Sailing Classes

Level I for beginning sailors ages 8 to 18
Level II for intermediate sailors
Adult Clinics
Adult Classes
See: GCYC Class Schedule Page


On-Line Training

US Sailing and American Sailing Association
Offer on-line classes, tests, and videos
From Beginner to Advanced
See: US Sailing Education Page
American Sailing Association Training Page


GCYC Training Fleet


Sunfish

The club maintains a fleet of Sunfish sailboats. The Sunfish is a small sailing dinghy utilizing a pontoon-type board-shaped hull with a lateen sail mounted on an un-stayed mast. Developed by Alcort, Inc. around 1952 as a wood hull design improvement of their Sailfish, it was changed to fiberglass a few years later. Having a lateen sail with its simple two line rigging makes the Sunfish simple to set-up and learn the basics of sailing.

In 1995 the Sunfish was recognized by The American Sailboat Hall of Fame for being “the most popular fiberglass boat ever designed, with a quarter million sold worldwide”. Today, the Sunfish remains the most popular sailboat of its type and has served as the classroom for several generations of sailors, including some club members.




Flying Junior (FJ)

In 2013, the club bought and restored several Flying Juniors (FJ) at the request of youth sailing graduates looking for the next step in their sailing development. The FJs will be used as the platform for the Level II class now being offered.

The FJ was originally designed in 1955 in the Netherlands to serve as a training boat for the then Olympic-class Flying Dutchman. With a beam of 4'11" and an overall sail area of 100 square feet, the FJ is an ideal class for young sailors.

Today the FJ is sailed worldwide with a International FJ-Class World Championship held annually. It is still popular in High School and Collegiate programs across the United States.




Youth Sailing History

A Youth Sailing Program was added as one of the many club activities during the spring of 1997. This program is designed to instruct young sailing enthusiasts about seamanship, safety and the joys of sailing.
Our certified US Sailing instructors put the young mariners through their paces and give them the skills necessary to safely handle a small sailboat. Graduates have the opportunity to advance their skills by moving up to the club's fleet of larger FJ (Flying Junior) sloops.


Youth Sailing Program Archives