LYNN — Two men from the city are taking to the water as part of their new Kayak and Sail Lynn (KASL) program for middle- and high-school students.
This program will have its first, free event on Aug. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Blossom Street Extension ramp, where students will be able to learn basic paddle instruction and safety orientation, and will take part in a discussion on tides, wind and the importance of local waterways.
There will also be lunch donated by Little Caesars Pizza.
The team behind this program consists of former Lynn Classical High School teacher Frank Grealish as director and clerk, and some of his former students: Sean Reid (president), Eric Rondeau (vice president) and DeJolie Tchoumi (treasurer).
The idea for this program originated about five years ago when Grealish wanted to implement a program that would offer access to water sports to city youth, but he relocated to Las Vegas before doing so.
Grealish recently moved back to Lynn; after a discussion over lunch with Reid and Rondeau, they decided to work on putting together the KASL program.
The group quickly got to work. They sparked a partnership with Coast to Coast Paddle — out of Salem — to provide them with the kayaks and paddleboards, raised money so the program could be free to students and reached out to local businesses and officials to sponsor and support the program, including Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan, whom Reid said was a huge help with putting the initiative together.
The KASL board said that one of Lynn’s standout qualities is that it is a large, highly-populated urban area with great natural spaces that they want to put to use.
“It’s no secret that these resources have often been underutilized by our community, especially our waterfront area,” the KASL board said. “With each of our day-to-day challenges — financial, time limitations, access issues — way too many Lynn residents have never been on the water, despite being just minutes away from the ocean.”
KASL is looking to change that, as a registered nonprofit that aims to get kids on the water via kayaks, paddleboards and sailboats.
Through this educational program, KASL hopes to promote positive life skills and values.
“Surrounding cities like Salem, East Boston, etc. already have similar programs in place, so why not Lynn?” the KASL board added.
The goal of the KASL program is to become a summer program by next year, so the Aug. 24 kickoff event will also serve to gauge community reaction.
Registration for this event can be made by calling 781-715-9292 or emailing [email protected]. Space is limited.
Donations to the event and program can also be made through the following link: https://linktr.ee/kaslynn or checks can be made payable to Kayak and Sail Lynn, Inc. and sent to 11 Larch Road, Lynn, MA, 01904.
