then each sailors goes through a capsize and recovery (flip and right) exercise. Those activities normally eliminate some concerns and worries for youngsters and parents alike.

Then it is out on the water. They learn to sail around buoys at first and then extend their courses to include anchored boats or channel markers. Within three or four days, they are tacking and jibing, sailing upwind and downwind as if they were old salts. As they progress, instructors may take them to another bay, around a couple of islands or up and down the Intracoastal Waterway. The ninth day is usually reserved for race day when youngsters have a taste of racing, but there is no pressure and there are no trophies. On the last day, they go day sailing.

Pupils who enjoy the racing (usually about one in 10) or who simply like their new-found recreational activity have the opportunity to take advance classes which are held in the afternoons and are offered twice during the summer. One session is midway through and the other is the last two-week period.

Graduates of the two advance sessions are invited to join VYBA's year-round program which runs from mid-August to mid-August, sailing on Saturdays and some school holidays during the school year.

First year year-round sailors, regardless of age, join the Green Fleet. Venice's group is designated the Ernest Green Fleet, named for a Clearwater man who instrumental in establishing the Clearwater Optimist Pram in 1947. The pram has evolved into the International Optimist Dinghy and it is the mainstay of most youth programs throughout the South, including Venice.

After a year in Green Fleet, sailors move up to the Red, White and Blue division. Here, sailors divided by age: white, 10 and under; blue, 11 and 12, red, 13 to 15.

The age limit for Optimist sailors is 15 and thus, that is the age limit for Venice's learn to sail program. The minimum is nine. Although many other programs will take younger children, VYBA has found that a certain amount of hand-eye coordination and maturity level is necessary to successfully complete its curriculum. Also having seven or eight year olds in classes with 14 and 15 year olds is not always wise.

Being a community sailing program, VYBA takes boys and girls regardless of race, creed or religion. All they need is a life jacket with a whistle and a willingness to learn.

The cost is $210 for the two weeks This is higher than some, but lower than most. Scholarships are available thanks in part to the generous donations of various civic clubs and other organizations.

Parents, grandparents and guardians are instrumental in the program and VYBA encourage them to participate in Parent of the Day activities though this is strictly optional. While some programs may keep minimal contact with parents, VYBA likes it when they stay and watch their youngsters' progress.

VYBA has produced some outstanding sailors, especially in relatively recent years. Several national champions have started their sailing careers on Roberts Bay.

However, as mentioned earlier, that is the icing on the cake. As the late Clark Mills, designer of the Opti, used to say, "If you can put a nine-year-old youngster in command of his own vessel, you've done a pretty good piece of work."

And while teaching young people to sail, Venice instructors have discovered that they are imparting many lessons in life. Perseverance is one. Patience is another. The real success stories are the youngsters who did not want to take sailing but learn to love it before the two weeks are gone.

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