Smoke-filled skies and times of uncertainty did not dampen the spirit, ambition, and vision of SISO this summer. Instead, the SISO board members and other volunteers took advantage of the lull created by COVID to complete another phase of the Sailing Center at Spring Shores Marina.
To see what we accomplished, please read the ARTICLE.
We installed 51 new low-profile docks near the Spring Shores Marina at Lucky Peak over the course of 2018-2019. These docks are specifically designed for small non-motorized boats, making it easier for novice sailors to enter and exit the water without the stress and hazards of avoiding larger motorboats. Two grants totaling $120,000 from the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation Waterways Improvement Fund made it possible to install these docks. Our appreciation to Ada County Waterways for partnering on this grant process!
We are currently renting a storage container for storing and securing our small fleet of RS Zests, along with masts, sails, life jackets, and other associated equipment. Expansion of our fleet will require additional storage facilities.
We are currently partnering with Redline at Spring Shores Marina for indoor classroom space. As our class offerings increase, we hope to include a sailing learning center as part of our improvements at Spring Shores.
Southern Idaho Sailing Outreach (SISO), in partnership with both Boise City and Idaho Departments of Parks and Recreation is launching a new program to introduce kids to sailing. Plans are underway to start sailing camps this summer at Spring Shores Marina in Lucky Peak State Park, and a fundraising campaign is in progress to make this happen.
Our existing fleet of 10 teaching sailboats – the RS Zest – came about through corporate and private donations and small loans. Along with these instructional sailboats, we purchased one used safety/teaching boat and received an additional safety/teaching boat through a private donation.
The way James T. “J.T.” More remembers it, the idea for a youths’ sailing summer camp had its nexus early one morning a couple of years ago.
“At Lucky Peak the winds come up right at the beginning of the morning, at dawn,” More said. He and about six or seven others were out sailing, an activity “you can get addicted to,” he said. “We thought, ‘How come more people aren’t out here — and where are all the kids?’”