Take Part in Summer Sailstice
John Arndt Encourages Boaters to Sail Locally and Celebrate Globally
Think of summer solstice as the day you should absolutely be out and boating, participate in the Summer Sailstice celebration.
John Arndt is a man on a boating mission. A long-time recreational boater and advertising manager for Latitude 38, Arndt is determined to see boats used for their intended purpose, which is to be out sailing on long summer weekends. He was tired of seeing capable craft stranded and ill used, sitting at the dock. Seven years ago, John founded a special holiday in the San Francisco Bay area for encouraging boating activity. It is always held near to the time of the summer solstice each year. This year's event will occur on the weekend of 23 June. This grand boater's holiday is known as Summer Sailstice.
Boaters now celebrate Summer Sailstice in 49 of the 50 United States and in at least 20 countries that connect more than 5,000 sailors globally. Apparently, to last holdout state is North Dakota. Individual sailors and clubs of all stripes can participate in existing events or begin one of their own. Arndt encourages others use the Summer Sailstice concept freely and build on it themselves. Activities by example in the Bay area include a photo scavenger hunt, free sailboat rides, adult and children's regattas, a treasure hunt for the kids and a new virtual circumnavigation of the world sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy.
The Summer Sailstice website provides a wealth of information. Visitors interested in the event can learn about scheduled celebrations and events, find boats registered to participate and even find vessels looking for additional crew. Organizers actively support the missions of the Oceans Society, Blue Water Network, Oceana, and other important clean boating efforts. Stories and photos are available from past Summer Sailstice events. There is even a "Top Ten" reason for participating list posted at the sponsor's website. One example, "Let's face it ...everyone needs a deadline. If you don't have your boat ready for summer sailing by the solstice you've already missed too much of the sailing season."
John Arndt says of the event, "We launched Summer Sailstice to bring sailors all over the globe together on the longest sailing day of the year to celebrate why we all love to get out on the water...In a busy world it's hard to find a date available for all of us but because the solstice, in the Northern Hemisphere is the first day of summer, the longest day of the year, generally after school's out and is right in the heart of sailing season, this is the ideal time to get out on the water , go sailing and have a massive global celebration!"
Consider participating and supporting Summer Sailstice this year.
