Red Grant Regatta at Raritan Yacht Club

This morning at Raritan Yacht Club, Perth Amboy, anxiety was in the air as everyone watched the water to see if the regatta would fulfill it's woeful nickname... The Dead Grant Regatta. Playfully dubbed so, the Red Grant Regatta achieved it's nickname for chronic lack of wind, but today turned out to be a great exception. With a pleasant easterly we were able to finishes races by 2:00 which left plenty of time to play with the Bic's and award trophies before the ominous thunder storm came through.

Raritan Yacht Club is home to a junior program of about 80 sailors ranging from Opti levels to double handed boats but one buzz word is at the forefront of Raritan's Junior program. Instruction. Almost every adult helping with program today was clear that they're priority was helping the kids learn in a fun way.

Starting with Regatta Management, Gary Myer who is also a high school teacher, the mantra of the Red Grant Regatta is to teach and instruct the kids well. For this purpose the regatta is shaped around the kids; implementing ideas to make the regatta more enjoyable such as 360s for protests instead of 720s and traditionally awarding a trophy to 4th place just to motivate one more young sailor. Gary, coaches, and anyone helping with the regatta have taken note of the right way to introduce kids to sailing. Gary in his skippers meeting reminds kids that "sometimes leadership is teaching and helping others" which is clearly what the Raritan Yacht Club is doing.

-Brooke