Courageous Sailing Center

CONTACT:

One First Ave., Charlestown Navy Yard
Boston, MA 02129
617-242-3821
www.courageoussailing.org

Mary Yntema, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

Henry McDonough was a South Boston sailing enthusiast who believed that sailing could teach values and life-skills to kids of all backgrounds and ethnicities. In 1987 he founded Courageous as a public charity, to make such a program available free of charge to any child in Boston. In 2003, 2,300 kids, ages 8 to 18, participated in the program. The Courageous summer program has five steps: One, a half-day introduction for first-time sailors; Two, a week-long basic sailing skills course;Three, a summer-long course for advanced sailors to learn racing, cruising, or both; Four, students 14-17 learn to teach sailing, honing their leadership, presentation and communication skills; and Five, they teach, as “Young Leaders.” Every stage is accompanied by an environmental education component in collaboration with Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, (Cats ‘99 and ‘01) about the Boston Harbor ecosystem, its cleanup and maintenance. The program has broadened with afterschool sailing, a special outreach of half the staff and fleet to Dorchester Bay, a Special Olympics training program, national blind sailing competitions, and an "Adventure Sail" program with Big and Little Sisters. And in 2002, Courageous launched a high school program to address the disparity between extracurricular activities at public and private schools. All this needs financial support, and donors, please note: 93¢ out of every dollar goes directly to programs.

(2003: HUMAN SERVICES: Children and Youth: Sports and Summer)