As I busily process camp registration forms and answer questions about all of our many summer offerings, I can’t help but get excited for the coming summer on Lake Champlain. Yet with that excitement comes a pang of jealousy—why can’t I participate in all of the great programs that we have for kids? I was lucky enough to enroll in one of our adult keelboat sailing courses this past summer, and don’t get me wrong—it was fabulous. But I’ve got to say that Cooking and Sailing, Lake Adventure, and all of our other wonderful youth offerings still manage to catch my eye.

Perhaps at the top of my list of camps that make me want to try to pass myself off as a 14 year old is the ever-popular Scuba and Sailing, offered in collaboration with Burlington’s own Waterfront Diving Center, located just down Battery Street from the CSC. Scuba and Sailing campers spend their mornings learning the basics of snorkeling and scuba diving and get a sturgeon’s perspective on Lake Champlain. After lunch, they hop into our sailboats and cruise around on the surface of the lake, taking everything in from a whole new perspective and learning an entirely different set of skills. The camp gives kids a chance to try out not one but two awesome ways to engage with our lake. Talk about major fun!

There’s still space in Scuba and Sailing camp, but it’s a good idea to register early as spaces fill up fast! Check out our camp registration page to register for this camp or any of our other summer offerings. With tons of different sailing camps, a medley of multi-activity camps like Scuba and Sailing, and a bunch of other youth sailing opportunities, there’s something for everyone at the CSC!

This past weekend, we here at the CSC celebrated the vernal equinox by launching a truly awesome new project! With the help of Ed Shepard, a friend of the CSC, we’ve attached a digital camera to the top of our boat hoist, overlooking Burlington Harbor. The camera is equipped with a timer and it will take a picture each day, all year long, at 5:00 pm. Pictures will be stored on a memory card that will be retrieved throughout the season.

You might be thinking, why on earth would the folks at the CSC subject themselves to the perils of climbing up an incredibly tall ladder in all sorts of inclement weather? Teetering at the top of the hoist as snow and ice pelt me certainly isn’t my idea of a good time…

Well, here’s why: next vernal equinox, we’ll be taking all of the pictures that we’ve collected over the past year and putting them together to create an awesome time-lapse movie of the seasons on Lake Champlain! The movie will allow us to share footage of the changing seasons on Lake Champlain and play a small role in educating the community about just how amazing our lake really is.

Stay tuned for an occasional picture on our Facebook page or photo blog, and definitely keep an eye out for the finished product this time next year!

Today, I got the opportunity to work with our Adaptive Watersports Program (AWP) in partnership with Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports. Vermont Adaptive helps provide the disabled community access to various activities that most people think are impossible for people with physical or cognitive disabilities. In the winters, they have a presence at ski resorts like Bolton Valley and Sugarbush, and in the summers, we partner with them to operate the AWP and this program serves a vital role in the community.

As a physically disabled sailor myself, I know how difficult it can be for someone with any kind of physical disability to get on the water. It’s not usually the arm or the leg that is the problem, so much as the mindset. For people that have gone through some sort of trauma, taking risks can be hard afterward. For me especially, getting back on the water after my accident was daunting. I knew that, despite any disability, it was important for me to prove to myself that I could do things normally. In cases like this, the disability makes it doubly hard, because the athlete will pretend it doesn’t exist and can push him or herself beyond a usually acceptable limit.

Having worked with other disabled sailing programs in the past, I have seen the benefits that come from getting people on the water firsthand. Whether it’s a returning sailor, back to the water after years of recovery, or someone who has never felt the exhilaration of the wind in their sails, the smiles that I see take me back to when I had that same powerful feeling years ago. Anybody who has been so affected by life’s twists and turns knows intimately the power that a little self-determination can give the mind and spirit.

While overcoming a physical disability is itself a very powerful experience, Vermont Adaptive extends its reach to those with cognitive disabilities as well. Unlike those with physical disabilities, those with cognitive disabilities may not be able “overcome” their disability in the same sense of the word. In my work with this demographic, the goal is usually different. Just to be able to do something different like sailing or paddling can be a life-changing experience. And the smiles I see on these faces show levels of bliss that I believe were previously undocumented by science.

With the benefits of our modern civilization attracting more and more people to pursue inside activities, the access provided by the Sailing Center to people of all physical and cognitive abilities is becoming more and more important. Working with AWP reminds me constantly why programs like this are so important and the life changing effects that they can have on people.

