Connecting the Donor Dots

Posted on October 24, 2013 by skippersgift

Thanks to supportive donors and generous grants our J/24 fleet has grown to seven. Because of volunteers like Michael, Nigel and Sam, Delos and Barney headed for Pt. Richmond in yesterday’s fog. They’ll look new after Bay Marine Boatworks finishes.

As we drove over the new Bay Bridge back to TISC after delivering two J/24’s and a trailer to Bay Marine I was struck by the number of people and organizations who made this first step in our fleet renovation possible. As always the beneficiaries of their generosity are kids in our summer youth classes, year-around outreach program, and just-started SS Learn program.

Delos arrived on New Year’s Eve 2009. I remember the ultra high tide as we motored from Marina Green to TI, arriving to a Bay Bridge still very much under construction. The motor donated by Adam Slote and the trailer from RIch Jepson at OCSC are still key ingredients to our fleet. While the bottom growth on Delos was not as populated with marine growth as we found on Barney, it did take some serious scraping to remove it.

When I asked Michael Weinman to help with our transit to Richmond, I made sure he knew this was a fun “messing about in boats” job, not the grungy job he signed up for when Barney arrived. You may recall that clean up job from a previous blog.

Nigel Tunecliff showed up early Wednesday to help get boats launched and masts out.. We decided to use the 1-ton crane rather than ginn-poles, and with the tide rather low all proceeded smoothly after coaxing a few turnbuckles clockwise. Michael arrived right on time just as we removed the second mast..

With Delos and Skipper’s Gift motors mounted, Michael and Sam Warner got under way slightly behind schedule after a rudder switch on Delos. While starting to lift, the fog was still very much with us as they headed into a rather gray bay to “Red 6” just outside the Richmond Break wall.

Michael took these two pictures after they turned north at Pier 1 and as they ghosted past Angel Island.

Bay Marine Boatworks will sand and fix the hulls, apply two coats of epoxy, then polish the hulls above the waterline. To accomplish this they will use our only road-worthy trailer, retired earlier this year from Moore 24 duty after Karl Robrock’s gracious donation in support of Matt Harper’s gift of Barney.

My plan to get a nice picture with the sun out and two J/24’s teaming into Richmond Breakwater was foiled by Michael and Sam’s rapid transit. They made it just over 90 minutes !

Many connections, donations and volunteer hours lead up to our J/24 Fleet upgrade. The final and most critical was this summer’s donation from Team Luna Rossa via the Americas Cup Event Authority. Funds from their donation provided the opportunity for the work now being started at Bay Marine, and for the furniture in the new Activity Center now on line to support SS Learn. Both support our goal of providing launching points for new horizons for kids of all ages.

Regards from On the Cove,

Dave G

JYC Kids’ Crabby Day at TISC

Posted on October 13, 2013 by skippersgift

Ms Thormahlen’s Crabby Kids after spending at day at Treasure Island Sailing Center learning about SF Bay ecology, plotting new directions for Dungeness crabs, and sailing on Clipper Cove.

The bus with JYC Room 306 rolled in at 10am

The bus with JYC students from Room 306 rolled in at 10am

As 33 John Yehall Chin Elementary School fourth graders departed TISC after their SSLearn Day, I asked for six words describing their feelings. I was blown away when one student excitedly exclaimed “I’m crabby, day had to end”!

Thanks to the San Francisco America’s Cup Organizing Committee and Mayor Lee’s ONESF:Celebrate the Cup program, every fourth grader in San Francisco will be able to spend a day on the bay learning about the ecology of the bay and Dungeness crabs, or San Francisco maritime history, or renewable energy. And go for a sail at Treasure Island Sailing Center on Clipper Cove!

What makes this experiential learning program unique is the curriculum and how it’s delivered. Each day is split into parts: outside activities sharing ideas, inside hands-on time discussing and learning about bay creatures and history, and time in a sailboat driving, touching the water, grabbing seaweed, and experiencing the effects of wind, tide, currents.

Talking while leading stretching excercises is a great way to burn energy while keeping kids’ attention.

Five minutes after the busload of JYC students from Ms. Thormahlen’s Room 306 class pulled into our parking lot last Wednesday at 10am they were running through exercises with our team, breaking into groups of six and getting right down to “work”.

Physical fitness was combined with an overview of TISC early in the day and content-related games as the day progressed. Busy kids are happy kids !

Small groups discuss their field guides in the Activity Center at TISC.

Inside our activity center the 4th graders shared ideas and learned through interaction with our instructor- who guided but did not lecture- and with each other. The Field Journal we provided in advance was their textbook for the day.

It’s no secret the time on the water in sailboats driving, touching the water, discovering seaweed and experiencing the tide, current and wind was the day’s favorite activity. And if a few of these kids show up next summer to take lessons at TISC even better !

TISC’s SSLearn program enables kids to drive an RS Venture sailboat, touch the water, and discover seaweed on Clipper Cove.

Happiness is sailing in an RS Venture on Clipper Cove

Seaweed !!!

When Mother Nature cranks up the breeze, smiles all around are sure to follow.

