The Manatee River Pram Fleet: Now

The race fleet sails out to the race course.

The therapeutic sound of water slapping on the hull of the boat gives off a peaceful feeling, but pram instructor Danny Wiedenholt seems distracted. His mind isn’t on the interview; it’s on the safety of the children who are sailing out of the "cut."

It seems nothing gets by Wiedenholt.  In mid-sentence, he notices that pram student Hayley isn’t wearing her life jacket, and two other sailors are flirting. He has eyes in the back of his head when it comes to the kids he is teaching.

Wiedenholt is preparing for summer classes. During the time when children are out of school, the Manatee River Pram Fleet offers classes that teach kids the fundamentals of sailing. The organization is non-profit and is run through a trust that anyone can contribute to, in order to keep the program going.

Once free to all children, new equipment and lack of funding has put a price on what used to be invaluable, but kids are still getting a great deal.

The summer is broken up into five sessions, each being a two-week class that teaches the children how to sail. Each lesson is either in the morning or afternoon, depending on experience. The morning classes are reserved for beginners and cost $100, while the afternoon classes are for intermediate children and cost $125.

Molly Cantolino gets her rudder and centerboard ready for racing.

”The real difference in the classes is that I start teaching more technique to the afternoon classes,“ said Wiedenholt. ”The mornings are just for fun.“

The afternoon classes are a new addition to the program. In recent years, there was only one class per-day, and children had to sign up months in advance just to get a spot.

The organization that has taken over the Pram Fleet still feels that no kid should go without, so they now offer scholarships that will give any child that qualifies a chance to participate.

”This program is for the kids, and they don’t have to be a member of the yacht club", said John Marcin. "They don’t have to be a member of anything. Now because of the costs involved, there is a minimal charge, but no kid should go without.“

”The summer classes really are for everyone,“ said Danny. ”They’re just fun. We only do one day of racing and if the kids don’t want to, that is fine. I realize that some children don’t like the competition."

The team does some stretches before heading out to do river races

Summer camp consists of teaching the kids basic seamanship and sailing skills, while having fun and being safe out on the water. On the first day, the children are given a swim test and then required to do a capsize drill. When they complete these tasks, they learn parts of the boat and what each is called. Next they are introduced to points of sail and what the sail position should be. After that, they get to go out on the water.

The kids use international optimist dinghies to learn on. The IOD's are flat bottomed prams that are square in shape and have one spritsail.  IOD's are designed especially for children ages 8-15 to learn on. They are simple and safe, but don’t let the slow looking shape fool you. IOD’s are also the largest class of one design boats in the world.

”These bathtubs breed Olympic sailors," as www.optiworld.org puts it.

Some reasons for their popularity are that they are easily transported, compact and secure. IOD’s are easy enough for an eight year old to sail, but hold the excitement and challenge the expertise of a fifteen year old. When Parents find that they can keep their kids busy for seven years, they are sold. That is why the MRPF has now extended the educational summer program and added a full-year race program.

Wiedenholt’s regatta students are a group of adolescent sailors that have surpassed the limits of learning how to sail --  now they are learning how to compete.

The MRPF racing program is available to any child for an annual fee of $425. Children who are in the series, practice on Wednesday afternoons and on the weekends.
They also attend at least one regatta a month and are expected to travel to the destination of the competition.

Long gone are the old optimist prams that cost under $50. These children have racing IOD’s that their parents bought them for the bargain price of $4,500.

Hayley Cantolino stands on the floating dock in front of the Humback Bridge

Racing children are separated into two fleets; the green fleet and the red, white and blue fleet.

”When the regatta students are in the green fleet," said Wiedenholt, "we will still provide the boats for them, but when they advance into RW&B, they are required to have their own boats and get them to the regatta by their own means."

Green fleet is a special division for beginners. They typically sail relatively close to shore and race shorter courses, the main difference being that they may receive instruction at any time even during a regatta. Participants can be any age up to 15, but once established as a sailor they are required to move into either the red, white, or blue fleet depending on their age.

