I help build boats at a High school in Maine that is right on the water. it even has a boat ramp and is across the narrow river from a major Navy yard. Each semester we ask the kids who live in this seaside town, bordered on two sides with water, about their boating experience. Out of 15 kids we may get one or two who have any experience. That experience is almost always that they have gone out with their parents or an uncle. None have been able to sail, row or even paddle.
The biggest roadblock that i see to the kids getting out and experiencing the water is access to the water. Even if a kid has the ambition to get or borrow a boat, there is almost no place to get it into the water. Land owners, the town etc. have essentially locked down the waterfront from casual users.
Joining a sailing program is about the only way to get onto the water unless you own waterfront. The problem with the sailing programs is that it is another adult driven scheduled activity that competes with sports, drama, scouts, etc. Also, the sailing programs near us are all about racing. Sailboat racing takes a wonderful, relaxing, quiet experience and injects anxiety, rules, and grumpiness.
We need to open up the waterfront to allow all to just simply mess about in boats.
I wish to make just one comment on the piece you wrote so well.
You wrote, "...raced a 29-foot fiberglass sloop from Washington to Alaska, finishing in just over seven days. While perhaps not a true “small boat,” it sure felt that way with five of us onboard..."
Nothing could be further from the truth! 29 feet is a "small boat", for every boat on every ocean and waterway is a small boat on a large body of water. There are no large boats too large for any sea! I sailed my 28 foot sloop (not raced it) throughout the Sea of Cortez, visiting every port along the way, experiencing every weather condition for over fourteen years and never was I bored, nor did I duplicate any wind or sea condition which I was familiar with. Nery few passages with topless ladies and margaritas. No, the excitement of the unknown happens to all boats, no matter their waterline, at anytime, for just when you think you have mastered your sailboat or some area to sail or you think you know every weather condition, you find there is always one to teach you something you did not experience.
Never forget you will always be a small boat on a large body of water. Knowing this will keep you attentive and humble to remain diligent to being reminded you are always a small boat boat on a large sea.
To add to this thought; I took a CG reg. class where one student raised his hand to ask, "Sir, when there are red flags flying on the CG pennant signaling Small craft warnings, just how small is a small craft?" Well, it must have been a question asked often to this CG instructor, for he paused as if he was sincerely pondering this question before answering, "If you think you are a small boat, don't go out!" What a brilliant and perfect answer, for it is all about the perspective of what is there or not there. I am precautious to a fault, for I reef early and at night, choose the longer course into an unknown anchorage, and keep offshore until first light before entering an atol. I don't doubt I might get in trouble, and my boat is much smaller when I am unsure of what I am doing, no matter how I assure myself I am a much better sailor than I am on my smaller sailboat.
I agree 100%. When I was about 17, in the mid 70s, my dad inexplicably brought home an old wooden Lightning and parked it in the back yard. I was just at that age where my teenage hormones were urging me to get into trouble of some sort. Many of the kids my age turned to alcohol and drugs, but this darn boat, sitting in the backyard, caught my imagination, and somehow I decided I needed to paint it and then sail it. My brother,a few friends and I spent the next summer sailing it on the Chesapeake, learning how to do something new, gaining self-confidence, learning how to make the right decisions and the consequences of making the wrong choices, which in our case was about things like what happens when three teenagers are hiking out when the centerboard catches a sandbar, the wind pivots the boat, and now we're on the wrong rail! I have always attributed that boat to getting me through those final teenage years and safely into college. Somehow my dad had the wisdom to, not push me, but to lure me into constructive behavior.
I couldn’t agree more with this piece! In fact I started the Blueflash Sailing Foundation specifically to support fast, fun sailing for ALL ( but especially young people).
So here’s the shameless plug. Our motto is to Sail Different. No need to join a club, no long term commitments and it’s affordable for the young people who want access to sailing on their own boats.
We share a fleet of 8 Melges 20’s based in Portland and have created a great team of qualified skippers to get new sailors on the water. Anyone interested can learn more at Blueflashsailing.org
I'm replying here because the main comment box isn't working for me.
Thanks for this awesome article! One of the discouraging things about the small boat community is that it seems filled with old men who sail alone. So, as you're making your lists of things to fix on the boat and places to sail this summer, add one more to your list: take a kid or teen sailing at lest once!
