It only took an hour or so before they got used to their boats last Monday. Since then, it's been smooth sailing, so to speak, for the 10 young rowers enrolled in Dharma Voyage's new community youth rowing program at Hix Bridge.

"The kids are doing great," said Beth McCurdy, who is helping run the new program in partnership with the Westport Recreation Department.

"They're rowing all the way down and around Gull Rock. We (planned) to stay right near Hix Bridge, but they're comfortable."

The program began last Monday and runs two days a week through the end of the summer. Ms. McCurdy said Dharma began the program to give access to the water to kids who might otherwise have a difficult time accessing it. As closely tied to the water as Westport is, she said, it's not always easy for youngsters to get out.

"Everybody always really wanted a youth program to get started. It's really hard for them to get on the water, even in Westport."

But she said the usual impediments — the high cost of vessels, getting them to the water, and making sure they learn properly — are eased by the program, which costs $40 per student and this summer is being donated to the recreation department. Ten volunteers have signed on to help, and they're using Cornish gigs and dories, which offer stability, maneuverability and ample room for students and volunteer instructors.

The pilot program had its genesis last year, when Westport Recreation Director Dana Stewart said members of Dharma Voyage began meeting to consider new opportunities for youth athletic activity in town. youth rowing program emerged as a unique way to increase programming. It is a natural extension of the popular Dharma Voyage & Westport Schools' youth boat-building program; several of the boats in use were built by Westport students, Ms. McCurdy said.

“Water defines and influences much of the character of the Town of Westport," she said. "It establishes boundaries; it provides the basis for a significant segment of the local economy; it provides compelling recreational resources; and along with rolling farmlands it is a defining feature of the landscape in the form of wetlands, coastal beaches, brooks and the Westport River."

While the current program is full, Ms. McCurdy said there is talk of running another section soon after school begins for the fall.

"Our goal is to have youth rowing all day every day," she said. "There’s nothing better than being in a boat and rowing together."