The Young Mariners Foundation is creating a splash on Stamford”™s waterfront, offering what it says is the first kayak and paddleboard rental service in the city, near Boccuzzi Park on Southfield Ave.
The foundation is best known for its work teaching low-income students life skills through sailing. But since the foundation only uses its private waterfront property five weeks a year, it has launched the rentals site to open up the beach for public use.
“Some of the very most forward-thinking cities have done very well by developing their waterfronts ”“ Boston, Seattle, lots of places in Florida, San Francisco,” said Priscilla Young, the foundation”™s executive director. “This is an effort to do that, but in a public way. The waterfront isn”™t just for people who live in an apartment right there. It”™s for people in the city. This is their park.”
Currently the city of Stamford doesn”™t allow rentals for kayaks or similar water activities on public beaches. They must be on private property.
The revenue from the rentals will help support the program, which is funded primarily through donors. A single kayak or paddleboard costs $25 to rent for an hour and guided tours for up to five people cost $50. The rentals will be available through the fall, which Young said is one of the most enjoyable times of the year to be on the water.
“We believe these new initiatives will add considerably to the waterfront amenities in Stamford,” Young said. “They will increase recreation options for local citizens, benefit local businesses ”“ by bringing more people to the park area and surrounding restaurants and stores ”“ make good use of the waterfront assets of the city of Stamford and provide jobs.”
Last spring the foundation also launched an after-school junior sailing program for children ages eight through 12, for $350. In the six-session course, participants learn how to rig a boat, basic boat-handling skills, knot-tying and water safety. In the new intermediate course offered this fall, students learn how to improve boat-handling skills and boost their confidence in a variety of wind conditions. The foundation is considering an additional adult program in the spring.
For 15 years, the Young Mariners”™ core program has used swimming and sailing as a hands-on way to teach math, science and social studies to low-income students struggling in school. Students are selected for an after-school program in fifth grade to learn how to swim, first aid, the principals of navigation and about the local plants and animals. The following summers, for up to five years, selected students begin to develop confidence, self-reliance and team work skills, by learning how to sail alone, on a team, for sport and in poor weather conditions.
The results are remarkable, Young said. Teachers, parents and the students say the program has helped them become more focused and animated in school. In the foundation”™s 2011 “report card,” it said students in the program showed a 45 percent increase in understanding science topics, a 21 percent increase in math concepts and a 28 percent increase in comprehending social studies.
