A Vessel for Youths to Stow Away Their Troubles

Relief for troubled youngsters is afloat in Newport Harbor.

A local restaurant owner recently donated a 35-foot boat that will be used by Sail for Life, a program that teaches abused and neglected youngsters to sail.

Children who live in area group homes have been making regular trips to the Sea Scout Base on Coast Highway to work on the 25-year-old sloop, and take sailing lessons. Though considered in good shape, the gas-powered ship needs some engine work and other maintenance. The kids will help with the tasks.

“They have to work together,” said Judi Rigney, a retired engineer from Huntington Beach who volunteers with the program. “The boat can’t sail with one person. It has to have everyone doing their job.”

Volunteers say sailing teaches cooperation, patience, technical skills and pride. The teens take weeknight classes taught by volunteers, preparing for jaunts as far away as Santa Catalina Island.

The donated fiberglass Ericson, trimmed in aluminum and teak, replaces a smaller boat. The new rig has room for 10 children, double the capacity of its predecessor, and will serve about 35 teens a year.

Long a supporter of the Boy Scouts, Cannery Restaurant owner Bill Hamilton donated the Golden Girl to the Sea Scout Base. The Scouts agreed to allow Sail for Life to use the $25,000 boat, which will get a new name and a dock.

Sailing can provide the children a respite from the challenges of a life broken up by family problems, violence, drugs or gangs.

At sea, “it’s completely quiet, even if you’re going 7 to 8 knots, it feels like you’re flying,” said a 14-year-old enrolled in the program. Another boy, 16, wants to turn the experience into a career: “I may go into the Coast Guard or Navy. It’s pretty cool.”

Said Jim Giuliano, the program’s volunteer skipper: “As unhappy as they seem on land, when they get on that boat you start seeing smiles coming out.”

A longtime sailor from Lake Forest, Giuliano volunteered about two years ago to continue passing on his passion for boating.

“Initially, I didn’t think I had much to offer other than my love of sailing,” Giuliano said. “Now I want to put as many kids through there as I can.”

For information on the program, contact Giuliano at (949) 580-2664 or Rigney at (562) 598-2079.