I help build boats at a High school in Maine that is right on the water. it even has a boat ramp and is across the narrow river from a major Navy yard. Each semester we ask the kids who live in this seaside town, bordered on two sides with water, about their boating experience. Out of 15 kids we may get one or two who have any experience. That experience is almost always that they have gone out with their parents or an uncle. None have been able to sail, row or even paddle.
The biggest roadblock that i see to the kids getting out and experiencing the water is access to the water. Even if a kid has the ambition to get or borrow a boat, there is almost no place to get it into the water. Land owners, the town etc. have essentially locked down the waterfront from casual users.
Joining a sailing program is about the only way to get onto the water unless you own waterfront. The problem with the sailing programs is that it is another adult driven scheduled activity that competes with sports, drama, scouts, etc. Also, the sailing programs near us are all about racing. Sailboat racing takes a wonderful, relaxing, quiet experience and injects anxiety, rules, and grumpiness.
We need to open up the waterfront to allow all to just simply mess about in boats.
Check out this organization for one example of the community in Bellingham, WA opening up the water for all.
https://www.boatingcenter.org/
I wish to make just one comment on the piece you wrote so well.
You wrote, "...raced a 29-foot fiberglass sloop from Washington to Alaska, finishing in just over seven days. While perhaps not a true “small boat,” it sure felt that way with five of us onboard..."
Nothing could be further from the truth! 29 feet is a "small boat", for every boat on every ocean and waterway is a small boat on a large body of water. There are no large boats too large for any sea! I sailed my 28 foot sloop (not raced it) throughout the Sea of Cortez, visiting every port along the way, experiencing every weather condition for over fourteen years and never was I bored, nor did I duplicate any wind or sea condition which I was familiar with. Nery few passages with topless ladies and margaritas. No, the excitement of the unknown happens to all boats, no matter their waterline, at anytime, for just when you think you have mastered your sailboat or some area to sail or you think you know every weather condition, you find there is always one to teach you something you did not experience.
Never forget you will always be a small boat on a large body of water. Knowing this will keep you attentive and humble to remain diligent to being reminded you are always a small boat boat on a large sea.
To add to this thought; I took a CG reg. class where one student raised his hand to ask, "Sir, when there are red flags flying on the CG pennant signaling Small craft warnings, just how small is a small craft?" Well, it must have been a question asked often to this CG instructor, for he paused as if he was sincerely pondering this question before answering, "If you think you are a small boat, don't go out!" What a brilliant and perfect answer, for it is all about the perspective of what is there or not there. I am precautious to a fault, for I reef early and at night, choose the longer course into an unknown anchorage, and keep offshore until first light before entering an atol. I don't doubt I might get in trouble, and my boat is much smaller when I am unsure of what I am doing, no matter how I assure myself I am a much better sailor than I am on my smaller sailboat.
I agree 100%. When I was about 17, in the mid 70s, my dad inexplicably brought home an old wooden Lightning and parked it in the back yard. I was just at that age where my teenage hormones were urging me to get into trouble of some sort. Many of the kids my age turned to alcohol and drugs, but this darn boat, sitting in the backyard, caught my imagination, and somehow I decided I needed to paint it and then sail it. My brother,a few friends and I spent the next summer sailing it on the Chesapeake, learning how to do something new, gaining self-confidence, learning how to make the right decisions and the consequences of making the wrong choices, which in our case was about things like what happens when three teenagers are hiking out when the centerboard catches a sandbar, the wind pivots the boat, and now we're on the wrong rail! I have always attributed that boat to getting me through those final teenage years and safely into college. Somehow my dad had the wisdom to, not push me, but to lure me into constructive behavior.
I couldn’t agree more with this piece! In fact I started the Blueflash Sailing Foundation specifically to support fast, fun sailing for ALL ( but especially young people).
So here’s the shameless plug. Our motto is to Sail Different. No need to join a club, no long term commitments and it’s affordable for the young people who want access to sailing on their own boats.
We share a fleet of 8 Melges 20’s based in Portland and have created a great team of qualified skippers to get new sailors on the water. Anyone interested can learn more at Blueflashsailing.org
I'm replying here because the main comment box isn't working for me.
Thanks for this awesome article! One of the discouraging things about the small boat community is that it seems filled with old men who sail alone. So, as you're making your lists of things to fix on the boat and places to sail this summer, add one more to your list: take a kid or teen sailing at lest once!