United on land, on snow, and on water

The U16 Alpine boys hit the open water on this September with what Program Director Tom Sell called "a fantastic afternoon of team experience." Tom continued, "The winds picked up into the 15-20 mph range, which was perfect to get the boys feeling the boat, and figuring out how to get the most out of it. The competitive spirit came to the forefront as the boys each took turns on the tiller and tried to get the highest speed. Each of them had the opportunity to steer the boat through a tack, with their teammates being responsible for the jib sheets, traveler and other sail controls. Highest speed of the day was by Cam Washburn, with 6.7 knots, and Tanner Graves and Wyatt Hoffman each were at 6.5. Peter got the award for the closest boat speed to wind speed ratio, at one point actually sailing faster than the wind with 5.7 knots in 4.8 knots of wind. It was really awesome to see the boys not only compete, but try to help each other get the highest speed, and they were genuinely excited when one of them got their best speed. They asked if we can do an overnight trip next summer, which we will definitely try to do. We anchored in a nice cove for some swimming as the wind backed off, and the boys had a couple more diving contests: smallest splash, biggest splash and of course first one in. All in all it was a great experience, one which I hope we can do again."