FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — For kids who grow up on Lake Winnebago, sailing and water sports are practically part of their culture.
That’s why the Fond du Lac Yacht Club has been providing free sailing lessons to kids every summer for 64 years.
Of those 64 years, 13-year-old Jimmy Streeter has been sailing for four.
"It's fun!” Streeter said. “And when it's windy you get to go real fast... I like that!"
Streeter said he always looks forward to getting out on the lake every summer.
“You can do a lot of cool tricks,” Streeter said. “Anything you can think of, you can do.”
Youth Sailing Chair Rob Ritchie said the fact that this program is free makes it unique. He said other programs in Wisconsin can charge up to $200 for lessons.
But kids in Fond du Lac can enjoy sailing without the high price tag.
"You might be from a fishing family…we've got fishermen parents with now that are sailing kids,” Ritchie said. “So anybody that lives in Fond du Lac, or any town around this lake, probably is a boater, knows a boater, or is a boater.”
Head coach Kevin Gratton is a graduate of the program himself.
"It would have been [the] late sixties when I was in the program, and things are pretty primitive compared to what we have now,” Gratton said. “Me and my sister were sent to the lessons and we both fell in love with it. "
Gratton said his lifelong love of sailing all started on Lake Winnebago.
“It became my life,” Gratton said.
Coaches said many kids can catch on to sailing quickly, and Streeter agrees.
"It's easy,” he said.
For this next generation of Fond du Lac sailors, these skills will stay with them years after they dock their boats.
"I think I'll be sailing for the rest of my life,” Streeter said.
More information on the sailing club can be found on the Fond du Lac Sailing Club’s website.
