I’ve said it many times, but now’s the time to say it again: The Sailing Center’s dedicated volunteers make everything that we do possible. From folks stepping up at the last minute to help staff an outreach table to families coming in for landscaping or yard cleanup, CSC volunteers are integral to every aspect of the day-to-day operations of the Sailing Center.
Never before has the generosity and dedication of our volunteers been more apparent than in response to the recent flooding on Lake Champlain. During the first week of floods, before the water finally made it inside our office, we received countless calls and emails offering support—before we even needed help! The next week, once the water had come over the sandbags (filled with help from volunteers, of course), the offers only increased. Folks from all over Vermont stepped up and offered to help with whatever they could. From help with cleanup to donated office space to monetary contributions, community members came out of the woodwork to help get us back on track.
But the work isn’t done, and our volunteers know that. Even though we’re settled in a temporary office space and have developed a strategy for how to navigate damage and delays, we’re getting calls, emails, tweets, and Facebook messages from folks wishing us well and offering to help in whatever way they can.
Well, rest assured—there will be plenty to do in the coming months to get ready for our much anticipated summer season. We’ve scheduled a community-wide Staying Afloat Volunteer Day on Saturday, May 28th—the day we would have opened if not for the flood. The event will run from 9 am until 3 pm and will include lunch for all of our dedicated (and presumably hungry) volunteers. If you’re interested in attending the workday on May 28th, or would like to help out at any other point, please be in touch. You can email Lesley Chapman at Lesley [at] communitysailingcenter.org or call 864-2499 to talk about volunteer options.
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!
I thought this was a lake but apparently we are now operating in an ocean with 4ft waves bashing into our docks. Luckily we pulled all of our boats out before the wind storm hit. I did a wind dance in preparation for Friday night racing, but I guess I was dancing a little too much judging from these gusts. As the 35mph gusts came across the lake I watched Colin and Brian observe the dock fight off the western winds of New York. The Keelboats were a rocking and the dock was shaking but we knew that she would hold. I love it when we have high winds but I hate to see our dock take that beating from the waves. I can see no sailboats on the lake except for one brave soul who is single-handedly sailing his Hobiecat into the gusts. Captain Pete is his name and he seems to have no fear. When you come down to the sailing center you can always check to see what the wind speed is by our flag system which consists of a green flag (light wind), yellow flag (heavy wind), and a red flag (no rentals). People always ask us where we get our wind information. We make visual observations of the lake and use our two favorite resources: iwindsurf.com and NOAA. So check out those websites if you were wondering what the wind is doing out there.
-Jamie
I love summer. I love summer because of the seemingly everlasting sunshine, tan skin, flapping sails, and excited, happy voices. Every year I look forward to climbing mountains, driving fast without fear, hot dogs on the grill, and sailing as much on a beam as possible. But fall, well fall, it gives me goose-bumps and butterflies in my stomach. This weekend I noticed a chill in the air and that indescribable smell that seems to ride on its coat-tails.
Then yesterday, Jen, the Education Director, and I met to discuss our plan for fall. It was amazing! I can’t wait for my first fall at the Community Sailing Center. I hear the wind in fall is fast and you better be a good sailor, or at least know how to go dry side, because that water gets cold quick! As we grow, it is a top priority to stay grounded in the community. We want to make sure to take every opinion or experience into account so when we finally get to move into our big, beautiful building we can hit the ground running as one of the premier Community Sailing Centers in the United States. With the introduction of the WAVES initiative and our long standing dedication to teaching everyone to sail, we have everything to offer and nothing to lose. We have the opportunity to help save Lake Champlain from irreversible pollution damage by introducing all people to the endless fun it has to offer. This fall we have a few dedicated instructors happy to get out on the water with you, in addition to rentals until October 11!
And to all my frosty friends with snowflakes on their minds: it’s almost here, fall is in the air.
-Sarah
The subtle intricacies of sailing in 18 knots with 3 foot rollers and chop reminded me why I love sailing last week when I was out with Pete. We beat upwind heading up over the top of each wave and back down the other side; the boat accelerating underneath me felt unreal. Then we set the spinnaker and flew down wind! We caught the waves and surfed down them breaking into a plain and crashing into the next wave and continuing down wind. As I felt the boat decelerate we headed up again and would take off on a plain and soak down as deep down wind as the wind and waves would allow.
Sailing is a sport that is unlike any other, and teaching an adult dingy course was a new experience but one that was enjoyable. Most of the adults in my class had never been sailing and had limited boating experience. We took out 420’s the first day in rough conditions (but not as rough as the day Pete and I were out) and everyone did amazing. Teaching adults is different from kids because progress is much quicker and attention spans are longer. At the end of the two Saturday courses everybody took the rental test and passed with flying colors. We went over the basics of how to steer and rig (put together) the boats. The capsize test demonstrated that everybody would be able to right the boat if it tipped over, and that tipping over is not so scary or dangerous. Then we were able to get out and go sailing. Everybody was nervous as I released them from the docks but quickly nervousness turned into excitement and then the desire to go faster!
