Tue 6/23 @ 11AM
There’s been construction going on at the East 55th Street Marina since last year in the spot where the restaurant used to be. Today it will unveil the results when the Patrick S. Parker Sailing Center official opening its doors with a public dedication on Tuesday June 23 @ 11am. (The new restaurant, the Galley, is already open.)
While Lake Erie has always been popular for sailing, with boats packing its water all summer long, the Cleveland Metroparks’ Community Sailing Center is the first of its kind along the lake’s Ohio shore, offering public access to what’s often considered a pastime for the affluent.
The Community Sailing Center offers learning and rental spaces, indoor and outdoor community areas, and the Charlie Britton Sailing School, with public programs making sailing accessible to people who haven’t been able to take part in the past due to economic challenges. “Despite being situated along a major river and a great lake, many Cleveland residents have never experienced direct water-based recreation as the vast majority of Lake Erie’s shoreline within Cuyahoga County is privately owned with no public access,” says the Cleveland Metroparks’ press release, and that’s certainly true: people who live in the area around the marina spend a lot of time fishing there, but most have probably never been out on the lake. It’s a first step in making that recreational resource more open to east siders.
The Sailing Center will host programming such as Youth Learn-to-Sail, Youth Learn-to-Race, Interscholastic Racing, Adult Basic Series, Community Dinghy Race Nights, and Family Sailing Basics, as well as Ohio Boating Safety and Education Classes and Water Safety Certifications lessons for local youth, sponsored by The Foundry. Learn more about the Sailing Center and its programs here.