Sloop/Sonars developed their steering and tacking skills with a long distance trip that took them out past Children's Island" a feat many chilluns deemed "impossible." The voyage succeeded without a hitch, and after tooling around in Optis for a while, these kids are starting to show real progress. Every one of them has promise.

Intro to Junior Sailing continued to strengthen the foundations of their nautical education: points of sail, sail trim, and steering practice. Liam says they've started "fine tuning" their steering in both Optimists and Sonars. He continued by saying that their enthusiasm was "off the charts," but I have no idea how he would objectively measure enthusiasm. What kind of increments would you use? I'm betting this chart is dubious at best.

Opti I held a scavenger hunt at riverhead with Russel and Jake emerging victorious. They then reduced their spoils to sticky wrappers in less than five minutes. Wednesday saw a windward sail, and Cookie and Liza managed to somehow half sink an Optimist. Thursday they sailed downwind through the harbor, then back upwind with all the boys sailing by themselves.

Opti II practiced controlled jibes for those heavy-wind days, and upwind sailing for those "trying to get somewhere" days. They put both these skills to work later when they sailed out of the harbor, and briefly flirted with the open ocean before turning back.

Opti III Prepared for race week by discussing starting tactics and running races, including modified triangles and windward leewards (if you don't know what those are, ask your kids!) Tucker's main concern was understanding the layline, and making sure everyone knew how to get off the line. Tactic discussion will continue during Race Week while on land, so wish them luck! Go team!