DBMS welcomes Camp Wing’s Trailblazers Leadership Training Program

Trailblazers

The letters making up the phrase “Welcome Trailblazers!” in bright orange dry erase marker were sprawled across the white board in my first day nerves handwriting. I was hoping to create a sense of comfort right off the bat for this group of 14-16 year old boys and girls from Camp Wing who would be arriving at any minute. At around 9:05am twelve campers traipsed into the room, sleepy yet filled with excitement from their first few days at camp. I knew I had to make these first few sentences good ones to grab their attention right away.

“Hey everyone! When did you all get to camp?” I heard many different responses coming from all areas of the room and a smile quickly spread across my face. Then I asked, “Has anyone ever sailed before?” There were some unsure faces looking around to see who would talk first. The majority of the kids had never sailed before but a few had some experience from previous years at DBMS.

After my run down of the parts of a 420 and the points of sail, we were ready to go out on the launch to rig a boat. A girl named Amy said she didn’t want to go out and began to cry. The Camp Wing instructor told her it would be ok and pushed a little for her to go out and try it but she refused. So the first day Amy spent on land. The next, my plan was to get everyone out in a 420. Through tears, Amy began the walk down to the dock. She saw that I was going out in my coach boat and asked if she could go in the boat with me instead of on the launch. I said of course! So Amy and the Camp Wing instructor got in the boat with me and we followed the launch full of the other campers out to the south floats.

Once at the dock I could tell Amy was still very nervous and tentative. It was so hard to relate to her fears because I love the water and all there is to it. I tried to keep her as comfortable as possible while teaching the other kids about rigging a 420. There were those who were hesitant about stepping in the boat, others who put on a sort of mask of confidence about sailing and others who jumped right in.

About two weeks into the session Amy and I were in my coach boat and she turned to me and said, “Can I drive?” I was so surprised and excited I said “Of course you can drive!” Once she was at the helm there was no stopping her! She went full speed ahead and it really seemed as though she had been driving motor boats her entire life. Amy’s face lit up like I had never seen. No one was telling her what to do or where to go – she was boundless and loving it.

I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world to be able to see the transformation this girl went through from sobbing going near a dock to driving her own motor boat.

About a week later on a very hot day, we were all back in on the float, de-rigged and waiting for the launch after a successful day of sailing. The campers were jumping in the water, desperate to cool off. One girl, Caroline was having fun pushing her friends in but I noticed she wouldn’t go in herself. In a few minutes, by mistake she was pushed in. She quickly started screaming, pulled herself up onto the dock, hid crouching between two 420s and started to cry.

I ran over to her and asked what was wrong and tried to calm her down. She said she had always been afraid of going in the ocean where she couldn’t see the bottom. I said, “I am so sorry you were pushed in but now you know you can do it! If you want to jump in some other day you will be able to because you will know you have already done it. And if you never want to jump into the ocean where you can’t see the bottom again in your life, you don’t have to.” Her crying slowed and she quickly regained her “out of the water” confidence all the other campers knew her by.
This happened on a Tuesday. On the Thursday of the same week everyone was jumping in again. I looked over and saw Caroline smiling and swimming around as though she had never had a drop of fear about the ocean before. I could not believe she was in the water! Her fears had subsided just by knowing she could do it and perhaps even love being in deep ocean water.

For these children to have the chance to get out on the water is such an incredible thing. Many have never sailed and have not had the privilege of living on the water, growing up swimming and sailing every summer day. When they come to DBMS they get to experience the ocean and all it has to offer.

I had a boy named Ricky the first session and the third session. During the first session he was one of the quickest to pick up sailing a 420. He just got it. After about two or three times out in the boat I felt comfortable sending him out on his own with one of the other campers as his crew. At the end of the third session he told me he lived in Plymouth and wanted to keep sailing. I asked him where and when he was going back to school. He said he was going to a new boarding school as a scholarship student and was really excited. I asked him if they had a sailing team and he said they did. I told him he should try out because having sailed 420s all summer, he was definitely qualified to try out for their sailing team. A huge smile filled his sweet face and he said “really?” All these children need is a little teaching and someone to instill a little more confidence in them and tell them how well they are doing and they take off. The entire group at the end of the third session said that they wanted to keep sailing!

I have never seen such incredible transformations take place in such a short amount of time and I am so happy to have been a part of that. They deserve so much and Camp Wing and DBMS are helping with this. All they need is the opportunity.

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