Ventura YC celebrates opening day, April 11

VENTURA — In celebration of Ventura Yacht Club’s 48th annual Opening Day bash the club will host a special Youth Sailing Exhibit during the festivities on April 11. Although opening day events are for members only, the exhibit is open to the public.

One of the highlights of the 2015 opening day celebration is a sailing exhibition offered by Ventura YC youth members at 1 p.m.in the bay. The community is invited to view the Youth Sailing Exhibition (free-admission and free-parking) from the promenade between Ventura Harbor Village and Channel Islands National Park Visitors Center, near the end of Spinnaker Drive.

“Kids learn to skipper their own boats, which leads to learning self reliance, independence and other lifelong skills,” said Scott Nordeng, Ventura YC Juniors Sailing Program chair.

Ventura YC offers a Juniors Sailing Program to the community for youth between 8 and 18 years of age. The program teaches the art and sport of sailing through a variety of sailing experiences including races, drills, summer camp sessions, “Sunday-Fundays,” and dinghy race teams. The program has supported hundreds of kids over the years, including their participation in regional and national sailing championships.

Ventura YC’s opening day celebration will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Ventura Harbor. The daylong series of festivities is an annual celebration of the commencement of the boating season. Since the late 19th century, this tradition has been recognized every spring at yacht clubs around the world.

Founded in 1938, Ventura Yacht Club is the oldest yacht club in Ventura County and one of the oldest clubs on the West Coast. The yacht club was formed to support recreational power boating and sailing in Ventura County, and to encourage the exploration of the nearby Channel Islands and the coast of California.