Shinnecock Yacht Club (SYC) recently announced its 2023 summer sailing programs for families on the East End of Long Island — including members and nonmembers alike.
John Zambriski, the new sailing director, has come aboard with over 30 years of experience teaching, coaching and directing sailing programs. He has sent numerous sailors to U.S. Sailing regional and national events and created racing teams that annually competed at the top of their fleets. Just as importantly, he has started many junior sailing programs that foster love and enjoyment of the lifetime sport of sailing.
With Memorial Day behind us, this esteemed club in Quogue provides children and adults with the chance to spend the summer on the water cruising Shinnecock Bay, learning how to sail and creating enduring friendships. From the novice to the recreational sailor to the competitive racer, SYC has an enthusiastic group of instructors eager to make every lesson safe, instructional and fun.
To instill a lifelong love of sailing, SYC offers a comprehensive array of opportunities to meet the needs of all ages and abilities.
The 2023 Junior Sailing program, for children ages 6 through 18, will run from June 26 to August 18, and consists of eight one-week sessions. Each session runs three hours a day, Monday through Friday. Children may choose to sail in the mornings, afternoons, or both, and are enabled to advance to higher levels or boats as the summer goes on. Families do not need to be members to register their children for junior sailing. Private lessons are also offered for both children and adults.
With individual and small group sailing instruction, the junior sailing program gives sailors the experience they need to continue sailing and/or racing long after they have completed their lessons. SYC offers four classes of sailboats to provide a variety of learning opportunities. Each of these fleets offers a different experience, from learning to sail, to racing, to mastering the winds for enjoyment.
The race committee at SYC will also continue its tradition of hosting adult sailing races, with six currently scheduled for the 2023 season between June and September.
Shinnecock Yacht Club was organized on April 20, 1887, with a mission to promote sailboat racing in Shinnecock Bay. Since its inaugural race from Phillips Point on July 4, 1888, SYC has consistently run competitive sailboat races from the clubhouse docks, now located on Penniman Creek in Shinnecock Bay.
Members have raced a variety of one-design sailboat classes over the club’s history, including Class AA and BB catboats, sunfish, celebrity class sailboats, opti prams, JY 15s, and the Shinnecock Sloop (SS) Class small sloop, also known as “The Magic Boat,” commissioned in 1908 and built by local boatbuilder Benjamin Hallock. The SS Class is still raced today on Shinnecock Bay and nearby waters, a testament to its durability and design as an ideal racing boat for Long Island’s south shore.
Shinnecock Yacht Club is proud of its firm place in the history of boating on Shinnecock Bay, and of establishing and continuing the fine traditions of one-design sailboat racing on the south shore of Long Island and throughout the country.
For questions about the Junior Sailing program, contact John Zambriski at coachjohn@shinnecockyachtclub.com.
For more information about adult racing, crewing, or running committee boats, contact admin@shinnecockyachtclub.com.
For more information about SS Class Association (“SSCA”) races or boats, contact Ian Connett at ianconnett@gmail.com.
All schedules, registrations, and further details can be found at shinnecockyachtclub.com.
Staff Writer on May 30, 2023