The classes will be at Jackson Park Yacht Club, 6400 S. Szymanski’s goal is to reach LGBTQ+ sailors and people who may have felt excluded from the sport - and to show the public you don’t need to be rich, white, male and straight to enjoy sailing or be part of a yacht club.
Some told Szymanski it’d take years to start the school. “I went to the board and was like, ‘Hey, can we do a sailing school?’” said Szymanski, a Woodlawn resident.
It’s believed to be the first school of its kind in the Midwest. His nonprofit Rainbow Races, which promotes equality and awareness in sailing within the LGBTQ+ community, is starting an LGBTQ sailing school in Jackson Park harbor next month. Now, with a donated boat and a passion to introduce more people to sailing, Szymanski is ready to pass along what he knows. He always said no he wasn’t a teacher and didn’t have a boat to teach on.īut the messages kept coming. JACKSON PARK - Charles Szymanski, a fixture of Chicago’s LGBTQ sailing community, was used to having people approach him for lessons.
