Community Boating Center 4-26-2026

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Save $80 with code SPACE80 at Talkspace.com. Good morning and welcome to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. This program highlights the work of non-profit agencies here in the South Coast. They are improving quality of life in the region, making it a better place to live and work. Our first guests this week represent the Community Voting Center in New Bedford, South End. Andy Hurley, he is the executive director. Good morning, Andy. Good morning, Jim. Thanks for having us. Also with him are folks who are involved in the Sailing and Leadership Training Program. Billie Nogas is the junior instructor. She's attended CBC for about three years. And Darren Navin, is it Navin? Yes, sir. Okay. Darren Navin has been with CBC for about five years. Welcome to you both. Thank you. Thank you for coming here. Well, if you don't know, the center connects with hundreds of young people every year with the city's waterfront through sailing, mentorship, and leadership development. The center also holds an annual fundraiser called the Opening of the Bay 2026, which we will talk about as well this morning. To all three, thanks for joining us. Let's talk a little bit about the center first of all. Andy, what's the mission there and how did it all begin in New Bedford? Yeah, great. Thanks. Yeah, we're a youth mentor and outreach organization. Our mission is to teach positive life values to youth through boating. We started, we were incorporated in 1998. Our founder, Joanne Teshane, was a social worker in the city. And she had a particularly tough day one day back in 1996, where she was working in a tenement house in the near north end. We had seven kids, single parent who was not working. And it was just, you know, it was a long day for her. On her drive back to Fairhaven where she was living, she drove across the Fairhaven Bridge and Low Tide Yacht Club used to sail out of the seaport there. And there were seven boats rigged up. And she was driving across the bridge and she said, seven kids that really need something to pull them together and something to do, and seven boats that need crew. Seven kids, seven boats. And that kind of is where the concept of the Community Boating Center came through. So we're really focused on breaking down barriers and providing opportunities for kids to get positive mentorship around the water, which is such a special part of New Bedford. And Andy, how long have you been there? I first worked at CBC from 2000 to 2002 as the assistant director. And then more recently in 2012, I came on as the executive director. How many young people are you serving now? We serve about 2,500 kids a year. We have run our summer program, Summer Youth Sailing Program, which is about 550 youth. Of those 550, 88% are here on financial aid, which is really important of what we're trying to do. And then through the fall, winter, and spring, we work with a lot of different schools and organizations with STEM programming, a lot of boat building, skateboard building, and just some STEM lessons built around the environment. So Kelly Anogis, who is a junior instructor, part of the Sailing and Leadership Training Program. Kelly, did you start as a younger person? Did you go through these classes like Andy was talking about? Yeah, I did the summer program for a year, and then I found out that the JIC program was an opportunity, and I really wanted to experience it. All right. Darren, how about you? Same way. I went there for about two years, and then when I saw that the junior instructor program was in there, I decided to go ahead and give it a try and ended up learning a lot of cool things. Did either of you have some experience on the water before you joined the CBC? I mean, I assume you're both local. You're both around the water. But, you know, I think people will be surprised to learn there are a lot of young people who don't really hang out around the water, and the CBC is part of their introduction. Was that the case with you? We'll start with Kelly. Oh, no. My family is very, like, water-based. Water-conscious. Yeah. So sailing has been part of my life since, like, I can remember. And now that I can actually sail, I think it connects me more to my family. How about you, Darren? No. My family has never really been in a boat. It was my first time. It was something that my mother had seen, and she knew it would be good for me because I was very antisocial and wasn't really good with programs like that. She decided to just push me in there, and it just did wonders. Like a fish to water. Straight up. Andy, what kind of skills are these young people learning? Well, it's amazing. So the Sailing and Leadership Training Program, that's really become one of our primary programs. It's really ages 14 and up. So when you're 14 and 15, it's a volunteer position where the youth come in and volunteer to help learn how to run our programs, learn how to work in operations, where they learn how to fix boats, work on our facility, and then also build their own skill set up. So we're