-Chris
Each Monday campers come in with a new appreciation and excitement for sailing that refreshes my love for sailing as well. While it may be like second nature for me and the same routine each day, for them it’s the most exciting part of their summer: a very foreign concept with another language. It’s awesome to see them excited when they return every morning and sad to be finished at 4:00pm on the last day. Sailing is such a unique and exciting sport, it’s hard not to return ambitious for another day out on the water. They are brimming with questions like, “What are we doing next?” and “How can I make my boat go faster?” “What’s this?” and “What’s that?” They are so intrigued by all the aspects of sailing, it’s hard to not ask questions and want to know everything they can in a week long session. The kids have been able to see most of Lake Champlain’s moods, from hot, windless sunny days, to cool, windy stormy days. They’ve been troopers through it all, and I think they secretly love to tell their exciting and harrowing tales from their time out on the lake. This summer has been excellent at the Community Sailing Center, and I can’t wait to experience the last few weeks of camp. I know I will miss it greatly when school starts and cold weather creeps in, but there’s still a lot of summer left, and I can’t wait!
-Emma
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
On Saturday, July 29th, I had the unbelievable experience of sailing in the Regatta for Lake Champlain as part of the Community Sailing Center Youth team, a group of level 3 campers.
The boat we raced was Mashnee, captained by Jan Rozendaal and crewed by Sam Darling. She is a Buzzards Bay 30, and in my 26 years living on or near the ocean, she is truly one of the most beautiful boats I have ever seen and definitely the most beautiful I’ve ever sailed.
After leaving the dock, Sam showed Mashnee’s new crew how to change jibs (depending on the wind), how to hoist the main; the race started and we were crossing the line. The first leg was a straight shot on port the whole way, which made for a leisurely lunchtime cruise. Around the mark we headed up and began our beat up wind. This leg provided much more excitement as campers went flying, and sometimes rolling across the deck to avoid the very low boom. As we approached the final, most windward mark, we began to see how close we were to the front of the pack, and team’s excitement grew. We were happy to be sailing well and thrilled to be preparing to set the spinnaker.
Around the final mark our ‘light air’ spinnaker, the largest Sail the campers and I have ever had the pleasure of flying, was set. To our delight and amazement we slowly started gaining on and finally passed the entire fleet!
The regatta was a truly amazing experience, and I was incredibly grateful to be invited along. I’ve raced since I was ten and have only won a handful of regattas; I’ve coached sailing for five years and only seen my kids win three or four; this is the first time I’ve ever had the pleasure of being on the same boat as the kids when we crossed the line first. It was incredible.
I want to say thank you to Jan and Sam, as well as, everybody on the CSC team and their parents for supporting us.
-Nick
What does it feel like to really connect with the lake? What’s it like to head west on a tight reach when the wind is blowing 12 out of the south? How does it feel to tack around, let the sails out and head back towards Burlington with the wind and the sun at your back?
If you sail, and you’ve had experiences like the ones above, then you know. It feels amazing. It feels like limitless freedom. It looks beautiful with a giant sun setting over New York behind you and Burlington getting larger and larger in front of you. You feel the warm air, you feel the boat under your feet accelerating and slowing down, and you just can’t help but smile wide.
But for so many people, they’ve never felt these things. They don’t know what Burlington looks like from the middle of the lake. They don’t know how cool Mt. Mansfield and Camels Hump look with the lake stretched out in front of them. They have never seen the moon rise over our small city or how the fireworks look from anywhere but the shores of Lake Champlain.
This is one of the main reasons I got involved with the Community Sailing Center; to get more people out into the lake and on the water. While I grew up and lived what I just spoke about, so many others did not, and I’d really like to see that improve. I became a board member at CSC last year for a variety of reasons; from helping the organization secure a permanent home, to helping improve the Burlington waterfront, to helping more people get out onto the lake and experience what it’s like to sail and connect with the water. I really feel that the lake is one of our greatest resources, and we need to make it accessible to everyone.
It really is a misconception that the lake is inaccessible. It doesn’t matter who you are; the CSC helps get everyone out into the lake to begin to have these experiences. I ask for your help in doing so. If you’re a CSC camper, parent, renter, customer, or just a friend; I challenge you to bring someone you know down to the center in the next 3 weeks to show them what is really going on down there. They will see the scene, they’ll meet the staff, and they’ll see campers and customers alike having life-altering experiences every day. Only if we grow, involve more people, and continue to do what we’re doing will more people catch on and begin to understand the essence of the lake.
Thanks,
Eli Lesser-Goldsmith, Board of Directors
This essay was published in the Burlington Free Press on Friday, August 8th: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108060322
This past week I had the great experience of being with our Guppies, the youngest campers here at the CSC. While we did the normal sailing thing for most of the week, we also had the opportunity to go to ECHO for two mornings of our week. I had never been to ECHO before, and on the first morning I was just as excited about it (if not a bit more excited) than the campers. When we arrived the staff there was awesome and got us involved right away with some of their “everyday” programming. We explored two amazing exhibits, the backyard monsters (about insects) and the underwater exhibit. In the underwater exhibit, which seemed to be the more popular, we explored a sunken ship, the effects of Zebra Mussels, and watched a feeding and presentation about the larger fish they have at ECHO.
Our second day at ECHO was equally entertaining (and educational). It began with a great presentation about the different kinds of mammals, reptiles, and birds we can find here, around Lake Champlain. We played a matching game with furs and pictures, learned about vertebrates and invertebrates, and got to meet a real live turtle that was saved by the staff at ECHO after being hit by a car. After our presentation, we spent some time exploring all the nooks and crannies of the museum. I would say I use the term museum loosely, because ECHO is just a cool place that allows kids to interact with science and educational tools in the most kid friendly way, with their hands.
Interested in our multi-activity camps?
-Nick
