Today, the entire sailing camp took an expedition to Whiskey Creek to learn about the environment and dig up some buried treasure (candy)! After searching for around half an hour, some of our bravest sailors were able to dig up a treasure chest full of candy and a watermelon! The group celebrated with a rush to the candy and a swim in the ocean.
Whiskey Creek is…well…a small creek that runs north and south next to the Stranahan River (Fort Lauderdale’s Intracoastal Waterway) and through an island of Dr. Von D Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park located in southern Ft. Lauderdale and northern Dania Beach. The State Park was created in 1973 to bring equal water access to all people in Fort Lauderdale and in 2016 the Park’s name was changed to commemorate the two individuals who spearheaded it’s creation.
This extremely beautiful beach on the Atlantic coast has some of the best east coast diving just meters from shore! The ecology of the park includes an array of fish, birds and of course iguanas.
For the afternoon, we went right back to sailing. I worked with the combined beginner opti and green fleet group to tighten up their straight-line speed and sail trim upwind. We played follow the leader and boat-tag to make sure our skills were put to good use. By the end of the day the wind picked up and our fleet sustained some crazy loses: 5 boats, one runaway dagger board, and a pair of sunglasses all hit the water. Luckily, the kids quickly righted their boats and got back to sailing.
Coach Anna took the 420s to the cove in the afternoon to work on reading tell-tales and upwind angles. After a few days of focused work on the hardest point of sail, the 420 kids will be ready for the challenges of week 2!
Next week, we’ll be working on fine tuning the skills we’ve learned like tacking and trim. We look forward to every group being able to race at the end of week two. Thank you for an amazing first half to session 2; I look forward to seeing everyone get back in the boats on Monday!
-Coach Chase
