During lunch on our new deck last Friday, I asked a 9 year-old what was the most fun he’d had that day. His immediate smiling reply: “I had the most fun capsizing”. Here’s my take on building self-confidence through sailing.
Treasure Island Sailing center teaches life lessons such as goal setting, communications, teamwork and leadership through sailing. While we can’t actually teach self-confidence it’s always our goal to have kids leave TISC with more confidence in themselves than when they arrived.
A few of our campers and outreach students can swim, a majority can’t. With the exception of returning students, most of the younger kids and almost all of the outreach youth have never been in a boat before they set sail at TISC. And even though it’s protected from the rollers that come down the bay, the wind does blow here on Clipper Cove.
Time and again I hear stories or see kids through my camera lens who are confused by the wind, flustered when caught “in irons”, freaked out by their first accidental gybe and nervous about that first jump off the dock into the bay or that first capsize. Every time I hear stories from students about their accomplishments on Clipper Cove I feel proud of the job our instructors are doing to help these kids build their self-confidence on (and in) the water, which in turn boosts their self esteem.
Friday afternoons usually mean time on the beach at the western end of Clipper Cove. Here’s a few pictures of happy, wet, sand-covered kids returning from “Mexico Beach”, including a fast way to give your wet suit a bath.
Pretty confident looking group, don’t you think !
Regards, from on the dock – On the Cove, D-