The red, white and blue fleet is age based. Skippers who are 10, sail in the white fleet. Skippers who are 11 and 12, sail in the blue fleet, and skippers who are 13, 14, or 15 sail in the red fleet. In all fleets, the determining date is the skipper’s age on the first day of the regatta. Usually, the red, blue, and white fleets all start at the same time and race on the same course. Coaching is not permissible during races.

”(The children) are constantly questioning sailing techniques they see on TV or on YouTube,“ said Wiedenholt. ”It is really impressive how dedicated they are.“

One girl on the team, Hannah Cantolino, is proof of the influence Wiedenholt’s expertise.

”She has only been sailing one year and is by far the best on the team,“ he said. ”She just has that drive. She has been so successful, she’s my little prodigy.“

The team does a capsize drill

”It feels good when we walk into a regatta and kids recognize us as the team that beat them,“ said Wiedenholt, ”From a coaching stand point, I feel really proud.“

Wiedenholt is no novice to the sport. He is a professional sailor that has seriously competed over the last several years.

”I never thought the highlight of my career would be teaching kids to sail IOD’s,“ he said. ”It is just so much more fun than sailing with adults. It is more than a job. We have become like a family. The thing that I’ve noticed the most is the camaraderie. The kids stick up for one another, and I couldn’t do it without the help of the parents.“

The race program hasn’t been as well kept up with as the sailing program. It has sporadically had ups and downs in participation. The competitive teams had been non-existent until about three years ago, and even now it is relatively small compared to what it was in the 1950’s.

”The pram fleet is more organized now than it ever was,“ said Bill King, one of the original pram sailors who went on to become a racing instructor. ”It can’t function without parental support, but the parents would get burned out and once their children reached 16, they would leave.“

The main difference now is that the organization is paying Wiedenholt as a full-time employee. That has never happened before. In the 1950’s and 1960’s the participating parties were volunteers. Then instructors were paid part-time.

”I stay busy,“ said Wiedenholt. ”When we’re not racing or practicing I am doing repairs and planning regattas.“

The woman who is credited with getting the program going is previous instructor Lisa Fath; she pushed for new equipment, organized inventory and made the summer camp into a summer class.

”When I came along in 1991, the organization was dying to close down the MRPF,“ she said. ”It was floundering with problems. There were only six boats left.“

Brook Conrad gets his mast and sail ready

”Two years after I took over the summer classes were filling up. I started buying new equipment, but felt the kids were looking for more,“ said Fath. ”I pushed the board to let me start a race team.

Fath had to get funding for the program through a board of members.

”They made it all happen. I give them credit for the revival of the race-team, but I’ll take the credit for our success,“ she said.”One kid, Ben Boulch, won everything he touched. We were top ten in every race we entered, and the second year was even more successful.“

Now three years into the revival, the children are becoming local celebrities. The team is mostly girls and seem to be taking home trophies left and right.

The fleet now has six racing boats and 16 trainers (boats that aren’t’ tricked out with racing equipment).

On the team now are the Cantolino sisters, or the ”cantaloupes“, Hannah 13, Hayley 11, and Molly 10. The oldest was female state champ, junior women’s state champ, and scored 3rd place in the junior Olympics.

Alex Woodbridge 13, or ”tree water,“ took 2nd in the Clark Mills state champs. Austin Hoglan, 12, was 2nd place in the Clearwater championships, and Taylor ”tater“
Deitrick, 10, is on her first year, but still competing with the rest of them. Brook Conrad, 15, is also in the advanced fleet.

”It is so cool how the kids change from when they first get here,“ said Wiedenholt, ”In the beginning, we play a game called the name game and they’ll mumble it under their breath. By the time they leave, they have so much more confidence. They are the leaders of the pack.“

If you would like to sign up for the summer program contact Joyce mrpf.executivedirector@gmail.com, or Danny mrpf.director@gmail.com. Classes start June 14, and are filling up quickly.

If you are interested in donating to the Pram Fleet Trust, in order to keep the program running, contact Joyce mrpf.executivedirector@gmail.com.