So here we are at the end of the summer, and what better time than the end of the season to think about why I like this job and about what it is that I have always looked forward to each summer. I believe the first aspect that drew me to working at the Community Sailing Center was Lake Champlain. For the past ten years, I have almost never lived more than a mile or so from the lake. I love being on the water, whether I am sailing, wakeboarding, kayaking, climbing on Lone Rock or teaching a group of campers. So it makes sense that I choose do this every day.
I also like going out to the lake after a long, cold winter, getting warm in the sun and getting awkward zebra tan lines on my feet from my Keens. I look forward to learning about my coworkers. I know that after a summer of helping each other through tough situations and having fun on the easy days that we will have become much closer by the end of the summer. What I look forward to most, though, is watching my campers start to “get the hang of it.” I always start each week of camp waiting for my sailors to reach that point, where sailing is no longer scary but fun, and where the sailboat is no longer a painful boom with a boat attached but rather an instrument for exploration and fun on the lake. I start the summer knowing that whatever happens, we here at the Sailing Center will make sailors out of beginners, and give campers a great experience while doing so. So as we begin to pack it in for the winter, pulling the motor boats for the last few times, furling that beautiful rainbow Holder sail, I can’t help but wonder what next summer will bring.
-Craig
