The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) welcomes Clay Gustaves to the Board of Trustees as its newest member. Clay donates hundreds of volunteer hours to the CWB community every year and is a regular at CWB events.
You can find Clay’s wooden boat, a 1956 wooden sailboat called S/V SEA FEVER, docked in South Lake Union, and on the weekends, you can almost always find Clay out teaching sailing lessons or at one of the many CWB events.
“The tall masts of the Wawona and free public access brought my father and I to the CWB docks in the mid-1980’s. Then a child, the visits inspired great nautical wanderlust,” explained Clay as he described what inspired his involvement with CWB. Vern
Velez, a volunteer sailing instructor, convinced Clay to be one as well after he had spent a few years renting sailboats from the livery. The rest is history.
I keep coming back,” Clay continues, “because I know the power and impact CWB’s culture of support in learning and inclusion can have on people. It is the anti-yacht-club. CWB has gone from a child’s wonderment to family.”
The CWB appreciates Clay’s long-term commitment to CWB’s mission and is proud to have him aboard. If you’re looking to become more involved in the CWB or want to take your boat education to the next level, there is still space in many of their November classes. Sign up for their Kitten Boatbuilding project, their Bronze Casting Workshop, or other workshops online at cwb.org.
