Discovery of Athleticism and Sailing

Key Insight

At camp, the narrator discovered herself to be an athlete, excelling in almost every sport she tried, many of which, like archery and sailing, were entirely new experiences. Already a proficient swimmer upon arrival, daily swims in the bay, except during lightning, transformed her into an incredibly strong swimmer, opening up new worlds of skill, achievement, and competition, driven by a desire to be better.

Despite having been on motorboats piloted by her father since infancy, sailing was a new domain. Camp offered a fleet of twenty fifteen-foot sloops called Mercuries, but younger children were relegated to dinghies, which were dumpy oval bathtubs that often left occupants sitting in puddles, leading to butt rashes. Sailing counselors diligently taught the parts of the boat and sails, equipment terms, bow positions relative to wind, and how to read a racecourse, with dinghy regattas held every Sunday.

She desperately wanted to sail a Merc but was too small to skipper and too weak to hold the sheet of even the smaller sail on windy days. In later years, she served as second crew on Mercuries when winds were not too strong, primarily as ballast or to catch the mooring block. Though having little active role, she consistently learned, from proper sail trimming to identifying 'pockets of breeze' on calm days that could fill sails and lift the bow.