Disadvantaged Kids Captains for a Day

A dozen abused and neglected boys from the Human Services Network group home in Van Nuys will become captains of the 47-foot Noteworthy today as they set sail with Emilio Basile, an avid boater and a member of the Van Nuys Rotary Club.

“What this means for the boys is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Judi Rose, a Rotarian and the group home’s director of administrative services. “It’s not going to change their lives, it’s just going to be special. These are kids who don’t have much that’s special in their lives.”

The boys, who are between the ages of 11 and 17, are all wards of the court placed in the group home, she said.

Basile, a Northridge resident who designs and manufactures trade show displays, promised that the four-hour trip in the Santa Monica Bay will be a “working sail,” where the youngsters will get a chance to steer, raise and lower the sails and learn the basics of sailing.

He said he hopes they encounter dolphins, seals or porpoises along the way.

Taking charitable groups on his boat is “just part of sharing what I like to do with other people,” said Basile, who has sailed for 30 years and taught sailing for almost as long. At the minimum, he said, the boys will have a chance to “kick back, relax and enjoy themselves.” Unless, of course, someone gets seasick.