Summer sailing has drawn to a close and the first days of school are upon us. It wasn't too long ago I was making my last visits to the WSA Junior Sailing Program to take a few more shots of the kids. First up, the racers! Wickford made a brilliant showing at NBYA with an overall win for a Division in 420s at Race Week and a second place for the overall NBYA season. Great job you guys! Now go...
It all begins here kids! This is the summer when you get to connect nature with fun, water with sport, wind with movement, and summer with sailing! You know, sailing just started as a way to get from one place to another, to see new lands and perhaps trade exotic goods. But it is more than just that! It's about sportsmanship, integrity, fun and games (of course), and a bit of self-reliance....
I always loved traveling during the junior sailing season. Fleet racing on the bay had it's perks but when you travelled to that other sailing program to see friends from High School that you don't see during the summer, and you team race them (and you beat them!), well that's got it's perks too. There's a lot of fun to be had with inter-program competition, but team racing has been phased out...
Juniors are the next generation of sailors. I think this is an easily forgotten fact when noisy kids are running through your quiet yacht club, sails aren't rolled properly, or youngsters start throwing fits over capsizing. But it's our job to teach them how to roll those sails and that capsizing isn't the end of the world. They will soon be the shepherds of sailing's future and we are here to...
While the Sail Newport Youth Challenge sported a fleet of about 70 Optimists, and a small group of 16 420s, the Laser fleet only had 8 boats. But that didn't stop these junior sailors from giving it their all! With those heavy air conditions later on Saturday and a decent seabreeze later on Sunday, everyone was hiking out and sailing their boats to the max. All of the competitors were competing...
