By MADDY VITALE
Tyler Myers loves sailing. At just 34, he has already amassed an array of awards, trophies and honors for his skills on the water.
And while he enjoys being on his catamaran sailing solo, he has an even greater passion for teaching others his skills and techniques in hopes that the sport of sailing will grow.
Myers, of Marmora, opened Point Sailing School, located on the beach in Beesley’s Point next to Beesley’s Point Sea-Doo, in 2022. Now, the successful sailing school is going into its third year.
“I’m looking forward to getting a lot more people on the water. I want to get as many kids involved as possible,” Myers said. “We are offering plenty of discounts to our students this year.”
If someone sees an advertisement and mentions it to Myers when calling Point Sailing School to set up lessons, it is an automatic 10 percent discount, he noted.
“We are also doing multi-children discounts. For a group of kids signing up together, each will receive a $50 discount off their registration. For four kids, for example, they group will receive a total of $200 off.”
For information on pricing and other information about the sailing school, visit www.pointsailingschool.com.
Myers, who teaches students on a Hobie Wave catamaran, said that each lesson is specially designed to fit someone’s needs.
“You can’t run the same lesson for everybody. Different people have different learning styles. Some people come to me with the experience of sailing in the past and some people are new to it,” Myers explained. “I assess each person on how they are on the water, then I develop their individual instruction.”
Myers is a Level 3 U.S. Sailing Certified instructor, which means he is considered an advanced coach who can train students for racing. He has raced all throughout the United States, Canada and Central America, among other places, and has numerous race wins and honors.
Myers, who grew up in Marmora, went to Upper Township schools and graduated from Ocean City High School in 2007. He graduated with a degree in physics from Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., where he was on the varsity sailing team.
His parents, Wally and Lynn Myers, are well-known sailors in the area. He credits them for teaching him the techniques and skills to sail.
Nearly each year, he adds more credits to his list of sailing accomplishments.
In July of 2023, he and crewmate Laura Barron won a 43-mile race called the Statue of Liberty Marathon in Myers’ Hobie catamaran. It began at the Sandy Hook Bay Catamaran Club in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., and looped around the New York Harbor and returned to the Atlantic Highlands in Monmouth County.
That was one race to add to his long list of winning regattas. In 2022, Myers placed third in the Hobie Wave Nationals in Shreveport, La.
In addition to his latest win, Myers has won three other national titles in the Hobie 16 class — one as a crew member in the 2001 Hobie 16 Continentals and two as skipper in both the 2006 and 2007 youth national championships.
Some of his other honors include second place in the 2021 U.S. Sailing Multihull Championships, 2019 Hobie 16 World Finalist, sixth place in the 2018 Hobie 16 Nationals (skipper) and second place in the 2017 Hobie Wave Nationals.
Safety is always the most important part of sailing.
Before giving any lesson, Myers, who is both CPR and First Aid certified, makes sure students can swim. Students wear life jackets at all times.
In addition to teaching children, Myers offers one-on-one training to those who already race, both children and adults.
He can also teach someone on a different boat.
“I like to say anything sailing-wise we can instruct on,” he said, noting that he sometimes calls upon fellow instructors to help out when camp fills to capacity. “We’ve done boat deliveries, maintenance checks. Basically, everything that comes to sailing, we can do.”
Sailing camps begin in June for children and private lessons with Myers begin at the end of this month.
Myers is currently away doing what he loves to do. He is the first alternate in the Worrell 1000 Race, an offshore long distance beach catamaran sailboat race that takes sailors from Miami to Virginia Beach.
“The team sailing the boat is Mark Modderman from the Atlantic Highlands and an old friend of mine from New York named Mike Siau,” Myers noted. “I am the pusher, which means I will help launch and land the boat and I am also the first alternate. If anything happens to either one of them that they can’t finish the race, I will take their place.”
For more information about Point Sailing, visit www.pointsailingschool.com or call Tyler Myers at 609-231-6432 or email pointsailing@yahoo.com.
