With the thunderstorms of the weekend passed, the second week of the sailing program is off to a wonderful start with a BMD (Beautiful Maine Day). This phrase is commonly used around the yacht club to name the days where the sun is shining and there is a consistent breeze: a perfect day to go sailing.

The young sailors began to gather as the instructors were sent down to the dock to bail the motor boats. As I watched Will take attendance and everyone introduce themselves, it was really beginning to feel like summer. Soon enough, everyone was whisked down to the dock to cheer on William Johnson and Ryan Kershaw as they bravely jumped right into the frigid water and joined our family here at SYC. I couldn’t help but join in as everyone encouraged them to splash the junior instructors in the rowboat. I have always loved watching the smiles on the swimmers grow as instructors in the rowboat rush to move out of the way of the innocent splashes.

Despite a week without a BMD, days with little to no wind, a few rain storms, and lots of fog, morning sailors concluded last week with a Friday Fun Day of a round of Sailing Feud and a spontaneous sail. The original fog that postponed a trip to Indiantown cleared and allowed sailors to “drop everything and sail,” concluding the first week of the program.

As the fog cleared up completely and a southerly breeze filled in, a BMD allowed afternoon sailors to participate in their first race day of the season. Turnabout sailors raced in between the protection of Cedarbush and David Island with a small fleet of four boats. Hannah and Maggie took the lead as they raced in Bada Bing; Alex and Eleanor took second in Mouse; Lanka and Sophie raced in Muli and finished in third; and last but not least, Jack and Nathan ended in fourth in Ares.

Opti coaches decided to spend the day working on sailing skills, like roll tacks, setting them up to have two race days this week. However, they did not miss out on having fun last week; on Thursday, Opti coaches led their sailors in a game of freeze dance and tack on the whistle as they sailed up to Pratts Island Shore. Before the fog rolled back in later that afternoon, 420 sailors happily joined in with no hesitation. The 420 sailors also ended the week with a race day; they raced with some extra competition as Hamilton and Ella as well as Chester and Trever raced right alongside them. Nate and Brian took first with 9 points; only a point behind, Charlie and Abbie who finished in second with 10 points; and Lucas and Peter finished in third with 13 points.

With no more signs of thunder and lightning storms, the week is off to a beautiful start. Looking ahead, the morning program will celebrate the 4th of July with their yearly competition that includes a watermelon swim, a water balloon toss, as well as many other activities. I hope that everyone has a lovely week and a wonderful 4th of July.