Ultimate steward of sailing | Letter

Published 10:36 am Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Ray Jarecki was a great steward of the sport of sailing. For many years Ray has kept a close eye on the development of the Junior Sailing Program supported by Orcas Island Yacht Club of which Ray was commodore in 1997. In 2007 this program merged with Sail Orcas, which is now managed by its board member Betsy Wareham. Support for boats, parts, instructors, safety boats  has come from fundraising tuitions and in no small part from the support and guidance of Ray Jarecki.

Few yacht clubs can foster boating with the young up and coming sailors, yet our program has momentum as 180 individuals take 250 lessons per year on average despite the economic conditions.

Burke Thomas, head coach of the Orcas high school team, said, “The importance of the starter programs is immeasurable for the training needed for our team and for entering on instructor level while still in high school. So far we have graduated nearly 40 high school students who started in the Jr. Program. We have gone to Nationals  five times and now have placed  about 20 graduates in the marine industry with more to come!”

I started racing at the age of five in an eight-foot El Toro  with the support of my father Howard White and remain an active racer.  I understand the importance of parent, coach and program support from an early age, therefore I am personally grateful to Ray’s commitments.

Ray is largely responsible for the accomplishments of this program and I applaud him for making  the junior sailing program a priority during his life with us on Orcas! For more history of Ray’s accomplishments visit http://sailorcas.org/?content=jarecki.

Chris White

Sail Orcas and Orcas Island Yacht Club