Sailing Education Adventures

I've always been drawn to the water, so when my friend and I decided that we were going to do a camp together in third grade, sailing seemed like the perfect choice!  Since then, we've changed boats, instructors, and even yacht clubs, but we have sailed together every summer for the past 10 years.  It began as a way for us to hang out during the days, but now we both just love sailing!

I think my favorite part about sailing is the freedom that comes with it.  I realize that's cliché, but it's also very true.  When you drive a car, you have to stay in one lane on one side of the road and follow that line for as far as you want to go; when you drive a motor boat you have a bit more freedom to go places, but you are still very dependent on your gas.  A good sailor, on the other hand, can go anywhere he wants.

I've been sailing for 10 years now, every summer and often during the school year as well. I think the Marin yacht club and surrounding areas are probably my favorite place to sail consistently- the wind is great for beginners, and once in a while we get lucky with some higher wind that the advanced sailors (and counselors) can really enjoy.  The water here is amazing, hands-down the nicest temperature in the bay, and it's sunny almost every day! I came to SEA because one of my close friends was sailing with the camp in San Rafael, and he recommended it so highly.  I remember going to visit him at camp on day and absolutely loving it.  That summer, I switched sail camps and I've been an SEA boy ever since.

SEA is everything a great sailcamp should be.  The kids learn an incredible amount in a single week session, get a lot of experience on the water in all sorts of conditions (our location is also great because the wind increases in stages the farther out we go), and, most importantly in my mind, they have fun!  That was one of the things I was disappointed with at other camps I've seen or tried- they focus entirely too much on textbook sailing and don't have time for anything else.  At SEA, we at least recognize that our sailors are kids on summer vacation, and we try to make not only the sailing, but the whole camp experience, fun for them so that they go home happy every day.

I'm one of the assistant head counselors at SEA, which means that while I hop on a boat and sail with the kids as much as I can, I am also more involved in the organizational, bigger-picture aspects of the camp than a normal counselor.  I try to get feedback from kids and parents on what went well and what we can improve on, which I share with the other leaders as each summer progresses.

One of my favorite experiences at camp was last year, when the wind was too heavy for even the advanced campers to feel safe going out in.  Instead, we found a tarp in one of our dock boxes, and strung it up to two poles.  Then we hopped on a wheeling cart we found and created, in essence, a land sailer.  What really amazed me is that it actually worked well!  We got it moving so fast that on our later runs we had to have counselors at the other end of the parking lot ready to grab it and slow it down.  Oh, and when we got back to our dock we found that the wind was so strong that, in our absence, it had bent one of the metal poles holding up our overhead tarp a complete 180° back on itself.

I'm a water kid through and through, so if you name a water sport I do it.  Surfing, sailing, swimming, windsurfing, scuba diving all come to mind pretty quickly.  I'm actually going to a kiteboarding lesson with one of my friends later this week, so I'll be able to add that to the list soon enough.

This summer I spent some time with a friend on the boat his father captains off the coast of Italy, and I realized that that is something I really want to do again in my life.  But not as a guest, I would really like to crew on a larger boat as it sails around the world, and I plan on getting instructor certified internationally next year, so I should be well on my way.

 A lot of people assume that I just spend all of my free time in the water.  Admittedly, I do spend an obscene amount of time in and around the water, but one of my real lesser-known passions is acting.  I've been in a multitude of plays with my school, and my friend and I actually founded an improve troupe which was very well received.  That said, during the summer I don't have much time to devote to the thespian in me.

My one piece of sailing advice would have to be Rule #3: Don't be stupid....although Rule #15: You are not Captain Jack Sparrow, deal with it. is a close second.