Because I know I will be asked … my own daughter did summer camp and now sails at Southern Yacht Club, which is a membership based option. That said, Community Sailing is a great organization that is open to all if you want to explore this sport!
Sail Like a Girl :: 10 Reasons I Am Grateful My Daughter Sails
When my oldest daughter was younger, we tried all the sports the school and playground had to offer. She danced, played soccer, volleyball, basketball and all of the other ball sports. But at the end of the day, it was never a fit.
My daughter attended sailing camp the summer she was six and was immediately hooked. While other sports came and went on our calendar, sailing was always present. She moved from summer sailing to year-round sailing at the age of seven and has never looked back. Now she is fourteen and sails for Mount Carmel Academy on their regatta team. Go sailing cubs!
Looking at where she is today from where she started on her first boat at six, she has learned so much and grown over the years. There are skills that the sport of sailing has offered her that I think are sometimes unmatched in other sports.
Here are my favorite takeaways that I have seen in her as a female sailor ::
1. Breaking Stereotypes: In a male dominated sport, she is breaking her own youth sports glass ceilings. According to Sailing World, only 16% of competitors are women. There are efforts underway to boost female sailing including female regattas, workshops and scholarships for further skill development. While outnumbered, my daughter and her friends on the water are absolutely fearless. And, seeing the bond they share being the minority is endearing. They don’t ever mind that they are outnumbered. They are ready to sail.
2. Independence and Decision Making: While sailing is a team sport, you compete as an individual in youth sailing. This helps sailors gain confidence and learn self-reliance. There is no choice out on the water but to learn to trust themselves and hone their decision-making skills. In real time, sailors must create strategies on the racecourse and constantly adjust to hit their mark. This is a skill I think we all struggle with now and then as adults. I find it pretty amazing that she has the opportunity to constantly work at building her decision-making skills at every practice.
3. STEM: As she is currently a freshman and taking geometry, she is familiar with concepts because sailing is basically geometry in action. Racecourse geometry, hull geometry, sail shape and more are things she considers everyday not even realizing the STEM concepts she is applying to her sport. It’s like secret learning because it is disguised as fun, which as a parent I appreciate.
4. Always Changing: Mother Nature never likes to keep things the same. Every day that a sailor takes the water, the conditions are different. Sailors must fight against ever changing conditions such as wind, weather, current and chop. She has always looked forward to practices not caring how wet or how cold she would end up. A Thursday night practice after school in January is never kind.
5. Physically Demanding: Aside from getting callous hands or getting hit in the head with the boom, sailing is physically demanding. Sailors run for conditioning and strength training to improve their arm and core muscles. Hanging off the side of a boat and holding it (called hiking) isn’t for the faint of heart. Even when she moves around on a boat her balance is improving. If you have ever seen a youth sailor walk around on a boat, it looks so casual like they are walking around their living room at home.
6. Travel: Competitive youth sailing is a travel sport that can take you to internationally to amazing places such as Italy, Holland and the Bahamas. My most favorite place she has ever sailed was the Columbia Gorge in Oregon which has amazing wind conditions and is breathtaking. It also opens up unique opportunities. This summer I took her and a couple of other female sailors up to Annapolis, Maryland to sail at the US Naval Academy over the summer. For a travel sport, I would choose these locations over a ball field any day.
7. Adventure: Sailors have a sense of adventure and their ease around water is so natural. They understand water and wind in a way I never have. She has never met a water sport she hasn’t liked, from paddle boarding to slalom skiing. If it’s on the water, count her in. Her sailing squad even took a scuba diving class together. I hope they carry this sense of adventure with them into adulthood and share it with their future families.
8. Sailing is Lifelong: Sailing is a lifelong sport that she can enjoy well into her adult life. It is not only a youth sport but a sport adults can regularly compete in. From Lake Pontchartrain regattas to the Olympic team, there are options for adult sailing at any skill level. Currently she gets to enjoy racing other larger boat classes with her dad and grandfather.
9. New Boat, New Skill: The bigger the kid, the bigger the boat. As she gets older, she is branching out to learn new boats and taking on competing in those classes. It is fun to get to see her skills transfer and develop as she tries new things. It keeps the sport new for her as she unlocks new boat classes.
10. And number 10, well, this one is for the parents. Sailing is not a spectator sport. My father-in-law told me this at her first regatta, and while I didn’t understand it at the time, I quickly learned. If your child is on a body of water, there are no “stands” for parents to watch. Unless you are on your own spectator boat, you are of course watching on land. So, in the heat of summer or the cold of winter, you will find parents watching from a nearby balcony or window through binoculars. But even that, in-action sailing is a very hard sport to watch. It mostly looks like chaos on water. This set up takes the stress out of youth sports, as you don’t know what is happening, so there are no parent “coaches” yelling at the kids. It makes the environment much lower key than traditional parent stands.
Set Sail!
In a city surrounded by water, I love that she is embracing where she lives and enjoying the water. I am thankful that she is having fun and growing as an individual at the same time. But more so I am glad she found a sport that she loves so much that she can continue to enjoy throughout her life.
“Sailing requires courage, determination, intelligence, and sheer grit to propel you forward. Sailing isn’t simply about navigating the waters; it’s about unwavering strength and resilience. To sail like a girl is about finding your voice amidst the roar of the ocean and standing tall in the face of adversity. Whether you’re a seasoned sailor or a novice adventurer, it’s about pushing boundaries and knowing the horizon is not a limit but a new beginning.” – North Sails