This week, Lincolnville Boat Club offered its first ever advanced sailing course.  It was a great opportunity for young sailors to build upon their previous experience and skill. 

The class began with some dinghy racing work on Norton Pond, where students learned about spinnakers and trapeze harnesses.  They also honed their abilities in mark roundings and racing starts—two important skills for any seasoned racer.

From there, the students travelled to Lincolnville Beach, where they joined LBC board member Steve Nystrom aboard his keel boat, Belvini, for two days of ocean sailing in the Penobscot Bay—including a picnic lunch on Warren Island, one of Maine’s best (and most remote) state parks.

It was a great week filled with smiling faces and an impressive display of skill. Keep a look out for these fantastic young sailors – they all have the kind of talent and drive that will ensure a lifetime of brilliant boathandling.

Knock. 

Lift. 

Puff. 

Pinch.

Do you know what these words mean to a sailor?  Participants in our intermediate sailing course do.  They’ve spent the past week learning the principals of precision boat handling and an introduction to dinghy racing.  Working together, they  practiced everything from role tacks to mark roundings.  And, at the end of the week, their hard work culminated in the first ever Lincolnville Boat Club regatta, sponsored by our fantastic sailing instructors.

This course represents an exciting new direction for the LBC, and one that we are looking forward to developing even further.  Later this summer, our advanced sailing course will focus even further on dinghy racing and will offer participants the opportunity to practice sailing spinnakers, utilizing trapezes and harnesses, and much, much more.  Hope to see you there!

The Lincolnville Boat Club is now on Facebook!  Visit us at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lincolnville-Boat-Club/171847479549518?ref=ts .  There, you can “like” the club to view image galleries, learn more about upcoming events, and network with other sailors. 

We’ll see you there!

Many of our sailors are familiar with Norton Pond’s resident loon, who often swim out to check on our boats and the people in them.  We haven’t seen much of this iconic bird this season.  Today’s “Watershed Happenings” report from Lake Warden Ken Bailey explains why.  We’ve included an excerpt from his newsletter below.  With luck, our feathered friend will be back on the pond soon.

Thanks to the careful observations of MWA members Maryanne and Bill Connell, an injured loon was captured on Norton Pond yesterday and sent to Avian Haven in Freedom for medical observation. The loon was seen displaying odd behavior on Sunday, and was spotted early Monday morning beached near their cottage on the Pond.

A beached loon is a sure sign of physical stress and severe medical issues. With the help of Bill Connell, we captured the loon and placed it into a container. It was then transported by an Avian Haven volunteer to their first-class rehabilitation facility. Initial fears were that the loon had ingested lead which is a death sentence for a loon. After blood work and x-rays, it was determined that no lead was present. They did find some fine pieces of wire in its stomach.

Avian Haven reported on Tuesday afternoon the loon had been eating fish and appeared alert. They had conferred with specialists at Tufts University who have suggested they monitor the bird for a few days to see if it passes the small pieces of wire.

A special thanks to Maryanne Connell for her wonderful photographs.  For more information on Avian Haven – or to help their excellent effort – visit their website at: http://www.avianhaven.org/

Our 2011 Summer Sailing Program is off to a great start! This week, we hosted a group of talented sailors from nearby Tanglewood, a 4-H Residential Camp. These campers learned the basics of sailing, participated in some fun races with our instructors, and even constructed boats out of recycled materials they collected during a park clean-up project.

Next week’s sailing classes are full, but we do have a few spaces remaining in subsequent weeks. Be sure to call soon (207.975.4916) to reserve your place. We can’t wait to see you on the water!

-Kate

This summer Steve Nystrom has passed the reigns of Program Director to Kate Miles!  Steve claims this is going to allow him to paint his house–a task that he’s been harping about for 3 years.  We’ll see.

And yet, he’s still answering the phone.  That’s because Kate’s love of sailing is taking her across the Atlantic for the month of May and June.  She is helping to take a sailboat to the Mediterranean.  Quite exciting!  She’s due back just before classes start on the 4th of July.  We’re looking forward to the stories!