You’ve seen them from Palm Avenue bridge. Small boats with colorful sails zigzag across Garrison Bight, the speed, skill level and size of the sailors on board ranging from a 10-year-old expert to a 50-year-old first-timer. And that’s the point.
For 50 years now, the Key West Community Sailing Center (KWCSC) has been teaching Key West residents to sail – residents of all ages and experience.
“As long as you can swim, you can learn to sail here,” said Ben Hermelin, executive director of the nonprofit center located at the foot of the Palm Avenue bridge.
The group recently combined its 50th anniversary celebration with an end-of-summer send-off for the 230 or so kids who spent one or more weeks learning to tack, jibe, duck and center the tiller — after learning what each of those words means, of course.
An informal group of sailors started the group in 1974, and always welcomed new members and students. The center always operated as a nonprofit, but received its formal status in 2011, Hermelin said.
The KWCSC now maintains about 40 small sailing vessels and since 2021 has welcomed nearly 700 kids to its after-school, weekend and summer camp sessions.
“And that’s not counting returning participants, adult programs, private lessons or member sailing, which would put us well into the thousands, just since 2021,” Hermelin said. “This summer alone we had over 230 participants, and roughly 20% of them receive financial aid scholarships each year. One of our main goals is to make sailing affordable and accessible to the community. In many cases, sailing is an expensive sport not available to most people. We do not want this to be the case in Key West, where one of our most valuable resources is the waters surrounding us. That is why it is so important for us to keep our fees affordable to all, and to raise money every year to fund our scholarship program.”
With two full-time staff members and one part-time employee, the center depends on 13 volunteer board members and about 20 youth volunteers to conduct its summer camps and adult lessons.
Hermelin said students are able to sail on their own after a week of lessons, but added that sailing is a lifelong skill that allows for constant improvement and different experiences.
“There are so many valuable lessons to be learned from this sport — independence, adaptability, teamwork, coordination, fine-tune adjusting and many more. That’s why so many sailors continue sailing for their entire lives.”
The KWCSC is the only facility of its kind in the Lower Keys, and unlike in other cities, like Annapolis, Maryland, that are known for sailing, the sport can be done year-round in Key West.
“Sailing is a sport that appeals to so many people: the social butterfly who wants to sail with friends and enjoy time on the water; the introvert who wants to improve their individual skills and experiment with racing, and the family that wants to get away and experience nature together,” Hermelin said.More information is at keywestsailingcenter.org, on Facebook or via email to Hermelin at executivedirector@kwcsc.org.
