Located on Pistakee Lake, part of the Chain O’Lakes in Johnsburg, Illinois, the Pistakee Yacht Club (PYC) has been a steadfast advocate for sailing on one of the busiest recreational waterways in the United States. Founded in 1897 by members of the Chicago Yacht Club seeking a summer retreat in the countryside, PYC has upheld a deep-rooted sailing tradition despite the area’s dominance by powerboats.
In 2012, four Pistakee Yacht Club members recognized a need to expand access to sailing in the area and established the Community Sailing School @ Pistakee (CSS@P). Operating as a nonprofit, the school provides educational programs aimed at making sailing accessible to all.
The school began by offering week-long Beginner and Advanced Sailing Camps, and also Kindersail and Adult Sailing classes. It also partnered with the local high school to offer a six-week sailing course during the school day, and offered Sailing + STEM classes at area middle schools. STEM activities are now a regular part of the sailing curriculum. Staying true to their core value of being an all-inclusive sailing school.
Kathleen Winkiel, who serves on the school’s board, took an Adaptive Sailing Instructor Course with US Sailing’s Betsy Alison in 2023. The number one thing Winkiel learned was that a center doesn’t need 100% perfect facilities to run an adaptive sailing program – just the passion to make it succeed. Inspired, the next year Winkiel had Betsy Alison come teach the CSS@P instructors and volunteers all about adaptive sailing.
“Betsy was a wealth of information and an inspiration to us all,” said John Katzenmayer, CSS Executive Director.
Alison has been on the front lines of US Sailing’s Adaptive School/Center Accreditation Program, which offers accreditation and resources for schools and centers that are interested in starting adaptive sailing programs, allowing more people to gain access to the water. US Sailing also offers Adaptive Sailing Instructor courses, training instructors from across the country on topics like facility requirements, disability types/populations, breaking down barriers to participation, safety requirements, volunteer/staff training and a detailed overview of how to correctly adapt a center’s equipment (or what equipment is available to purchase).
With the training in place, CSS@P reached out to three local nonprofit organizations – Pioneer Center, NISRA (Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association), and Shriners Children’s Hospital – that serve individuals with cognitive, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities, to see how the CCS@P Adaptive Sailing Program could serve their patients and clientele. Once these partnerships were established, CSS@P was able to apply for a Transformational Grant through The Community Foundation for McHenry County, providing them with the necessary funds to establish the Adaptive Sailing Program, and to expand it over a three-year period.
CSS@P’s Adaptive Sailing Program is offered over a two-week period in June and July. Two partner organizations come in the morning, and the third partner organization comes in the evening. The school uses Flying Scot’s, a Rhodes 19, and a Precision 18 for on-the-water sailing instruction. While the boats haven’t been physically adapted much – so far the program’s students have mostly had developmental, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, rather than physical – the program has electric lifts, noise cancelling headphones, and cushions to make the sensory experience better for sailors.
The school’s goal is to purchase a Hoyer lift so they can accommodate students with physical disabilities.
The adaptive program was recognized by NISRA, one of their partner organizations, at their Recognition Night banquet last month for being the “Exceptional Community Partner 2024.” The adaptive program has made an impact on the community and on the sailors themselves, with many coming back for second sessions if they can.
“The students were very excited about learning how to sail. You could see on their faces that they were ‘into it,’” said Katzenmayer. “They asked a lot of questions, and couldn’t wait to try out being the skipper and also serving as crew on our sailboats. All in all, it was a very fun, positive, challenging, and rewarding learning experience for both students and instructors!”
Right now, the Adaptive Sailing Program is limited to those partner organizations, but CSS@P’s ultimate goal is to open the program to the general public as one of their regular course offerings. Interested in learning more about the Community Sailing School @ Pistakee? Learn more about them here: https://www.commsailpistakee.org/