Ahoy! These sailors are sharing their passion for wind, waves and open water in Port Stanley

After years of sailing and racing around the world, a couple of friends who met in London, Ont., are starting their own sailing school in Port Stanley.

Adam Goarley and Illia Malovychko want to share their passion for all things water, wind and waves with anyone who wants to build confidence and competence on the water through their new school, Apex Sailing.

"Over the last few years, we used to do lots of racing all over Ontario. We've been doing lots of cruising all through the North Channel area, and we just realized how hard it is for people to actually get out and sail," said Goarley.

"There are very few younger people involved in the sailing world. And a lot of the time when people are retired, they try to get into sailing, and it's been a lifelong dream of theirs, but there's not very many options to actually learn how to sail."

Goarley, who is from London, started sailing at age 11 and has explored the Great Lakes and raced in the Caribbean. Malovychko, who is from Ukraine, was a former member of the Ukrainian National Sailing Team, competing across Europe, and came to Canada to be a sailing instructor and race coach.

"I've been sailing my whole life," said Malovychko. "I just can't emphasize enough how amazing sailing is as a sport, and I wanted to share that with the rest of the world."

The pair bought a J/24 sailboat for the school, a high-performance keelboat that is between a dinghy and a cruiser. The boat is docked at the Lions Landing Marine Park in Port Stanley, a short distance from the shores of Lake Erie.

The school's flagship program, the Sailing Basics Course, consists of four three-hour sessions aboard the J/24, focusing on wind awareness, sail trimming, and safe manoeuvring. For couples seeking a unique experience, the Couples Sailing Adventure offers a one-hour private session guided by an instructor. Private lessons tailored to individual skill levels are also available.

"There's a lot of thinking strategy involved. There's a lot of technical elements, and there's a physical element to it as well," said Malovychko. "But the most important would be the ability to adapt because when you're sailing, everything's changing, the weather, the wind, clouds. Everything's moving, and you have to adapt to sail."

While Apex is currently operating with a single vessel, Goarley and Malovychko hope to expand the school to five boats over the next two years to foster competitive sailing and build a sailing community.

"We live in such a great place with so much access to water and to sailing, and very few people do it," said Goarley. "It's close to London, close to St. Thomas. It makes it easily accessible for people to come down and learn."

For more information on sailing lessons, visit the Apex Sailing website.