Program Spotlight: Community Sailing New Orleans

Community Sailing New Orleans (CSNO) provides accessible, low- and no-cost sailing lessons on Lake Pontchartrain for people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. That means you can walk in with no sailing experience and still be welcome to learn and will be surrounded by other girls who are learning as well. CSNO offers a variety of programs, and beyond just learning about sailing, you’ll learn about communication, setting goals, and staying cool and focused under pressure.

STEM Design Build Sail (free of charge) is for middle schoolers to learn a variety of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills as well as how to be safe on the water when learning to sail. This program takes place during spring and fall sessions.

Crew to Captain program (free of charge) is a three-year maritime career development program for high schoolers to learn about potential career paths in the local maritime industry and other STEM-related fields, meet mentors, gain new skills, and become eligible for paid part-time internships. The new class will start in the fall.

Summer Camp program (scholarships available) is for ages 9-13—make sure to tell your younger siblings and friends!—to learn sailing basics in a safe and supportive environment that nurtures leadership, teamwork, strategic thinking, perseverance, focus, communication, and confidence. The one-week sessions take place during June and July.

“Sailing is calming—it is my form of meditation.”

Madeline, 10th grade, eLearning Academy

“Sailing is a good way to calm down from outside life events.”

Emma, 9th grade, The Willow School

Fun Facts about Sailing:

• It’s a fun way to learn math and science
• Sailing teaches responsibility, time management, teamwork,
  and effective communication
• Sailors get to meet people from around the world
• 35 universities in the U.S. have varsity sailing teams, including
  Tulane University, and 163 universities have club sailing teams
• In 2022, Tulane Sailing won the Inter-collegiate Sailing
  Association’s National Championship
• An estimated 1 in 5 jobs in Louisiana is connected to the maritime industry
• Wages in the maritime industry pay substantially
  higher than the Louisiana average
• The youngest person to sail around the world alone is Dutch sailor
  Laura Dekker, who accomplished this incredible feat at the age of 16