Block Island Community Sailing, Inc. (BICS), the island’s educational, nonprofit community sailing organization, is preparing for a busy sailing season this summer. BICS, based at the New Harbor Boat Basin (near the Oar Restaurant) is a membership-based adult and family sailing organization that was founded to make the sport of sailing affordable, accessible, and fun for island families and visitors alike.BICS is a U.S. Sailing accredited keelboat sailing school (the only one in Rhode Island) that teaches sailing with nationally-certified sailing instructors and has a “Learn to Sail” program in larger boats (not dinghies) that are better suited to adult/family sailing instruction. Completion of the “Basic Keelboat Sailing Course” gives the student a U.S. Sailing certificate that can be used to demonstrate sailing proficiency when checking out a sailboat at any other sailing organization.In addition to providing sailing instruction and sailboat availability for our members and their guests, there are several community benefit programs which include a special woman’s sailing program taught by women for women, and our “Camp Mohegan Sailing Program,” which provides sailing instruction for the Town of New Shoreham Recreation Department’s Camp Mohegan kids, at no cost to the program. BICS also teaches the U.S.
