Sailing With Students from The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind // Learning Knots and Terms
A summer sail with 12 students from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind suffered a rain delay, and then got poured on mid-sail. This was an instructional sail for students participating in a summer camp, and no one’s enthusiasm was dampened in the least!
Learning Parts of the Boat
St Augustine Sailing recently hosted 12 students from the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind during a morning and afternoon. The event included one-on-one and group sailing instruction and demonstrations along with time aboard large sailing vessels on the water!
Learning Knots and Terms
Even the camp counselors joined in learning how to tie knot and learning the parts of the boats.
First, we had an hour-long instructional session with parts of the boat exploration using exact models of our training boats.
Then Captain RoseAnn Points led a session on knot-tying.
The students were wonderful; excited, eager, ready to learn, and amazingly quick at memorizing the parts of the boat and points of sail.
Junior Sailors
When asked if any of them were nervous about going sailing, only one said she was unsure of the size of the boat. I told her it was the size of three cars, and she was then very excited, proclaiming it “a very big boat!”
We used the boat models to demonstrate wind direction, sail trim, and parts of the boat. The students mastered the terms rapidly.
After lunch, the students departed on four sailing vessels with sailing instructors and captains, school staff, and volunteers on the nearby Intracoastal Waterway.
Boarding the Sailing Vessels
We headed down the dock, divided the group up into three students and three counselors per boat. Everyone boarded the sailing boats for a quick safety brief and trip out of the harbor onto the Intracoastal Waterway.
Heading out for a Sail
The students were interested in the other boats, the wind, the rain clouds, and most importantly – who was going to get to steer, and who was going to get to steer first!
Once away from the dock, the students learned more about the points of sail with hands-on activities and a short time at the helm to experience being the master of the vessel.
Steering the Boats
The students were wonderful helmspersons, and excited to go sailing. Kathy Mignerey from St. Johns County Schools told me the students go downhill and cross-country skiing every year as well.
Florida Sunshine and Rain
Although everyone got wet, everyone agreed they would like to come sailing again, and getting rain on was a part of the adventure. Each boat’s team bonded into a group who had braved the Florida elements and came out … wet!
Teenagers – too cool for school!
The program with the FSDB Expanded Core Curriculum (ECC) Summer Academy included nine-year-old through 16-year-old students who are blind and or visually impaired.
Thank You Volunteers
Our crew members and area captains volunteered their time during all activities while working with instructors and chaperones. Fun was had by all!
Thanks to Scott Smith of Monarch Studio for coming along and photographing the event. He is a world-class sailor and photographer. Thanks to SailTime Northeast Florida for donating the boats and captains. Thanks to Elise Gayle Sloan for crewing and photography.
Thank you Elise for crewing for me! We sure did get soaked!
Thank you Scott – for bringing your sailing expertise and photography equipment to capture this fun day.
Sunscreen Awareness
For wearing spray sunscreen, make sure to apply it on the dock downwind of the boat. If it gets carried onto the boat, it can make the boat slippery as well as discolor the fiberglass.
Aerosols are not great for the environment, so best to use a mineral based, non-nano reef-safe version like Stream2Sea. Even the bottles are environmentally friendly; totally biodegradable. Stream2Sea has generously given me a discount code “KimW” for you to use at the checkout at checkout to save 10%.
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