Volume 1 — Issue 2 — May, 2026

Counting Down to Our 19th Season’s Cast Off!

The Work Behind the Magic

By the time the first campers step onto the docks at Winter Island in late June—wide-eyed, sunscreen on their faces, life jackets in hand, and excitement written all over them—few realize that Sail Salem’s summer season has already been underway for months.

What looks effortless on opening day is anything but.

Preparing for camp is much like preparing a vessel for an important voyage. Long before splashing a boat and hoisting a sail, dozens of moving parts and many hours served by dedicated volunteers must come together with a shared purpose: to create a safe, inspiring, and unforgettable experience for every child who joins us.

The work begins in the heart of winter.

While snow still blankets the harbor, Sail Salem’s leadership is already hard at work recruiting the right Camp Director, assembling an exceptional team of counselors and instructors, conducting interviews, reviewing contracts, and planning the training that ensures our staff are prepared not just to teach sailing, but to mentor, inspire, and lead. Safety always comes first, and our instructors complete specialized boating, rescue, and on-the-water certification training long before meeting their first camper.

At the same time, another team is hard at work behind computer screens, kitchen tables, and committee meetings building registration systems, updating calendars, refining policies, securing permits, and coordinating with families. Financial aid opportunities, funded by our Brad White Scholarship Fund, are shared through City Connects, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Salem, Salem Public Schools, and other community partners to ensure that no child is left on the dock because of financial circumstances.

Parents’ guides are refreshed. Forms are translated. Outreach campaigns are launched. Grant proposals are written. Donors are contacted. Every detail matters because accessibility matters. Our marketing team develops a plan and calendar to ensure timely and informative communication for the year.

Then spring arrives—and the waterfront comes alive.

Covers come off the boats. Hulls are inspected. Rigging is checked and rechecked. Sails are inventoried. Engines are serviced. Moorings are inspected. Floats and docks are repaired, repositioned, and secured. Safety gear is examined piece by piece. Classrooms are stocked. Radios are tested. Fuel tanks are filled. First-aid kits are replenished.

Every line, shackle, cleat, and pennant tells a story of preparation.

Meanwhile, our administrative team work tirelessly to navigate the mountain of details required to safely operate a licensed summer camp: health records, waivers, payroll systems, background checks, Department of Public Health compliance, fire inspections, building certifications, insurance reviews, and countless other documents that most families never see but that make opening day possible.

Camper and counselor shirts are ordered. Cameras and storytellers are lined up to capture the season’s memories. Volunteers are stepping forward to support our Adult Learn-to-Sail program. Board members, parents, donors, instructors, and friends all play their part. And then—almost before anyone notices—June arrives.

The boats are on their moorings.
The docks are in place.
The counselors are trained.
The paperwork is complete.
The harbor is ready.

Over two hundred children will sail in over three hundred camp weeks of lessons.

And standing quietly behind it all is a remarkable team of people who believe deeply that every child deserves the confidence, independence, joy, and sense of possibility that comes from being on the water.

That is the work behind the magic.

That is Sail Salem and our many contributors help us keep the docks open for every child who wants to join us.

And every year, as we welcome another generation of young sailors, we are reminded that it is worth every effort.

—The Sail Salem Team

From Vision To Victory: How Sail Salem Helped Make the Salem High School Sailing Team A Reality

For years, the absence of a sailing team at Salem High School stood out on Massachusetts’ North Shore. Surrounded by communities with strong scholastic sailing traditions, Salem remained the only local high school without a team of its own—a surprising reality for a city so closely tied to the sea.

That began to change with a vision championed by then Mayor Kim Driscoll. Early in Sail Salem’s development, she made her goals clear: Salem should have both a community sailing program open to all youth and, one day, a high school sailing team to represent the city on the water.

Sail Salem took on that challenge.

“It took a while,” supporters said, “but it was worth the wait.”

Building the Foundation

Before a high school team could become reality, Sail Salem first needed to strengthen its fleet. For years, its summer programs relied on borrowed Club 420s from Pingree School. Those boats served hundreds of young sailors well, but the aging fleet required constant repairs, replacement sails, and ongoing maintenance.

A turning point came in 2022, when Sail Salem board member Paige Covello helped secure a transformational family donation that provided the support needed to modernize the organization’s Club 420 fleet.

During July and August 2022, then-President Rick Haigis, Board members Larry Talbot and Fred Atkins, and other volunteers began searching for replacement boats. Their effort was strengthened by guidance from Matt Lindblad, longtime coach and sailing director at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The result was an upgraded fleet of Club 420s from MIT, the same type of boats used by high school sailing programs across New England.

Turning Vision Into Reality

By August 2022, the effort had gained real momentum. Rick Haigis and Dave Smith welcomed Salem Superintendent Stephen Zrike—now Massachusetts Secretary of Education—to Winter Island for a tour of Sail Salem’s facilities and a discussion about bringing scholastic sailing to Salem High. Dr. Zrike voiced strong support and arranged for Sail Salem leaders to present the proposal to the Salem School Committee, giving the initiative the visibility and credibility it needed to move forward. The effort also earned support from Bill McHugh, a longtime harbor leader and Sail Salem advisor, who recognized the program’s educational and community value.
 

For Schuyler Ward, Salem High’s head sailing coach, that transition from idea to reality happened quickly.

“One day in January 2023, my neighbor walked across the street and strongly urged me to apply for Salem High School’s head sailing coach position. I had a background in youth sailing instruction at Pleasant Bay Community Boating and experience racing on the Chatham Yacht Club summer team.

I applied and interviewed with Athletic Director Reilly Christy and a parent of one of the interested sailors. After discussing the technical aspects of sailing and how I would support student-athletes, I was offered the job. Donations helped us purchase drysuits and adult life jackets, and partnerships with manufacturers, including Gill Marine, benefited the entire league.

That first year, our sailors arrived with a wide range of experience, from a few summers at Sail Salem to no sailing background at all. Since then, the program has developed steadily, and this season our sailors are stronger than ever in boat handling, racing, and their understanding of the rules. The team has also expanded its grant applications, increased fundraising efforts, and built new partnerships, including support from local business Harbor Sweets.

This spring also marked a symbolic milestone: for the first time, a sailboat was displayed at the high school entrance—and it was a Sail Salem boat.

Interest in the sailing team has continued to grow, along with the skill level of our sailors. This season marked the program’s first wins in match-set competition, giving us a strong foundation and increasing local support to build on.”

Summer Sailing Camp Still Has Availability

Our core has always been our youth sailing programs delivered in a summer camp format. We welcome kids of all skill levels. Spots are filling up quickly. Find out about availability and register for this summer’s camp on our website.

We Care!

Sustaining the ocean and protecting the local coastline is vital to our mission. Our STEAM education program teaches responsible stewardship of our marine environment and is an important part of our camp curriculum.

Providing Unforgettable Experiences

Sail Salem connects our community to the sea through historic sailing, maritime education, and hands-on experiences on the water. Your donation helps maintain our watercraft and equipment and expand our STEAM educational program. Every gift helps keep our sails full and our mission moving forward.

Our community is the wind behind our sails.
Thank you for being a part of it!

Sail Salem does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, disability, ancestry, age, marital status, public assistance status, veteran/military status, or genetic information and is funded, in part, by the City of Salem Department of Planning & Community Development and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.