Environment Opening eyes
In addition to their many high profile sponsorships, 11th Hour Racing is working quietly away giving opportunities to thousands of youngsters who would otherwise never experience the sea
Sailing has a remarkable power to change lives. As most sailors know, it’s one of the most effective ways to learn essential life skills such as, leadership, teamwork and self- reliance while building confidence, reducing anxiety and discovering a new sense of purpose. Children in particular learn a lot through sailing. Sailing also provides an intuitive, practical context for key concepts of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) – without a good grasp of vectors, for example, you won’t get to the windward mark. It’s especially empowering for kids growing up in difficult circumstances, as it offers a fresh start on a level playing field – or at least one that’s equally choppy for people from all walks of life. Of the hundreds of grants that 11th Hour Racing has awarded, 37 grants totalling $1.5m directly support a wide range of non-profit organisations that are working to reconnect people with their local waterways, giving more than 17,000 underserved kids an opportunity to get afloat. Many of the low-income communities located near the waterfront still lack access to on- water activities. By providing access and opportunities on the water, urgent issues such as water pollution and the importance of biodiversity and ocean health come to life on a
80 SEAHORSE personal and local level.
11th Hour Racing grantees also use boatbuilding to inspire people and foster positive change in their lives. You can’t build a car or even a bicycle without advanced technical skills and a lot of equipment, but with a bit of guidance anyone can easily and cheaply build a boat that floats. And nothing beats the empowerment you get from successfully launching a boat you’ve built with your own hands and sailing or rowing somewhere in it. These benefits might seem obvious to those who grew up with a tiller in one hand and a mainsheet in the other, but trying to explain that to the people who are responsible for guiding these children but have no experience of sailing themselves is a challenge worth pursuing. The people who lead these community sailing and boating groups are remarkable, and so are the results.
‘Recruiting is often the hardest part, convincing schools and parents that we have something valuable to offer,’ says Patrick McBriarty, a volunteer member of the organising committee of Chicago Maritime Arts Center (CMAC), an 11th Hour Racing grantee. Established in 2017, CMAC offers in-school, after-school and summer camp boatbuilding in some of the toughest neighbourhoods on the south side of Chicago, providing a
Above: New York City kids learn key life and STEM skills through sailing in the fierce tides, gusty winds and shipping infested
waters of the lower Hudson River, where a pioneering sail-training charity gives thousands of low-income residents
access to sail- ing. Support from 11th Hour Racing has helped Hudson River Community Sailing to open its
second Sail Academy in one of the toughest parts of the city
lifeline for at-risk students. ‘We were lucky to partner with the youth baseball organisation Lost Boyz, who were already doing great work with schools in the community,’ he says. ‘There is a nominal charge for our courses but nearly all of our kids are on scholarships. We have yet to refuse a request.’
Teams of six to eight kids build a Bevin’s Skiff – a dinghy designed specifically for youth boatbuilding classes. ‘One of the ways we teach STEM is by showing the kids how to calculate buoyancy, displacement and stability using models in a test tank,’ McBriarty says. ‘We also teach vocational skills like carpentry, plus teamwork and interpersonal skills.’ Ecology is also part of the curriculum. Skills aside, CMAC also boosts its students’ self-esteem. ‘When they’re put in charge of their own boat on that last Saturday morning and are figuring out how to navigate, it’s often the first time anyone has ever trusted them and given them responsibility,’ McBriarty adds. ‘Half of our kids have never been in the water, let alone rowed. Our programmes have a big impact on their lives because they don’t have the same opportunities as others.’ A very successful and growing public-access sailing school is Hudson River Community Sailing
HUDSON RIVER COMMUNITY SAILING
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