A hearty ‘welcome aboard’ to SUNY Maritime, who will be participating in Summer Sailstice for the first time this year. On Thursday, June 18, from 5 p.m. until dark, they will host free introductory sails aboard three of their small keelboats - a Colgate 26, Sonar 23 and a J-24. All sails will depart and return to their Throg’s Neck location at the southeast corner of the Bronx.
The State University of New York’s Maritime College is best know as the largest and oldest maritime college in the country. They offer four-year degrees in, among other things, Marine Engineering, Naval Architecture, Marine Business and Commerce, and International Transportation and Trade. Their 565-ft, 17,000-ton training ship, the Empire State VI, makes regular voyages abroad, and SUNY cadets can expect to travel aboard the ship to at least 12 foreign countries while attending school. One of the better-known SUNY Maritime alumni is Scott Kelly (class of ’87), the NASA astronaut who recently signed up to spend an entire year in space.
Talk about location-location-location! SUNY Maritime, located on what was once a military fort, still “guards” the East entrance to Long Island Sound.
A lot of sailing also goes on at SUNY, in programs set up and chaired by another notable alumni: Gary Jobson. The school's Waterfront Program currently boasts a fleet of 20 new Vanguard 420s and 6 Vanguard FJs, as well as a Sonar 23, J/24, Colgate 26 and the three big boats mentioned earlier. The boats are used both by the school’s sailing team, and in various sailing programs open to the general public. In addition to top-end seminars such as the Storm Trysail Foundations Safety-at-Sea, and North U Racing Tactics, there are such offerings as:
· * Maritime Adventure Boat Camp – a two-week program for 5th through 9th graders puts kids aboard SUNY’s keelboats. In addition to sailing, students can try powerboating, scuba diving, kayaking and other disciplines. Graduates earn a New York State Boating Safety Certificate.
· * Learn to Sail (Basic Keelboat) – For those 16 and older, this is the course. A combination of chalk-talks and practical hands-on experience aboard the school’s mid-size keelboats gives people the basic skills to introduce them into the world of sailing.
· * Community Sailing – From May through July, SUNY invites the community to get out on the water for an evening sail on their mid-size keelboats. Improve your skills or just kick back and enjoy the world go by.
· * High School Team Racing Clinic – Two days of racing and coaching in Collegiate 420s for 8th to 12th graders interested in taking their racing skills to a new level, both individually and as a team.
SUNY also has big boats such as this Frers 45 'Crazy Horse' as part of the schools training fleet.'
For more on SUNY Maritime’s sailing programs or Summer Sailstice event, check out their informative website at www.sunymaritime.edu, and click on “Waterfront”.
See more about the SUNY heritage from graduate Gary Jobson.
SUNY’s dinghy fleet does double duty in their various sail-training programs and the college's sailing team.
Kids love SUNY sailing camp!
