Smoothing the Waters for At-Risk Youth

Cruising through Newport Harbor in a small motorboat and shouting through a megaphone, sailing instructor Debbie Dunne is part choreographer, part cheerleader as she directs the youthful crews of more than 10 sailboats safely through the waters.

“Get your jib up,” she calls out to one crew of three. “Pull your sail in.”

To another she shouts: “That’s it, you’re doing great.”

Dunne, 32, is spending her fourth summer on the water teaching sailing skills to underprivileged and at-risk youth.

As program coordinator and instructor for the Orange Coast Sailing Center, a nonprofit group affiliated with Orange Coast College, Dunne teaches young people of ages 11 to 17, usually for a weeklong session of four hours a day.

The young sailors include underprivileged and abused children and recovering substance abusers, many of whom have never seen the water, let alone a sailboat, Dunne said.

“I love doing this,” Dunne said, just after cautioning one crew to steer away from a group of multimillion-dollar yachts.

“It’s great to see their attitude change from the first day--when you get a lot of attitude--to the end of the week, when they’re relaxed and really enjoying themselves.”

The Sailing Center’s At-Risk Youth Summer Sailing Program was founded in 1992 and is funded in part by the state Department of Boating and Waterways.

The program, which reached 287 children last year and should reach more than 300 this summer, also uses volunteer help, Dunne said.

Last week, for example, Dunne worked with children from Save Our Youth, a Costa Mesa-based gang-intervention program, and Touchstones, an Orange-based substance abuse center.

Officials from those groups said that the sailing program, along with other outdoor activities, can serve several functions for troubled youngsters, such as opening their eyes to worlds beyond their streets.

And for kids with drug abuse problems, such outdoor programs can teach them how to build friendships around pursuits other than substances, said Touchstones staff member Stacy Sabag.

“It shows them how to have fun in sobriety,” she said.

In one boat, a crew of four teenagers from Touchstones noted that sailing requires them to work as a team and therefore strengthens the bond among them.

“We’re building some good, positive friendships out here,” said Chris, 17. “It helps us not to use [drugs].”