Cody Englander
Staff writer
Last Thursday evening, the John R. Turney Sailing Center hosted the fifth annual Yacht Club Ball in partnership with the Chautauqua Yacht Club, ultimately raising $12,000 for the Turney Sailing Center.
The evening included a silent auction and live music, as well as the annual commerative tumblers for attendees to take home. The fundraiser was to benefit youth sailing education and the Level 1 fund for the Turney Sailing Center’s instructors. The larger overall objective for both the Yacht Club and the Turney Sailing Center is to get younger generations interested in sailing.
Most instructors at Turney Sailing Center are homegrown from the Chautauqua Institution community. Many originally grew up in Boys’ and Girls’ Club and began sailing through that program. After a hiatus of several years, the sailing curriculum has been reintroducted at Club.
“As much as it’s a challenge … the Sailing Center was losing instructors,” said Rob Carter, Yacht Club member and lifelong Chautauquan.
Around 80% of the Turney Sailing Center’s instructors came from Boys’ and Girls’ Club’s sailing program, according to Head Sailing Instructor Jack Carter.
To draw interest from a younger crowd, both the Turney Sailing Center and Yacht Club are looking into ways to gain interest from younger sailors.
“We’ve talked about having some all-girl classes,” said Carter. “We’ve talked about using sailing as a STEM course.”
Through previous fundraisers, changes have already been put in place to improve the Turney Sailing Center. The roof had renovations during the off-season, and in 2023, sailing instructors earned Level 2certification. There are currently five instructors at the Turney Sailing Center with Level 2 sailing instructor certifications from U.S. Sailing, the national governing body for the sport. The certification prepared instructors in how to teach advanced sailing techniques more effectively.
“We knew that instructors needed a level of training they didn’t have,” said Carter.
Retiring older boats is one of the future aspirations for Carter and Sailing Director Patrick Kelly.
“Our goal is to exceed what we do every year,” said Carter. “There is something here worth raising money for. Whoever comes after this generation, we want them to have the equipment to keep it running.”
