Sail Ahead, a nonprofit organization recently completed its first sailing outing with the Northport VA Medical Center.
“After a few months of prep work, some convincing, planning, a few scheduling setbacks due to weather, everything fell into place on July 22,” said Sean Duclay, who founded the organization along with his brother, Killian. “With perfect weather and the strong support of Oakcliff Sailing, OBMC, the Waterfront Center, the Greenlawn American Legion Post 1244 and Northport VA, Sail Ahead is proud to say that everybody had a great time. For some veterans this was actually their very first time sailing. We feel fortunate to have been the ones making this experience possible.”
The outing took place on the morning of July 22 with the breeze at about 15 knots, temperature in the mid-80s and barely any clouds.
“We started out in the bay under the protection of the shore, allowing our guests to get acquainted with the four boats and the RIB and giving them time to get acclimated to being on the water,” said Duclay. “Later in the day, we moved onto the open waters in Long Island Sound, which provided an even greater appreciation of what sailing is all about.”
The next challenge at Sail Ahead is to launch an even larger operation on Aug. 22 with the added participation of the Northport Yacht Club and possibly the USMMA, in which they will be launching fleets from Oyster Bay, Northport and Kings Point.
Find out more at www.facebook.com/SailAhead or contact info@sailahead.com.
