It would take a natural disaster to keep new sailor Josh Fry off the water.

After attending the county parks and recreation’s 2011 Summer Sailing Camps for Teens at the Silverdale Waterfront Park, the 13-year-old found a new hobby.

“I felt sick this morning but still came,” Fry said on Friday — the last day of the week-long camp.

Kitsap County Parks and Recreation offers a variety of sailing programs for youth and adults that are sponsored by the Kitsap Sailing & Rowing Foundation.

This summer, the sailing club offered two sailing camps for kids. The camps were led by Steve Trunkey and Kathy Ozimek, co-coaches of the sailing teams for Central Kitsap High School and Klahowya Secondary School, and Sheila Trunkey, Steve Trunkey’s wife.

Sailing has become a family affair for the Trunkeys. While Steve and Sheila Trunkey have both been sailing most of their lives, their daughter Allison has competed on Central Kitsap high school’s team for three years.

“When you go really fast, it’s kind of an indescribable feeling,” the 15-year-old said.

The whole family unanimously agreed that coming back to help inexperienced sailors learn a new sport is well worth their time.

“I would be out here even if she (Allison) wasn’t here. Part of it for me is giving back to the sport that I’ve been obsessed with all my life,” Steve Trunkey said.

The club not only teaches sailors how to maneuver a sailboat, but also teaches them the proper “rules of the road” while out on the water. Safety is an important part of the camp, Steve Trunkey said.

“It’s kind of like playing chess on the water,” Sheila Trunkey added in reference to all the rules and regulations advanced sailors must learn in order to compete in regattas.

The club also tries to encourage beginners to continue sailing after the camp. One of the main goals of the camp is to train kids who can eventually compete for one of the high school teams.

“If you like sailing this week, it could be the start of one of your lifelong passions,” Sheila Trunkey told the kids Friday.

The three adults receive volunteer help from members of the high school sailing teams. These volunteers typically ride with more inexperienced sailors to help them gain confidence and become accustomed to being out on the water.

“We know the boat is safe and they’ll actually learn from someone sitting beside them,” Steve Trunkey said of the inexperienced sailors who sign up for the youth camps.

The high school helpers do not get paid, but many count their hours on the water as service hours for high school clubs, such as Honor Society or Key Club.

“It’s also just fun for the kids. They come back, hang out and have fun sailing,” Steve Trunkey said of these volunteers.

Last Friday, four high school competitors showed up at the park to help instruct campers. All said that coming back to help is a rewarding experience.

Jennifer Jacobs, 15, has competed on Central Kitsap High School’s junior varisty team for four years, which is open to non-high schoolers. She enjoys coming back to camp to re-learn the sailing techniques she needs to teach to the new sailors.

“It’s kind of fun. I get a different perspective because they see things differently,” she said.

Penny Plyler, 17, just graduated from Klahowya, but came back to the waterfront to help out at her second camp. The former captain for Klahowya’s varsity team enjoys the challenge of maneuvering a sailboat on an especially windy day.

“You have to learn how to trust yourself in the boat and your partner,” she said.

Because of lack of participation, the high school sailing teams are still county programs — meaning any student in the county can join them. It takes four students from one school to create a varsity program at that particular school. However, schools that cannot round up enough kids to make an official team for their school can sail on the junior varsity team of another school’s team.

Since the team is not officially associated with the high school, competitors do not need to pay the mandatory athletic fee to their respective ASBs. Rather, students must pay $89 directly to the sailing club — which pays for gas, equipment, regatta fees and other necessary expenses, Steve Trunkey said.

Kids on the high school team also must buy a fair amount of gear — from wetsuits to gloves — which can add up to about $400, Trunkey said. Luckily, the club works to collect used gear, so most students do not need to purchase all new equipment, he added.

Central Kitsap High School has formed a team every year since 2006, so students from Klahowya and Olympic high schools previously had to sail on the Cougar’s junior varsity team. But this year, Klahowya finally found enough students to fill its own team.

Some students from Fairview Junior High and Olympic High School excelled at the youth camps this summer, so Steve Trunkey anticipates that all three schools will be represented by their own sailing teams next spring.

“It’s just word of mouth. That’s how it grows,” he said.

The time commitment of joining the high school sailing team keeps many students away, he said. During the season, which runs from the end of February through May, students practice three to four times each week from 3 to 6 p.m. Students must also compete in regattas almost every weekend, ten weekends in a row. This season coincides with activities such as Advanced Placement testing, drivers’ education courses and the SAT, Steve Trunkey said.

“It’s kind of a big marathon to get through,” he added.

On Monday nights throughout the summer, the sailing club offers informal racing – open to anyone who already knows how to sail. The cost to participate is $50, which allows sailors to race from June 27 through the end of August, Steve Trunkey said.

The sailing club also offers occasional adult lessons. The demand for the classes exists, but finding enough instructors to teach these lessons is hard, Sheila Trunkey said.

“It’s pretty much a given that we could fill adult classes pretty easily,” she said.

But in order to do so, the club will need to find relief instructors to take the places of Steve Trunkey, Sheila Trunkey and Kathy Ozimek, who are exhausted after running the camps, coaching the high school teams and offering Monday night racing.

Central Kitsap Junior high just formed a sailing club. This club participates in about two sailing events each school year. Through fundraising, the club recently purchased the life jackets for the sailing program, Steve Trunkey said.

He added that he hopes all the schools in the district will form their own sailing clubs, so that in the off-season the schools can race one another in recreational regattas.

The sailing club also joins with with the Port of Silverdale at the waterfront park, that lets the club store its sail boats and equipment at the park for free.

“They’re very supportive for access to the water,” Steve Trunkey said.

The club is working on building a removable dock so that boats can be stored in the water during spring and summer. In 2006, the club applied for a state grant to help pay for the dock’s construction. The grant was awarded to the club on the contingency that the club could provide matching dollars — which the port of Silverdale agreed to pay.