Novices learn how to be old salts

Michael Miller

Makenna Zur Schmiede, a 10-year-old from Laguna Beach, learned the

basics of sailing a boat last week. She also learned something

equally valuable -- how to tip over a vessel.

On the second day of a Newport Beach camp called Sailing on the

Bay, Makenna joined her classmates in a beginners’ exercise on how to

straighten a capsized boat. First, instructor George Wallims had

students sail out into the bay on eight-foot sabots and then overturn

them. One sailor held the mast while the others stood on one side of

the vessel, and within a few seconds, the weight caused the boat to

flip over.

It was supposed to be a one-time exercise, but Makenna’s crew

couldn’t quite get the boat upright again. By the time Wallims called

them back to shore, they had flipped over 12 times -- first one way,

then the other.

“It was so much fun,” said Makenna, who has learned the ropes

better since.

Anyone who participates in the Sailing on the Bay camp can expect

to get a little wet. By the end of two weeks, though, they’ll also

know the basics of boating -- from navigating the wind to turning

figure eights around the bay.

“The key here is not so much skill as the fact that they enjoy

this,” said Wallims, a licensed captain, who runs the sailing program

through Recreation Management Services. “If they don’t have a good

experience, they won’t ever buy a sailboat.”

This summer through the end of August, Recreation Management --

contracted by the city of Newport Beach -- is offering one-week

beginning and intermediate sailing camps in Newport Bay. The classes,

which enroll children aged 9 to 17, draw aspiring sailors from around

Southern California.

On the first day of beginner class, Wallims takes the students out

on the water with him and teaches them about the “no-go zone” -- in

other words, the 90-degree area in front of the boat that must be

avoided when sailing against the wind. By the second day, students

begin manning the vessels themselves, finally racing against each

other on Friday.

The intermediate class, which many take the following week,

teaches more sophisticated sailing techniques and challenges students

with trickier courses on the water.

For many enrollees, the Sailing on the Bay program was a

first-time experience at the helm. Megan Serrano, a senior a Newport

Harbor High School, joined the class with her 13-year-old cousin,

Michael Davis.

Megan, 17, who had never sailed before, enjoyed being on the water

-- but drew the line at the capsizing drills.

“I watched,” she said. “I didn’t do it. I like staying in the

boat.”

* SCHOOL’S OUT is a weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

writer Michael Miller visits a summer camp within the Newport-Mesa

area and writes about her experience.