-Chris

Today, I had a group sail with a bunch of kids from Petra Cliffs. The wind was blowing strong at about 12 knots and some of the girls on board were not enjoying all of the excitement. The waves were tall with white caps hurdling over each wave. The sails were luffing and sheets were clanking loudly–scaring some of the kids on board. However, after we dropped the mooring and pulled in the sails everyone was more at ease, and by the time that we made it out to the middle of the Lake, they were having fun getting splashed by the waves and waving to their friends in the other boats. We even had a few Champ sightings while we were out riding the white caps. Everyone had a blast and by the end of it each kid could go home and tell their family and friends how they braved the heavy wind and huge waves in a sailboat.

Something that stood out to me today was the overall positive attitude in the boat. Amongst the 8 of us that were sailing, 3 wanted to go in because it was too windy out. I was impressed by how easily the other sailors were able to convince the other 3 to stay out. The excited sailors were able to distract the scared ones by pointing out the big waves and other boats around us. By taking their minds off the boat we were in talking and about how cool it was to see Burlington from afar, the sailors that were once scared were now having fun. These important life lessons on how to tackle difficult situations were being conducted in front of me between 7 and 8 year-olds. How awesome is that? I wouldn’t trade this job for anything.

-Sarah

One of the many reasons that I keep coming back to work at the Community Sailing Center is its commitment to getting people on the water:  I constantly get the opportunity to work with people who have never before been sailing. One of my personal highlights from the spring season was sailing with a group of girls from BHS’s English as a Second Language program. Many of the girls started out a little wary of the water, but all of them were excited about sailing. Before getting on the water they were playing with sunscreen and joking around. After about 30 minutes on the water the girls were climbing all over the boat, laughing and putting their feet in the water. They had a beautiful day; sunny, with a nice, steady breeze.  I was reminded while on the lake with them of how much I love seeing people experience sailing for the first time. I am looking forward to many more beautiful days with enthusiastic students.

-Anna

This has been a busy spring down at the Sailing Center. We have been hanging out with students from from the Barnes School and learning about the lake. We learned about how different people and activities affect Lake Champlain and how we can all take better care of it. The best part? We got to go sailing, too! We learned about the history of Burlington’s Waterfront and even took water samples from our keelboats. I wish I had done this stuff when I was in grade school!

We have also been hosting group sails with the Community High School of Vermont. Students from four separate locations meet at the sailing center once a week for a break from the classroom and some cool, hands-on lessons. We’ve had some nice weather and great wind to brush up on some skills.

This spring has been extra nice, and with camp around the corner, the summer is shaping up to be an excellent one.

-Chris

For the past two weeks we have had the pleasure of working with a group of high energy, enthusiastic, enviromaniacs from the Barnes School. We have been learning about the Winooski River watershed and how we interact with the entire water cycle here in Burlington. Other topics we have covered include: the three states of water (solids, liquids, and gasses), how pollution affects each state and what we can do to help clean and protect they fragile ecosystems with in the watersheds.

As the spring program continues we are exploring water chemistry and testing Lake Champlain water quality on shore and out in the middle of the lake. We are conducting multiple tests to determine the levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, phosphates, nitrogen, temperature, and coliform bacteria in the lake. We hope to further our understanding of how our everyday activities have a direct impact on the waters around us and how the lake responds to our use of its resource. We are all very excited and are eager to continue exploring the great resource of Lake Champlain and will finish our program with a lesson about human impact and the lake. Each day is a success as we are able to see the connections that local students are able to make with their natural environment.

It’s been an exciting April down here at the Sailing Center. The anticipation of the upcoming summer season is indescribable. Since we have decided to start our sailing season three weeks early this year we have been hustling all spring to get the docks in the water, clean up the boats as well as organize the general layout of our “unique” facility. There really is never a dull moment at the Community Sailing Center, ever.

In order to make this all happen we have been hosting weekly volunteer days. Last Saturday, April 25th was our big spring work day. Colin and I were psyched to get a good turnout especially since we only have two weeks left until game time! The dock crew was able to repair one of our ramp docks, re-carpet it’s surface and prepare the next ramp for work. The other assorted crews were able to clean/wax 4 of our our 420’s, flip and rig them, reorganize assorted spars, clean/wax the keel boat hulls, prepare the keel boat bottoms for paint amongst many other feats. All in all a very successful day!

Continue reading Volunteer Days »