Leadership Harbor’s roots are in the water. From day 1, this company has grown from a tiny
sailboat and the leadership lessons built from learning to guide its sails.
I, too, grew up around sailing–but in quite a different way. My dad owned a larger sailboat, and as kids, my brother and I were often aboard the boat out in western Nebraska. However, it turns out that if you spend most of your time daydreaming and dangling your feet overboard, you don’t really pick up the basics on HOW to sail–which creates a bit of a problem when you “inherit” (and by inherit I mean be the only person in the family that actually has space in their garage) the sailboat when you become an adult, and you don’t actually know how to sail it.
It’s a great day to work at Leadership Harbor, though, because Coach Brian just happens to be a master sailor!! So…(bless his heart) he agreed to go on an adventure, and teach a sailing 101 class. If you know Coach Brian, this would be a good time to give him a shout out and commend him on his patience as this was a longer afternoon than he anticipated. :D
So: knowing that I would need a bit of prerequisites to the class, here are some recommendations for Sailing 101 from tripsavvy.com that I looked up prior to our adventure
Understand Basic Sailing Terms. Ok…like…Go? Stop? Grab that rope over there?
Learn the Parts of the Boat. Some of these I do know…the boat, the sail, what else is there?
Rig the Boat. This I was TOTALLY not prepared for–and what took the majority of our afternoon.
Review Basic Sailing Techniques. Review?? Did I know them before?
Discover How to Maneuver. “Sailing in a set direction is reasonably easy, but eventually, you'll have to change direction. That often involves tacking and gybing.” Often involves is an understatement, is what I discovered.
Recover From a Capsize. Now you've got the basics down. But did anyone ever tell you that small sailboats often tip over if the wind is gusting? Be prepared. Ok. When I read this I felt like this should have probably been the number one thing listed. Especially the “Be prepared” part.
Dock or Anchor the Boat. Again, it was good I had Coach Brian with me, because this was another really important part that I felt was more important than they were letting on.
Practice Tying Knots. This I was actually excited about. Bring on the macrame, baby.
Sail Safely. “Water is a dangerous place. Staying safe makes it easier to keep having fun out there.” Ok, I changed my mind. THIS should be the number one thing.
So, after totally psyching myself out by reading the internet (I know, I know…I should know better) I was completely ready for our adventure. Believe it or not–I actually did learn a few leadership lessons throughout the experience, and am pretty bummed that the weather has turned colder. Hats off to Coach Brian for helping a very inexperienced sailor go from “internet skeptical” to “can’t wait for spring”!
P.S. If you want to know WHAT the Leadership Lessons we talked about actually were…check out the weekly Parenting Email Lane. Each week, I’ll have a lesson I learned from this awesome experience!