Sailing at Courageous!

Memories from the sailing center.

As we come closer and closer to the end of August, some program sites are beginning to close. For instance, Courageous Sailing Center's programming ended this Friday. A few of the Save the Harbor staff came to Charleston, and they invited us to sail with some of the kids. This is something I have never done before. For starters, it was not just your average, relaxing sailing trip. We were in a massive race with over 30 boats, and small winds. My team had three youngsters, one expert, and myself, a newcomer to sailing. They gave me one starting tip, watch out for my head. You really had to pay close attention or else you'd get hit in the head really hard. Also, some boats began to capsize, and people liked to do that for fun so they can dip into the water. Though I wanted to get wet, we took the time to prepare for the race.

I'm going to miss these kids!

I learned some things in the race. I learned what irons were, tacking, and switching jets. I was mainly switching jets as we sailed because it is very easy to do. I talked to them about marine life, and taught them about invasive species. The kids knew about this however because they've taken science classes at Courageous. They made me the student and taught me how to steer the boat. I stopped because I crashed into another boat, but it is nothing new apparently, they said it happened all the time. I am going to miss the kids at Courageous, and the studies, but it was a very fun time learning how to sail, and actually going sailing for the first time!

Talk to you later!

Qalid Hassan :)