Words and Photos by Mike Ferring
The point is clear: Learning to sail is simple. Really simple. We used to make the point every time Maryellen and I led a “Learn to Sail” class. You’ll sail today. You can spend the rest of your life honing your skills.
Arizona Sailing Foundation Chief Instructor Craig Taylor knows that too, and on the first day of this spring’s Kids’ Introduction to Sailing class, Craig and his team of assistants guided eight kids on rigging an Opti sailboat, offered one vital safety tip (“tiller toward trouble”), and sent them off in their own boats into the light wind of Tempe Town Lake.
What happened? They sailed.
In many ways, it was like what I’d seen a couple of weeks earlier when Emory Heisler and a dozen “coaches” ran a class for adults. The adults were expected to have read the textbook that dealt with tacking and jibing and that stuff. But after help rigging boats, they were sent off to sail with guidance from the coaches. What happened? They sailed.
More photos can be found on the AYC SmugMug site.
