This week's beginners made incredible progress, and learned to enjoy the fog. First-year instructor Tess McComiskey kept the sailors closer to shore to work on basic skills before allowing them to explore the fog, under watchful eyes from our team of instructors. Hunter Snell in particular enjoyed trying to find different boats and landmarks in the harbor through the fog.

The biggest test for our beginners came during Thursday’s big breeze. Our team divided the sailors into two groups to limit those on the water at any one time. While half of the kids practiced their knots and learned more about the sailing circle through a craft project, the other half was out in what was among the most wind any morning sailor has seen this year. While a few sailors swamped their Optis, and Ava Dahlander had her first 'real' capsize, all of them had smiles on their faces on the way in. Edie Dahlander summed it up when she told us it was fun, but a bit scary. Our sailors learn not only the skills they need to sail, but a healthy respect for wind and water, and their own strengths and comfort zones.

By Friday, we had sun, and the morning classes took advantage of it, combining to play Dead Fish out on the water. Dead Fish is a game developed by the University of New Hampshire, and plays very similar to Ultimate Frisbee, teaching quick reactions, comfort in close quarters and proper sail trim in a really fun way. Some of the sailors were reluctant to stop playing even when I showed up on the water with ice cream sandwiches for them.

In the afternoon, while coaches Tori Thompson, Aiden Clark, and Caleb Gray were busy preparing 17 kids to travel to Harraseeket for their annual junior regatta, the rest of our sailors were busy learning and practicing their spinnaker flying. Chris Orne just moved from morning Opti to afternoon Tech, but by the end of the week he was learning to fly spinnaker in his 420.

Our afternoon sailors enjoyed the Friday break from the fog as well, playing Dead Fish themselves in a large combined group before heading into town for an ice cream stop to wrap up the week.