Ah two week sessions, my favorite sessions, with crazy Sundays, more time to get to know campers, and most important, Sailing Pathfinders. Every afternoon during two week sessions, the Sailing Pathfinders - otherwise known as SPF's - flock to the beach and learn the ancient craft of sailing. They brave the high seas of the Rehoboth Bay, along with its many creatures and jellyfish, battle the days when there is too much wind and when there is no wind, and at night, hear the word IRONS ringing in their ears.
Being an SPF alumna, I remember the first few days of sailing as capsizing, nearly getting stuck in the marsh, and wondering what I was doing. So, to save some confusion and capsizing, I have tried to morph the sailing program into a more show-and-tell teaching style, as well as using candy to gain the short summer-time attention spans. The first day of fourth session had winds around 18mph and more white caps than I’d want to sail with on a Sunfish, so the SPFs sailed two boats at a time and I went out on the jet ski to coach the new sailors through their first tack (turning the boat around). A few days later, the wind was almost as strong as the first day, so we held a rigging-sailing around a buoy-unrigging competition. Once everyone felt comfortable on catamarans, the waterfront staff and SPFs sailed across the bay to what we call Treasure Island. The next day the pathfinders mastered our biggest boat, the Hobie 16, that has two sails, a ton of ropes, and is buckets of fun.
Unfortunately, our last day with the SPFs is rainy and thundery, but Maddie and I hope that they have taken away a lot from these past two weeks and will use their new sailing skills for a long time.
Peace, love, and IRONS
Becca
Being an SPF alumna, I remember the first few days of sailing as capsizing, nearly getting stuck in the marsh, and wondering what I was doing. So, to save some confusion and capsizing, I have tried to morph the sailing program into a more show-and-tell teaching style, as well as using candy to gain the short summer-time attention spans. The first day of fourth session had winds around 18mph and more white caps than I’d want to sail with on a Sunfish, so the SPFs sailed two boats at a time and I went out on the jet ski to coach the new sailors through their first tack (turning the boat around). A few days later, the wind was almost as strong as the first day, so we held a rigging-sailing around a buoy-unrigging competition. Once everyone felt comfortable on catamarans, the waterfront staff and SPFs sailed across the bay to what we call Treasure Island. The next day the pathfinders mastered our biggest boat, the Hobie 16, that has two sails, a ton of ropes, and is buckets of fun.
Unfortunately, our last day with the SPFs is rainy and thundery, but Maddie and I hope that they have taken away a lot from these past two weeks and will use their new sailing skills for a long time.
Peace, love, and IRONS
Becca
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