running them through certification programs, the basics like first aid, CPR, but also US Sailing Level 1, which is a great course for not only teaching sailing, but the fundamentals of how to work with different types of people. So a lot of good interactions there. Once they hit 16, they come on payroll, and we start to dive into some financial literacy and many other things to really focus on building each individual kid's toolboxes and help them go on. And last summer, we had 88 kids in that program. So it's a really important piece of what we're doing now. And you're also helping some younger children as well to learn to sail. What's the start age? Yeah, so we start at age five. So five and six-year-olds, those are our C squirts. And then we go all the way up to 18 in the regular programming. But within the SALT program, we have some kids in their 20s as well. Okay, this is a year-round program to our listeners. So what do you do in the winter? We're really based out of the schools and the community centers. Boat building's been a very popular one. So it's really hands-on. The first boat we built was a boat called the Bevan Skiff, created by this guy Joe Ucha in the Arlington sailing area. He's a math teacher. So it's really a boat building program that reinforces fractions. Why do you add and subtract fractions? And geometry. So all the meanwhile, kids are learning how to use hand tools. A lot of kids have never used a drill before, sawing, planing. So it's a really cool program. And then also just general STEM programs built around the marine environment. We really want to connect kids to the ocean, to the marine environment year-round. And that's a laudable goal. Here in New Bedford, we just sometimes take this wonderful thing that surrounds the city for granted. That's the ocean, that's Buzzards Bay. And we do take it for granted, I think, in some regard. It is a beautiful spot. A day like today, it must be beautiful out there. Maybe a little chilly, but the fact is it's a beautiful place. And really, Clark's Cove is a place of learning. We all look at it and say, well, it's a beach. Well, it's also a place of learning. That's a great thing. Absolutely. You're listening to Town Square Sunday. I'm Jim Phillips. My guest is Andy Herlihy. He's the executive director of the Community Boating Center in New Bedford. Also, Feli Nogas, who is a part of the Sailing and Leadership Training Program, along with Darren Navin, also a member of the Sailing and Leadership Program. Both have been attending the Community Boating Center for several years. In Darren's case, five years. Feli's case, three years. And I bet they have some good things to say about it. But in general, how has it helped you, Darren? It's helped me a lot, actually. It taught me a lot of very good skills that I can use in everyday life, especially with the operations. They teach you how to measure, how to really do proper things, like how to use a drill. And at first, it doesn't seem complicated until you really learn how to do it. That's helped me a lot in other jobs that I'm looking to get. All right. Good enough. And Feli, how about you? What do you think this program has given you? It has given me a lot of social skills, a lot of friendships. But also, it has taught me how to handle situations that I didn't think I could handle, which is a very strong thing to have because you're always going to be put in situations where you don't really know what to do. And knowing how to handle them and work through them is very important. I think you're right. Things that may be a little stressful in your programs are going to help you later in life. There's no question about that because as you get older, the stress increases. But that's for another time. That's for another topic. New Bedford has a strong maritime history. How does the community boating center connect today's residents with that maritime history? Andy? Yeah. I mean, really just, you alluded to it earlier, where a lot of the residents aren't connected to the waterfront. They haven't been sailing. A lot of them haven't been swimming. So the more that we can show the beauty and appreciation of what the waterfront has to offer and connect the residents, that's really what we're doing. And it's amazing to see kids like Darren who have never been around the water. Now they're windsurfing, driving motorboats, leading classes. It's impressive to see that. And we approach each kid individually. Our goal is really not to create sailors, but really how can we make individuals better people? Well, I think laudable goals. And you've been working with hundreds, if not thousands of kids over the years. And certainly you're doing good work for sure. What barriers do local families face when it comes to boating and sailing? And how does your organization work to remove those barriers? That's a great question. It's a big focus of removing barriers. So a lot of it is just the pure uncomfort about being around the water. So water safety. Our tagline is safe, fun learning. First and foremost, creating a safe environment physically, socially, emotionally, and