Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan
I am in a constant state of being adventurous and wanting to try new things. Whenever I would walk the North or South Pier and saw sailboats gliding across Lake Michigan, I could not help but be jealous. I always thought, “Dang!! How cool would it be if that were me?” After years of wishful thinking, I got to the point of thinking, “Screw it! I’m going to do it!” I contacted Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan (SEAS) and set up a Sheboygan sailing lesson called “First Sail” to get my chance behind the "helm."
Where should I start?
I chose the “First Sail” session because well, I knew absolutely nothing about sailing! It introduces sailing in a casual way and motivates newcomers to continue sailing. I won’t lie, I was a little nervous showing up to the docks, because I was going to be in a itty-bitty boat on a large body of water. But, I was reassured that the boat we were taking was a “taaank” (in other words, it’s almost impossible to tip).
But I don't know anything about sailing!
My nerves were soon replaced with excitement since I was going to get hands-on learning that covers topics such as, how a sail works, parts of a sailboat, points of sail, and important safety guidelines. I started off adjusting the Jib (The next most common sail on any boat. The jib can always be found forward of the mast, and unlike the mainsail, does not have a boom.) This was exciting since I had to adjust how much rope to take in or let out based on the wind. The entire experience lasted about 2 hours, and not only did we do different tacks (to change direction by turning the bow of the boat through the wind) but I also got a lot of awesome photos and videos.
That sounds like fun!
If you are like me and constantly looking for your next adventure maybe sailing is for you! SEAS and Sheboygan Youth Sailing are always creating affordable pathways for the community to safely enjoy boating. They provide programming and access to boats while removing barriers to participation created by financial, physical, or cognitive needs.