A Morning in the Life of our Sailing Supervisor
Written by: Ted Birmingham, Sailing Supervisor
Summer days are my favorite days at Camp Aranzazu. I love sharing my passion for sailing with campers, partners, AND our activity leaders. Sailing has quickly become an activity that helps set our programming apart from other camps. There aren’t many camps that have a saltwater shoreline like ours, and it’s exciting to be able to show it off! Not only is it fun to watch our campers experience sailing for the first time, but it’s also exciting to see their enjoyment of other bayfront activities like birding and fishing.
For a “normal” summer session, I wake up at 6:00 a.m. to start the day off with checking the weather forecast. Ideally, I’m hoping for SE winds at 10–20 mph for the best morning sailing! I arrive at camp between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and tackle setting up the motorboat for the day. I use the motorboat to help me monitor the sailboats when they’re in the bay and be ready to assist with any troubles that may arise on the water. To wrap up my motorboat setup, I’ll launch the boat to listen to the engine purr like a kitten and make sure the boat is running smoothly. While I raise the camp flag at the bayfront, our sailing team (a group of trained activity leaders) arrives at the dock at 7:30 a.m. to rig up the sailboats. Then, we all head down to the dining hall to enjoy Norma’s delicious breakfast and chat with the team. At about 8:30 a.m., we’re ready to grab the radios for the sailboats and head down to the bayfront.
Once we make it to the floating dock, our team puts the sailboats in the water and unfurls the sails. I then gather the team to review the conditions they can expect while out on the water and any last-minute reminders for the day. At 9:00 a.m., campers begin to arrive at the bay, and we kick off the activity with a safety discussion and the day’s dolphin report (a camper favorite). After the safety discussion, we head to the dock so our lifeguard on duty can fit campers with PFDs (personal floatation devices, or lifejackets) while the skippers (trained activity leaders) get into their sailboats. Once the campers are fitted with the appropriate PFD, we help one camper at a time to get in the sailboat so they can set sail with their skipper on the tiller. Based on the number of seasonal staff this year, we normally had two to three sailboats in Copano Bay at one time. The lifeguard keeps track of the time and ensures all campers and partner staff members have the opportunity to sail. I stay in constant radio contact with all the skippers on the sailboats while they’re out on the water. While they’re on the water, I encourage our skippers to share some of their training with the campers; they might even let the campers help with steering if the water is smooth! When it’s time to exchange campers, I call the sailboats back to the dock and a new set of campers get ready for their time in the bay.
We continue that cycle until all the campers and partner staff members have the chance to sail with our team! Sailing is usually combined with other bayfront activities so it’s normally time for lunch after we wrap up for the morning. New this year, the trolley driven by our facilities team picks up our campers to drive them over the bridge and drop them off at the dining hall.
Before our team heads to lunch, we break down the sailboats, rinse all the equipment off, and put away all the parts. Once all the equipment is secured, I lower the camp flag and ready the motorboat for the next day. Then, Norma’s lunch!
