The Sailing Optimist

I grew up with a dad who loved to sail and to race, so in many ways I was exposed to the culture of the sport. He often disappeared on weekends to sail his Finn or his Laser. As I grew to the age of 10 or so, I showed a lot of interest in sports, but it was soccer and swimming for me. At this point my dad wanted to spend time with us and sail at the same time, so he bought a 28 foot cruising sailboat, and we spent weekends sailing about the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

I was playing youth soccer and was on a swim team, sports was a key element to me, but sailing was not that interesting, my dad did it, and with my independence well established, spent a lot of time down below reading, popping up to take a swim or to tack.

At age of 11, one of my friends asked me to join him in sailing an Optimist dinghy for a few weeks at a local club. The club was extremely welcoming, without membership I was able to borrow an Optimist and set my own course with some instruction. For the first time, I was able to rig, set up and helm my own boat. For whatever reason, this sparked me. On the mornings we would sail, I was so excited, would count the hours until the time would come. I loved buzzing around the harbor. I learned to tack, to gybe, to dock the boat, launch rig and round marks.

Having a welcoming organization, access to equipment and being mentored to rig, set up, care for and sail on my own boat had a huge impact on my direction and taught me those invaluable life lessons. I can only imagine what this must mean to all kids who get this chance, it is huge!