Rocking the Boat wants to improve The Sail Training component of its on-water program, which lacks enough skilled staff to safely and effectively operate the program. The ideal student-to-teacher ratio for sailing instruction is 5:1, but Rocking the Boat currently has one qualified staff member for 24 sailing students. This causes students to be broken into smaller groups, which leads to less time on the water and a decrease in hands-on support for students. Rocking the Boat plans to hire SUNY Maritime to provide sailing and powerboat training to 15 of its program assistants, who are college-age Rocking the Boat alumni. In addition to staffing the sail training program, some of these program assistants will go on to obtain instructor certification and can then train Rocking the Boat staff in the future.
Rocking the Boat provides on-water youth development, job skills training, program assistance, and weekly community rowing programs during the school day, after school, and summer to residents of Hunts Point and adjacent South Bronx neighborhoods.
