Starting Young to Sail in Hawaii

October 12th, 2009

Some people in Hawaii learn to sail fairly early.  Young sailors in small boats skillfully maneuvered around Kaneohe Bay this weekend, wrapping up the season of races for the Hawaii Youth Sailing Association.  It is amazing to watch them pilot their small boats, switching the sail from side to side to catch the wind, quickly ducking beneath the boom as it passes over their heads and switching the position of the tiller behind their backs.  It is a complicated move that they have obviously practiced many times.

The group of sailors from several yacht clubs was divided by age and skill level.  We watched the youngest and newest sailors on what are called training races.  They coped with too little wind, too much wind, drifting start lines and friendly but determined competitors.  Some had mechanical problems — sails that came loose, fittings that broke.  Most were still able to sail into port on their own, displaying remarkable composure.

Sailing is an equal opportunity sport: it doesn’t matter how big you are, or if you are male or female.  Girls were equally represented in the competitors and in the plaques handed out at the end of the day.  The smallest and youngest girl started the day falling out of her boat when it overturned during the practice run.  She was too light to flip it back over the way the other sailors did (several went upside down during the course of the day, figuring out how to turn your boat over and get back in is a required skill).  One of the older boys swam over to help her right the boat.  She still finished every race on her own power, including the last run with pretty high winds.

The day was entertaining and I learned two things.  First, the sailing season is over for the winter — this was the last HYSA race and the Friday evening races at Waikiki have also stopped for the season.  Second, when you start sailing around the bay, avoiding coral, or navigating waves off Waikiki as a pre-teen, responsible for your own safety and that of your boat, sailing across the ocean doesn’t seem like such an impossible undertaking. My guess is that it is sailors like these we watched Sunday who later pilot boats in the Trans Pac or Pacific Cup races to Hawaii.

Also, Pacific Cup will start July 5, 2010 in San Francisco and end in Kaneohe, Hawaii.  Mark your calendars!

Posted by Cindy Scheopner  Follow me on Twitter @Scheopner

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Entry Filed under: Customs, Practices and Pastimes, In General, Oahu, Uncategorized