Family Sailing Program: pursue a shared dream with children

The mother recalled their vacation in the small town Bellagio in northern Italy when the family lived in Germany. Every morning, she saw a family took a sailboat at the Lago di Como with a basket of food. The children jumped into the water with laughter while the couple were reading newspaper in the warm sunshine on deck. At that moment, people and nature integrated as a whole. The peace and freedom of sailing had engraved on her mind thereafter.

Slightly different from his wife’s motivation, the dad wishes one day he can skipper a sailboat going to the places he had dreamed of many times. The meaning of bustling daily life, in his opinions, is to find a lifestyle he truly loves. The feeling of freedom while sailing on the sea balances out all the stresses of routine.

Born and grew up in Germany, both two youth of the family are fond of sports by instinct. Though they haven’t got a sailing certificate yet, they already had some sailing experiences thanks to the influence of their parents.

The crew consists of the father plus his kids, a 13 years old girl and 12 years boy. The family had lived in Germany for quite a long time so that the course was partly taken in German language. But for the terminology part, the instructor Chris put it in English since the sailing certificate they will get is internationally used.

The siblings had joined in a sailing camp last year. The instructor Chris immediately found that when he saw their disciplined movement. Even young as them, they could basically handle a 8 meters long J80 sailboat, which is surprising for the instructor Chris and also gives him confidence to teach more challenging contents on the weekend. For the dad it was a new challenge. It was interesting to see such a situation where children know a bit more than their father. The dad had showed his ability and motivation to learn. They talked about the skills a lot on the boat. The interaction between the father and children indicates not only mutual respect but also love in this family.

The theoretic session was done online in advance. The instructor Chris emphasizes the importance of practices to help trainees understand theories. For example, when rescuing a man overboard, it is always better to do it in real situation because when you really catch an object from the water, you suddenly understand everything of the procedures. This time, a fender on the boat was used as the “man overboard”, the family cooperated to try several times and successfully took “the man” back to the deck.

During the training, there was a special visitor on board to support the sailing family. It was the grandma. She was proud to see her grandchildren taking her sailing at sea. The nice lady also got along well with SAIL GLOBAL stuff. The grandson even asked his grandma to undertake a little job of rigging.

On the last day, there was very good wind. The instructor Chris arranged a long distance sailing rounding the island in front of the bay which had taken around 2 hours. It was a big challenge for the family as they had never sailed in such big wind and waves. But it was the best and also the most effective way to strengthen what they had learn and make up what they had not. The real situation makes the best sailor. They had to command how to control the boat in strong wind and learn how to do navigation through chart and apps. To avoiding collision into the rocks, the sailor has to make use of navigation tools and observation to estimate the depth of the water and choose a safe course. Finally, the family successfully completed the long trip, marking a perfect ending the weekend training.

The family passed the exam of ASA 101 with good scores. All of them were expecting the next round. 

A video made by the mom for memory

With participation of the mother, the whole family was back for ASA 103 at Qingming Festival holiday.

The weather also showed up its welcoming momentum with bigger wind and waves. More challenging ASA 103 courses and varying sailing conditions was awaiting them. The theoretical part had been already done online, which made it a pure sailing and learning holiday.

In the beginning, a crucial skill--docking both in and out under engine was practiced in different conditions. It must be mastered to properly start and finish sailing. The siblings still struggled to handle the boat with high proficiency though they had managed it well at this stage.

In the next day, the family confronted the wind speed up to 12-15 knots and 1 to 1.5 meters high waves. In such rough situations, each maneuver and setting became harder than usual. It was a tough job to lift and bring down the sail, let alone jibing and tacking. Hence it was a real test because even a small mistake would be amplified. Intensified practice helped the family pass the test of ASA 103. What’s more important is that the challenging environment had made them realize proficient sailing skills stem from accumulation of sailing hours. As they already have had the basics, the instructor Chris suggest the family do another 80 hours of sailing before taking the next level ASA 104 courses.

Docking at the fishing village where the floating restaurant locates, and having sea food over there were the repertoires. The father had improved largely in this session and done a perfect docking at the marina of the fishing village. It was a course but also a trip and a family gathering, which were realized together through sailing .

It was worth to mention the performance of the mom. Se came with the family in session 1 but quite by half an hour on boat out of fear toward sea. In session 2 , she spent half a day on boat and gradually adapted to it on the first day. Despite the unstable environment on the second day, she stayed on board for a whole day. The process of her transformation convinced us that she had defeated her weakness step by step with her strong willpower. She also recorded her thoughts on sailing:

Sailing is a sport of courage and wisdom. Nature gives us the most beautiful scenery and the most dangerous experience. Driving through the wind and waves brings you a sense of accomplishment, and challenges your calmness and reaction in the stormy waves. Isn’t life’s voyage the same principle, after all, it’s only occasionally when it’s calm and calm. How to adapt to sailing to the destination in an unpredictable environment? Collaboration, trust, wisdom, and courage can overcome many difficulties, and finally arrive at the destination to disembark. At a moment, you realize that you are actually defeating yourself.

The parents of the family expressed their intentions to take a family sailing program. Work has occupied most of their daily life, leaving limited time to be with their children. And those children in adolescence have their own interests which widen the gap between them and parents. Sailing is a sport that parents and children can share quality time together, accompany each other and develop a lifetime hobby. It is also both physically and mentally healthy and environment-friendly to sail on the boundless blue sea.

The kids showed excellent awareness to make decisions and analysis beyond their actual age. They are open-minded and versatile with outstanding capability of study new stuffs and do manual work. Welcome aboard SAIL GLOBAL international sailing community, future elites of world，sailing for the dream, for a unlimited life.