Survivor’s report from 2008 youth sail camp

2010 Youth Sailing Report<= /span>

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Another gr= eat youth sailing week is history!

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42 youth b= etween the ages of 8 and 17 particip= ated in our camp week this year - it all added up to a great time.

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On Saturda= y morning our teens arrived and went straight out onto the water to work on Laser dri= lls with Jason, and demonstrated their dry-righting, roll-tacking, and maneuver= ing skills. In the evening we hel= d a review of racing rules and strategy, as well as a discussion about sailing crewed boats. Sunday morning = Mike Larison hosted a discussion on starting strategy and the role of crew in a successful race, followed by a discussion led by Judy Hearn on spinnaker flying. We then went out on a= group of Thistles and a Highlander and practiced spinnaker hoists, flying and dousing. In the afternoon we matched up all our teens on race teams and set out to participate in the cl= ub race.

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At this po= int, we realized that a trend has been set for our teen program sailing. Last year we encountered building = winds to the mid 20’s on our crew boat sailing day. This year, the teens as well as th= e rest of the club racers encountered a line squall with winds in the upper 30R= 17;s. While several of our Laser sailors= took the inevitable dunking, the other teen sailors in Thistles safely negotiated the extreme conditions and made it to shore. After the races were abandoned, and everyone eventually made it back to clubhouse and relaxed for the afternoon. We had an early dinner, and then went back out on the water in t= he Thistles and Highlander for 8 short races.=

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On Monday = the entire team moved back into Lasers and went out on the water for some extre= me boat handling drills. (Anyone= for barrel racing in a laser?)

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On Tuesday= our youth councilors arrived at camp for a day of training and preparation. Following last year’s model,= these youth participated in a mini-US Sailing instructor clinic and then worked on their lesson assignments to teach our youth sailors. After lesson planning was complete= , we rigged most of the youth boats and moved them to their assigned locations f= or the team groupings.

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Tuesday ev= ening we were joined by our junior sailors. This year’s youth included 19 pram sailors, many of them eager= to sail in their new boats.

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Wednesday = we all passed our safety training, including a quick dip at the beach followed by another quick dip in the harbor for the annual capsize drill. In addition to our successful safe= ty drills, we also found and relocated a number of spiders almost as large as = our prammers! The traditional ‘first sail’ on Wednesday afternoon went without a hitch. We were ready for them this year &= #8211; with councilors strategically placed in john boats and small groups of 4 pr= ams each. Even with all the precautions in place, every one of our sailors successfully mastered their first solo sail! Although we started with some scar= ed looks, we ended with smiles all around as the flotilla figured out that sai= ling really is fun! Going for the = quick win, as soon as they were all smiling we aimed the pirates for shore to swap sailing lies with each other!

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During the= rest of the week the sailors continued to build sailing skills, confidence, and friendships. A new highlight = this year was nightly after dinner surprises.&n= bsp; Wednesday’s surprise was a relay race by the councilors, Thursday’s surprise was a party sail on big boats. Friday’s surprise was a craf= t by Connie Conrad, followed by a Piñata bashing. (Thank you to our Snipe fleet for = the donated piñatas and candy). Friday evening we held our annual sailing jeopardy game, followed by ‘tales of George’ offered by our councilors after the movie. Saturday morning, after cleaning u= p from a shore visit by George, we took to the lake for a water fight the likes of which Cowan may not have seen before!

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Bottom line – what a wonderful time! We had great weather (including the perfect storm for the teens on Sunday), perfect winds, great kids, incredible councilors, and wonderful support fro= m a lot of parents. And along the= way we managed to learn a few skills, make some new friends, and get certified = by US Sailing as small boat sailors. Every year there is usually something that stands out – this y= ear I think we had the most cohesive group of young sailors that I can remember= in any of our camps over the last 13 years.&n= bsp; All of these children were supportive of each other, and helped each other to learn new skills, sail safely, and have fun.

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Thanks to = all the parents and families and the club membership for your support of CLSA Youth sailing! Now it is time to lo= ok out for and support these youth as they join us on the water. Some of them may be racing in thei= r own boats, and others will be crewing and coaching Mom and Dad in the family bo= at – either way – they are hooked!

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Mr. Pete.<= o:p>