b'Instructor Calder RobbinsAdult SailingThe best part of beingOur adult recreational sailing program continues to grow as more adults an instructor is watchingthan ever took lessons and passed their skills assessment class this that moment when all ofsummer.This accomplishment enabled them to get out on the bay the pieces finally click,without an instructor and enjoy the use of any of our 80 boats.and you see a sailor go from uncomfortable and unsure to confident and in control. Spending summer on Pleasant Bay teaching people how to sail has to be one of the best gigs out there. How I will sit at a desk or work in a lab after PBCB is hard to imagine. Given the students, the staff, and the Bay, you really cant beat this experience. This summer posed plenty of new challenges for instructors as well as for our sailors. Without having the benefit of sailing with instructors in the boat (due to Covid-19 restrictions), beginner sailors were often challenged with solo skippering in Optis and Sunfish. PBCB students rose to the challenge, and by the end of the summer, we regularly saw even the youngest students out comfortably sailing with their friends. Its difficult watching someone struggle with a new skill repeatedly when you arent able toCatboat Program be in the boat to help. Sometimes, listening to the steps involved in a procedure is notThis year, the objective of the Catboat program was to offer a program enough. This summer, whether I was teachingthat focused on developing sailing skills and confidence using our Optis, Sunfish or 420s, I made every effort toCatboats. The three Marshall Sandpipers were set up exclusively for sail alongside my students in the same type ofteaching consistency. Their versatility and stability allowed the classes to boat. Demonstrating what I wanted my studentssail under almost any conditions.Participants explored Big Bay as well to be doing helped tremendously. The best partas Little Pleasant Bay, sailing through channels and shallows, which gave of being an instructor is watching that momentthem a feel for good seamanship while focusing on the basics.when all of the pieces finally click, and you see a sailor go from uncomfortable and unsure toIn early August, we expanded the Catboat Program to include racing. confident and in control.Wednesday afternoon races occurred on three consecutive Wednesdays. This summer was our dry run for a future catboat racing program, which I start to miss summer sailing the moment I getwe intend to develop into a regularly scheduled weekly event. The off the water in the fall, and last spring, I fearedpurpose of racing is not necessarily to win, but to hone sailing skills and all sailing this summer would be lost. Despite allmatch them against those of others. the challenges we faced, we managed to pull off a fantastic and memorable sailing season.Neil Tomkinson and Priscilla Eastman won several races handily in their boat Sophie, as did our Junior Intern Cate Roth in Cats Paw! Our fleet of Sandpipers along with our Handy Cats made for some great competition. The winners were from both extremes: old hands and young upstarts. The real winner, of course, was the sailors:folks of all ages and skill levels learning and growing by racing around the bay.Boat RentalsOur recreational sailing program continues to grow as more adults than ever passed their skills assessment class this summer. This accomplishment enabled them to get out on the bay without an instructor and enjoy the use of any of our fleet of 80 sailboats and kayaks.There were approximately 450 boat rentals this summer. Many members chose to buy a boat card, so they could rent unlimited boats of all kinds.'