Lake Macquarie High School (on Awabakal land) and the Making Waves Foundation have literally launched the first product of a partnership accessing the school’s High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) program and the Foundation’s Wright of Passage Rainbow dinghy program.

A dinghy built, and to be crewed by students, has been launched in Lake Macquarie from the Teralba Sailing Club.

The Making Waves Foundation is a not-for-profit charitable organisation creating experiences on the water for young people, with volunteers supporting 15 to18-year-olds in skills, friendship and self-esteem.

The program is funded by The Ian and Shirley Norman Foundation in support of disadvantaged or disengaged young people.

Principal, Brendan Maher, said participating students had been identified through the school’s HPGE program.

“We identified students who would benefit from the program given that it supports trade skills and students’ interest in sailing or maritime activities as part of their career development,” Mr Maher said.

“The partnership with the school involves facilities for building the dinghy on the school’s site.

“The dinghy has been built over two days a week since mid-March and will be crewed by its builders Payden McGarry (Year 11) and Ethan Baxter (Year 10) and is called Iggy Stardust after the support dog of one of the volunteers.”

A second crew began building a second boat in mid-June, and a crew from the school’s Support Unit and a girls’ crew start their boats in Term 3.

The Rainbow dinghy is a four metre, two-sailor scow designed in the 1940s specifically to be able to be built simply with a plywood kit.