build that around fun, engaging activities. And then that kind of leads to a learning environment. Kids are learning and they don't even realize they're learning. It's really amazing. So first, just breaking that down. And then just like a lot of programs, you've got transportation. You've got the fee just to go and healthy food. So we provide busing in City of New Bedford. So if you're in the City of New Bedford, we've got free busing. Like I said earlier, 88% of the youth are on financial aid. So we want to remove that barrier. We provide breakfast and lunch through the school department lunch. And then with a partnership with coastal food shed in the afternoon, we do a healthy locally sourced snack as well. So it's really getting out there and getting people to realize that this ocean is an opportunity for everybody, not certain people. And the sailing and leadership training program has really been a great help for that, where we have 88 kids in that program who are now all over the city in the various neighborhoods who are helping other families see like, oh, wow, Darren's doing it. He's having a great time. And then it starts to snowball down. Well, that brings us to the fundraiser, which is a very important cog in all of this. The fundraiser is happening May 9th at the Kilburn Mill. Ironically enough, the mill, they open up the beautiful windows in the back. It overlooks Clark's Cove and the center's waterfront campus. So tell us about the fundraiser, Andy, and what will happen there. Yeah, it's great. It's a beautiful venue. If you've not been to the Kilburn Mill, it overlooks Clark's Cove, as Jim said, right over our sailing center. It's really great. So it's going to be 6 to 10, Kilburn Mill. We've got dinner, dancing, silent auction. And this year is going to be real fun. And we've got a spring fling theme. So it's going to be very bright. We encourage people to dress accordingly and really help spread the spring colorful idea. You can find out and get tickets on our website, which is communityboating.org. And last year we had about 350 people through the door. And we're expecting a little bit more this year. So it should be a really great event. All right. Again, May 9th, Kilburn Mill. And I've heard about it before. We talked with people before about this event. It's a spring thing. It's a happy thing. And you're doing a lot of good by buying a ticket and going. Feli and Darren probably, I don't know, are you helping with decorations with this? Or what's the deal with that? Not this. Have they recruited you yet for that? I mean, they did, but I'm kind of busy. But last year I did help. And I think it was a great experience. I got to meet a lot of people and I got to talk to a lot of people. And I think it was a great experience in general. Darren, how about you? I don't think I've been involved with this, the Kilburn thing yet. But maybe this year I would really actually kind of hope to help out. Sure. It's, again, a very important event for the community voting center. It's because the money raised from this event will help pay for scholarships for youngsters who can't afford, whose families can't afford to get involved. But with this fundraiser, it's important. Yeah. The fundraiser really makes our summer youth sailing program happen. As we mentioned before, 88% of the youth are not paying to come to the program. And this event really makes that happen. So I'd love to see more people come. There's sponsorship opportunities still available if you go on the website. And come and have a good time. Give the website address again, please. It is communityvoting.org. Communityvoting.org. Okay. I guess any thoughts from Darren or Kelly about this? Look, you've devoted three years of your life, Kelly, to this. And some kids will say, hey, that's enough. I'm going to move on to something else. You have no intention of doing that. No, I don't. I love the program. I always tell my friends in school, like, hey, get involved, honestly. It's a great program. And I would love to have you there. And I can't stop recommending it. Darren, how about you? You're not thinking of leaving, are you? I'm thinking about, I'm going to get a job for the year. But for the summer, I think I would always like to come back and just sail and teach kids again. Sure. Always keep that there. All right. Well, thanks to all of you. Andy Herlihy, the Executive Director of the Community Voting Center. Kelly Nogas and Darren Navin, members of the Sailing and Leadership Training Program at the Community Voting Center. Andy, thank you again for helping to organize these folks in here and for your time. And good luck with the fundraiser. Well, thanks for having us. This is a great opportunity. All right. Once again, the web address, it's communityvoting.org, communityvoting.org. You can get your tickets there for the fundraiser, May 9th at Kilburn Mill in New Bedford, South End. Coming up next on Town Square Sunday, we'll meet an author who has done some interesting writing and plans to do more interesting writing about the New Bedford fishing fleet. That's coming up in just a moment.