Sailing through Camp

July 7, 2016 by Don Gentle

Today’s Pictures

There have been few summers that have had great windy days like this one.  It has been a fantastic sailing summer and today was no different! I may be partial, but there is nothing more rewarding than learning how to sail.  Once the boys get the basics down they are content to just do circles around the lake.  We have the perfect lake to learn to sail!

I first started sailing in college.  I learned a lot in dinghies just like the boats at camp. Soon I was taking blue water trips as a college trip. I even earned college credit sailing to the Bahamas.  A few years later in grad school it was me who would skipper one of the two boats from Fort Lauderdale to Bimini.  It was the perfect experiential education trip.  It was almost like camp at sea. We had group process, skill building, and we pushed their comfort level.  Just a few years later I would take my friends on these trips. One friend soon became my wife. So is it a life skill, you bet it is! You can truly impress a lady handling a 40 foot sloop!  I think it is a skill every boy needs to learn. I sure hope the spark starts right here at camp.  Soon they will be cruising the Drake Channel in the BVI and loving life!

As you can imagine, it was another fantastic day at camp!  We had climbers take some half-day trips up to our High Rocks boulders. These are fantastic 40 foot boulders just a short hike up the hill from camp.  It is a nice trip for some of our beginners and intermediate boys.   Our paddlers were out on the lower Green River.  A number of boys headed out on the property for “Nature with Nick.”  It is a cool half-day trip of exploration and discovery. We also had an all-day hike to the top of Looking Glass Rock.  Finally, our last group of overnights headed out for fun night with the cabin around the fire.

We are all excited for another day tomorrow.  Have a great night.

Don Gentle