East Lyme — This summer, the Niantic Bay Yacht Club — which has produced world-caliber champions and hosted regattas — will be home to a sailing academy for children and teenagers.

The Niantic Bay Sailing Academy, a new nonprofit organization based at the yacht club, will offer classes to children of all skill levels, even those who haven’t yet stepped into a sailboat.

Ron Breault, a board member of the academy and a former commodore of the yacht club, said the mission is to foster a new generation of sailors and environmental stewards.

The club further wants to reach out to offer sailing programs to the community at large, Breault said.

For some, the penchant to pursue sailing will appear in the first days of a sailing class.

Constantine Manthous, a board member for the academy, said that in any beginning class there will be one or two students who will light up as soon as they begin learning — and those same students may soon grow to become trophy winners.

“There’s something about it that sparks in them,” he said.

Pam Manthous, recording secretary on the yacht club's board of directors and Constantine’s wife, said the academy will be a place to introduce people to the sport that could become a lifelong pursuit.

“You never know until you try,” she added.

She said the activity builds self-reliance and confidence and how to be a good steward to the ocean.

“Wouldn’t it be great to open that up to the community so everyone can experience sailing?” she said.

To that end, the academy is offering eight scholarships for students in the "between the rivers" area to attend the academy. Scholarships are available for two students at each of the following school districts: New London, Waterford, East Lyme and Lyme-Old Lyme.

Breault said the club is trying to get children interested in sailing at a young age, with the hope that these children will later form or join a sailing team and rejuvenate high school sailing.

“Our goal is to get these kids so excited about sailing that they’ll come to you and say 'why don’t we do this again?'” he has told schools' athletic directors in explaining the program.

The club previously had offered junior sailing classes, but this academy is an official nonprofit with its own board of directors.

Members of the Niantic Bay Yacht Club approved the effort last September and the sailing academy became official last year, said Breault, who previously has served as a fleet manager for the yacht club's junior sailing program and coached Lyme-Old Lyme High School's state championship team in 1990.

The club also donated junior training boats, support boats, racks and equipment and provided financial contributions to start the academy, he said.

A group of instructors — two from as far away as Ireland and Spain — will teach the students this summer, Constantine Manthous said.

Breault said learning how to sail can instill a sense of responsibility for others, as well as a sense of independence and freedom. “You find out there’s a whole world out there where you’re not dependent on anybody,” he said.

The academy will host both 4-week and 8-week summer programs from June 22 through Aug. 14. The academy is open to children aged 7 to 17. More information is available at www.nianticsailing.org or www.nbyc.org/junior-sailing. Scholarship applications are due on May 1.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich