Tremendous thanks to our community!

Over half of the JYS dinghy fleet was bought used from the Seattle Yacht Club in 1997, at our founding. Those boats are almost 35 years old. The others are from circa 2006 and pushing 20 years. The boats get used hard, and until the end of 2025, had to be stored outdoors over winter. They were delaminating, rotting, splintered, with broken parts and bent masts; and after years of ''just do what you can'' repairs, no two were alike anymore. This, along with the fact they were from different design generations, made parts replacements and maintenance very difficult, on top of all the hull problems. But thanks to the Juneau community, especially the Douglas-Dornan Foundation, JYS was able to incrementally expand its shipping container collection to three in 2022. And THAT meant we could store new dingies out of the winter weather if we replaced them. A three-year fundraising effort wrapped up in the Fall of 2025 when eight brand new, identical, Club 420 racing dinghies arrived -and were immediately placed into storage after seeing the light of day for just a few hours (it was the end of October, no time to waste!). They are waiting to begin a bright new era for this program when the 2026 season starts. [The aft deck stripes are real, but the ''bow stripes'' are just tape holding bow bumpers in place while the glue dries]

These boats were expensive, but they will benefit thousands of youths over the next 20-30 years (and the longevity of our maintenance volunteers). Class sizes can return to 16 from 12, and a wider variety of skills can be taught. Our immense thanks goes out to the funders of this effort: Rasmuson Foundation, CBJ Youth Activities Grant (''this project was partially funded by the citizens of the City and Borough of Juneau through sales tax revenues''), Juneau Community Foundation, Holland America, Carnival Cruises, Princess Cruises, Gaguine Foundation, Alaska Marine Lines, Douglas-Dornan Foundation, and the Schwarting, Watt, Ginter, & Siroky/Fredriksson families. Thank you for keeping the wind in our sails!