For my first summer in Burlington, I really didn’t know what to expect in terms of Fourth of July celebrations. Back home at the Jersey Shore, there was never a shortage of bbq’s or fireworks, so I was very interested in getting my once-a-year fix. Where’s the downtown party? Where’s the best spot to see the fireworks? Where can I just hang out in peace?
I had heard of Rock the Dock from my friends who had spent previous summers in Burlington, but with no experience of my own, I was curious. The set-up started early, and with an energy that was hard to miss. Volunteers and staff alike were buzzing around the Sailing Center in joyful anticipation of the night to come. The food started cooking early as well, so we had something to look forward to.
Once the evening settled in, the crowds joined us on the docks. Families, college kids and all types could be seen enjoying the epic view from the docks. While everyone waited, a stunt pilot wowed everyone with some aerobatics. As he left to some early volleys of fireworks, the crowd on the dock waited eagerly for the highly anticipated main event. The Lounge at the end of the dock was super nice with DJ Craig Mitchell providing some dancing music all night.
Once the fireworks started though, everyone was silent. Our spot on the dock was so good that I could tell it was the best in Burlington. There was no way to get any closer unless you were lighting them yourself.
If you missed Rock the Dock this year, come on down to the Lake Lovers’ Summer Party at ECHO on Friday! It’s part of the Regatta for Lake Champlain, a non-profit that raises money to donate to organizations working for the health and sustainability of Lake Champlain.

- Chris

This week at the sailing center has been hot. So hot you can’t even sit still without sweating and you’re constantly thinking about the next time you’ll go swimming. My young level two campers have been doing well despite a few flared tempers. During one instance we were all out floating on the lake. The air was still and there wasn’t much sailing going on. Instead we were capsizing, swimming and splashing all around. Suddenly out on the horizon you could see the telltale ripples of wind to come. We started to sail into the wind and all of a sudden everything was better. Whatever bickering had been going on or heated exchanges had been replaced by smiles and giggling. They were sailing well, they were cooler, and I was able to squeeze in a series of drills. Hopefully his heat will break and the wind will pick up, but even if it doesn’t I know the sailing center will continue to run like a well-oiled machine and the kids will always have a great time.

-Emma

I’ve been thinking about some of the adventuring world’s more headline catching feats lately. In the past few months, we’ve seen a 13 year old boy summit Everest and a 16 year old girl sail solo around the world, each the youngest person to ever complete their respective feat. First, let’s all agree that having done these things grants you some solid bragging rights. But beyond providing fodder for truly excellent “What I Did Over My Summer Vacation” essays, does the objective scope of these adventures have any bearing on their value? Maybe this means I’m not any fun (full disclosure: I have neither circumnavigated the globe nor summited Everest), but I would say no: the standards set by individuals other than the adventurer are essentially meaningless to the heart of the experience.

I see this as particularly true with the 6 and 7 year olds I’ve been working with this week. Yesterday, we practiced righting capsized boats. This can be scary, as it requires the student to voluntarily tip over the only thing keeping them warm and dry, plunging them into the water. Despite the discomfort, this is an important skill for any sailor to practice as it grants a higher degree of autonomy on the water and greatly increases a sailor’s potential to perform a self rescue in what could otherwise be a dicey situation. The other equally real (and particularly adventurous, I think) benefit to practicing capsize recovery is that of having proved to yourself that you are capable of getting yourself out of trouble, of taking control in an uncomfortable and scary situation and succeeding despite your fears and insecurities.

This is the kind of adventure I see my students undertaking – the expansion of what they understand themselves to be capable of through risk, challenge, and success. Is the value or personal scope of an adventure necessarily reduced by a round of applause from your friends on the dock after your success? What if your adventure involves regularly scheduled snack time? In both cases, I’ll stand by the validity and value of these experiences without hesitation. These students aren’t setting records and they’re not expanding the limits of what their sport perceives as possible. Far more importantly they’re writing their own personal history, actively finding themselves to be people capable of taking bold action despite their fears. With any luck, at some future juncture when they’re face to face with a scary decision, a part of each of these kids will remember that sometimes it’s OK to tip your boat and plunge into the lake.

-Nick

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.