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Community Corner

First Week of Sailing Camp Puts New Boats to the Test

Half Moon Bay Yacht Club launches their new fleet of Optimist sailboats into the wide open blue of Pillar Point Harbor this week with kids at the helm.

Just enough wind swirled around Pillar Point Harbor to power the Youth Sailing Camp fleet this week, which was the first of seven weeks of camp being offered by the Half Moon Bay Yacht Club (HMBYC) in Princeton by the Sea.

What makes the camp this year so exciting are the new boats: HMBYC members were busy this past winter , which are perfectly rigged and crafted in size and nature for kids to learn the art of sailing.

At camp on Wednesday this week the day began with classroom training followed by a game of sponge tag in which campers must obey the rules of sailing while throwing a sponge onto another boat.

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The skull and crossbones Jolly Roger flag flew on the dock's flag pole and echoed the theme for the next event, an expedition and treasure hunt. The sailors followed a course of buoys to a destination and then practiced capsizing and righting their boats.

Head sailing coach, Hanna Tuson-Turner, drove a whaler boat alongside the sailors, giving instruction on sail trimming and wind direction. Patrick Melley kindly took this photographer in another motor boat to snap these pictures.

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