: Day’s end at 2pm

The pictures above are a few from the many “rolls” taken during the JYC field trip. If you’re a parent and would like to see more of the pictures, ask Ms. Thormahlen for a link to the picture folder. Or contact me directly if you have questions or would like to see additional photos.

Here are two more six-word quotes from Wednesday’s day on Clipper Cove: “So awesome I can’t explain it”; “Best field trip of my life”. To those quotes I would add “Many thanks to Americas Cup organizers”.

Regards from On Clipper Cove, Dave G

In the wake – Here are more pictures from JYC Elementary School’s SSLearn day-on-the-bay last Wednesday:

4th grade students from John Yehall Chin Elementary School arrive at Treasure Island Sailing Center Oct 9th under the new SS Learn experiential learning program

Chris Childers, Program Director at Treasure Island Sailing Center welcomes 22 JYC kids to SSLearn 2013

Yes, that’s West toward San Francisco

It’s not hard to love school when studying about the bay’s ecology and dungeness crabs during an SSLearn session at Treasure Island Sailing Center.

More games, this time used to create “crab stats”

So, what can we learn from this data on dungeness crab population?

The piling is dry on top – does that mean the tide is rising or dropping?

JYC 4th graders listen Phil as he describes the winds and currents on Clipper Cove

While the Oakland loading cranes were not the inspiration for the Star Wars BattleBots this myth sounds cool and lives on.

Meg learning names and introducing her small crew to TISC

An SSLearn RS Venture framed by the western end of Clipper Cove wtih San Francisco in the background.

An SSLearn RS Venture framed by the western end of Clipper Cove with San Francisco in the background.

On the water at TISC’s SSLearn program means REALLY “on the water”

Phil’s crew at Treasure Island Sailing Center on the way to check out life jackets – a mandatory accessory on the docks and of course in the boats.

Annie leads her crew down the ramp to board RS Ventures for their sail on Clipper Cove

Some day at least one of these kids from Wednesday’s SSLearn program will likely attend Berkelely, thanks to inspiration driven by ACOC and OneSF:Celebrate the Cup.

Construction cranes under the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge and container cranes in Oakland frame JYC Students during their October 9th SSLearn class at Treasure Island Sailing Center.

33 happy 4th grade John Yewell Chin Elementary School students depart TISC from their SS Learn class October 9th.

33 happy 4th grade John Yehall Chin Elementary School students depart TISC from their SS Learn class October 9th.

Six Teams Learn, Race, Network at BTR

Posted on October 1, 2013 by skippersgift

Mother Nature delivered near-perfect weather for TISC’s Big Team Regatta on Friday. PG&E set the pace while Goldman Sachs set a great example. Bishop Ranch, Hanson Bridgett and Recommind teams rounded out the generous teams who raised $30,000 for our youth programs.

BTR is the major Treasure Island Sailing Center fundraiser each year. It’s made possible by the generous donation of facilities, boats and coaches from OCSC and the hard work of our TISC team plus many volunteers from Cal Sailing Team.

This regatta was the brainchild of Jay Palace at Group Experiential Learning. It provides an opportunity for companies to give back to the sailing community by sponsoring four participants who expand their sailing skills and have fun while learning to work efficiently as a team on and off the water. And meet other like-minded sailing enthusiasts and youth sailing supporters!

PG&E entered two teams this year and lead both on the water, placing one – two, and off with a total donation of $10,000. Goldman Sachs sponsored four junior sailors who represented TISC and accepted the donation made possible by all BTR participants.

Some of these junior sailors are new to TISC, some have been sailing with us over five years. They include junior instructors, office interns and an inventor creating a foiling Moth. They sail Optis and FJ’s. All great kids learning life lessons while developing self-confidence in themselves as they help others

OCSC’s Club Manager Tim Han was the regatta PRO who delivered pre-race briefings, kept everyone on schedule and ran 5 exciting races with help from Christina Ha and Tracy Rogers. BTR sailors were on high learning curves thanks to their OCSC coaches Ashley, Bruce, David, Eric, Jim and Larry.

Racing was very clost at this year’s BTR. The first race saw four boats cross the finishe line within seconds of each other.

Carisa Harris-Adamson, co-chairman of the TISC Foundation, reminded participants about the effectiveness of hands-on learning and highlighted our new Set Sail Learn program launched in partnership with ONESF: Celebrate the Cup.

Norbert Bajurin, commodore of Golden Gate Yacht Club and fresh from a dramatic ending to the 34th America’s Cup races, provided a timely and topical keynote. He spoke about the importance of junior sailing to our youth here in the Bay Area and worldwide, and the focus of GGYC and TISC programs high school and youth sailing programs.

A huge THANK YOU to this year’s participating companies for making Big Team Regatta 2013 a huge success. As with all such great events we have many sponsors and volunteers to thank, and we’ll do so in a future blog.

Thanks, from On the Cove,

Dave G

In the wake:

I was fortunate to have Isabelle and Jorge, youth sailors from our FJ and Opti racing teams, helping out on the photo boat. They helped track the competitors and took some of the pictures available HERE.

A few additional pictures of the six racing team are below.

OnClipperCove

Launching Point for New Horizons

Monthly Archives: October 2013

Connecting the Donor Dots

JYC Kids’ Crabby Day at TISC