Fourth graders at the Springs School are sailing into the summer with their own mini-sailboats, thanks to the East End Classic Boat Society. On Monday, members of the society held an educational workshop at the school to help kids build sailboat models and get them excited about boating. The program, now in its second year, began at the Amagansett School and expanded to Springs.
In a series of two classes, students sanded, painted, and assembled their own models with help from Stuart Close, the program coordinator and a longtime member of the boat society. As he led the fourth graders through the assembly process, Mr. Close also taught them basic nautical terms and shed light on the rich history of sailing here on the East End. “So many of our ancestors made their livelihoods from the sea,” he said.
Melissa Knight, a fourth-grade Springs School teacher whom he approached about doing the workshop, was enthusiastic about the results. “It’s definitely inspired a lot of them to try sailing, and made them aware that it is an actual trade still,” she said.
Class moms, grandmas, grandpas, and teachers all joined in on the workshops, sitting alongside students eager to test out their finished models in the mini-pools provided by the boat society. Sophie Lancashire said she was excited to test her model out on the bay and eventually try sailing with her own “real-life boat.”
Given its success, the school hopes to repeat the program with the East End Classic Boat Society next year, expanding it to other age groups as well.