Sail-to-the-sea
May 4, 2013 § Leave a Comment
This article appears first in the May 2013 issue of Spinsheet Magazine.
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As a kid, my all-time favorite book was Paddle-to-the-Sea.
The story begins with an indian boy, perhaps 10 years old, carving “Paddle” during the winter months after learning that the water in the brook near his home is destined to tumble over the land all the way to the sea. He thinks he might never make the trip himself, so he decides to send a representative in his place.
Paddle has many adventures on his way to the sea. He is visited by snakes and birds. He is nearly sliced up in a saw mill, run down by ships, and he disappears for months under snow and ice during the long winter. He plummets down the falls at Niagara, and slips silently past noisy, dirty cities. He soldiers on and eventually reaches the Atlantic.
I need not retell the entire story. The book, a 1942 Caldecott Medal winner, is timeless and still in print.
As a kid, I was spellbound by the possibility that a bold traveller could go so far with his tiny boat, never stepping a foot on shore. No roads. No trains. No traffic. No un-passable obstructions.
Sail-to-the-sea
May 1, 2013 § Leave a Comment
Sail-to-the-sea
Kids become what they do
April 23, 2013 § 2 Comments
If you’ve participated in a Saving Sailing town-call, you’ll recall talking about how sailing (and other important outdoor experiences) suffer under the media avalanche that buries most kids. Of course, the problem transcends sailing. Schools, family and neighborhoods have been crushed too.
I’ve started a new blog called FamilyNeighborhoodSchool.com to study the problem and discuss solutions. I hope you’ll follow it too.
- Nicholas Hayes, Author of Saving Sailing
Have you ever witnessed a kid fast forward through the previews on a rented DVD, or call out Britney Spears swigging a Pepsi as a ploy to get you to consume more corn syrup? Not all kids know advertising to be propaganda, but taking the lead from an adult, some do. Credit the young mind with the ability to grasp symbols and metaphor and see through distortion or exaggeration. When abstract thinking develops, bright colors and catchy music might still attract attention, but a kid can understand that it might be toward something being sold. Kids are smart.
To be clear, advertising messages do shape public opinion, especially those of the impressionable or the emotional. But like emotions, messages and public opinion are fleeting; they are just words, pictures, and fads that fade or shift with time. The impressionable grow up. The emotional find new cares.
Measured in durability over years, messages pale in comparison with experiences in defining who we are, what we believe, and how we act throughout our lives.
Kids don’t become what they see on TV or the Internet. They become what they do. Read more.
Sailing moms: not what you think
April 16, 2013 § 2 Comments
Say the words “sailing” and “mom”, and you’re likely to get complaints that she’s hovering, ruining the fun, getting in the way of self-reliance and confidence. Perhaps.
But here’s the untold story of women and moms in sailing, from the April issue of Sailing Magazine.
Let’s #GoSailing in Denver. Seriously.
March 28, 2013 § Leave a Comment
I’m very excited to be speaking at this year’s Spirit of Sailing Gala, the annual fundraiser for Community Sailing of Colorado. It’s a worthy program, offering sailing scholarships and outreach and with a reputation as a leader in adaptive sailing. And I’m excited meet co-presenter Jen French, a Paralympics silver medalist and the author of the new book On My Feet Again
The Gala will be held at The Denver Athletic Club in downtown Denver on April 20, 2013 beginning at 6:00 PM. You can still get tickets here.
As a bonus, CSC will be hosting two sidebar events. Jen will be telling stories from her book at Craig Hospital on Friday, April 19 from 6:00-7:30 pm.
And here is a flyer for the Sailing Town Hall on Sunday April 21st at 11am, a meeting for folks that would like to help more people find sailing in their lives. I hope to see you there!
#GoSailing on Bull and Bear
March 21, 2013 § Leave a Comment
A couple years ago I had the pleasure to sail aboard Bull, one of the Sandbagger twins docked in Annapolis and giving folks a taste of fast classic sailing. If you’re there, stop by and ask for a ride. Unforgettable.
This is the 2013 update on Bull and Bear from Molly Winans @Spinsheet, who sits a stone’s throw from the dock and is always in the know.
They were supposed to be on loan for one year. The program has been so successful that it’s been extended. I think we will be on year three. Also, a team of volunteers nearby has been shining them up over the winter. Super dedicated guys who love woodworking and also happen to be volunteers who take kids out. These boats sail like a dream on light air days, which is fantastic for us in summer.
And in an odd stroke of luck, one of my fellow crew-mates was filming on the same day. Yes, I was having a blast trimming main.
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