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Because of the necessary time
and expense of rebuilding boats and the lack of
marinas and yards capable of handling the amount of
damage, some sailors are looking to an immediate
solution to getting back on the water and
experiencing the feel of the tiller and the wind on
their faces. This is building on a recent boating
phenomenon that has occurred over the last few years
in this area – Small Boat Sailing. In this context,
the adjective “small” applies to boats under 20-ft.
in length and mostly consists sailing dinghies that
are light, can be stored on a dock or in the garage,
and are a lot tippier than the nominally
self-righting keelboats. While there has always
been some activity with small sailboats, such as
Sunfish and Hobie-Cats, on Charlotte Harbor, the
number has increased significantly in the last two
years. The Charlotte Sailing Association, which has
been providing beginners’ sailing courses twice a
year for the last 25 years, uses Ceymor dinghies and
Sunfish to introduce people to sailing. In fact,
there is no better way of teaching the fundamentals
of sailing than on a responsive small boat, but this
program has generally been directed at sailing
larger boats eventually with the offering of an
Intermediate Sailing Course in a 24-ft. Irwin Keel
boat to the graduates. However, some students have
chosen to go the cheaper route with the exhilarating
sailing that comes from sailing a small boat to the
limit.
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The result has been a
movement towards small boats as an activity
in its own right. Dinghies with
multi-colored sails are appearing on the
Punta Gorda Isles perimeter canal and some
are even venturing out into the Harbor.
The occasional windsurfer has been sighted –
yet another indication of the changing
demographics of Charlotte County. A
number of members at the Isles Yacht Club
have anted up and bought four Precision
dinghies for their use. The Punta |
| Gorda Sailing Club now
offers small boat racing on three Wednesdays
each month (primarily for us retirees), and
on Saturday (for the workers) each month.
Up to 20 boats recently participated in the
fun, which included a picnic after the
Saturday races at the Charlotte Beach
Complex. And the recent Leukemia Cup
Regatta included separate races and courses
for small boats and the plans are to include
them again next year. |
More significantly, a group of
enthusiasts have been working with the City of Punta
Gorda to establish the Charlotte Sailing Center,
possibly at Laishley Park. This facility is aimed
at providing permanent storage for Center owned
dinghies, which would be available to the public and
particularly youth groups and schools. The idea is
to introduce more people to the joys of sailing, for
once you are hooked on sailing you are set for an
activity that can be enjoyed both as leisure or at
all competitive levels for the rest of your life.
Next month, maybe, I will expand on an 80+ year-old
sailor racing on the Harbor as well as describing
disabled persons using dinghies with special
controls. Meanwhile, lets hope to see you all back
on the water as soon as possible. 
Please
click here for additional information
on the Punta Gorda Sailing Club.
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interfered with the planned
sailboat-racing program of the Punta Gorda Sailing
Club. The number of undamaged boats identified by
your correspondent at this time can be counted on
two hands, with some spare fingers. However, the
attitude of the sailors, as expressed so far, is
that they can’t wait to get their boats repaired -
causing some conflict with their spouse’s desires to
repair or rebuild the living accommodation. But
when the sun shines, as it does today, we all
realize why we live here in SW Florida and
especially why we live here in Punta Gorda. 
