In this picture is a student who is still learning to sail a boat and is trying to control the boat using the tiller for the first time. These students are from the McKay K-8 Summer Program in East Boston. A different group of students would come every day from the McKay, each group being of a different grade. I was able to get to know these kids over the few weeks that I sailed with them and I could tell that each of these kids had loved coming to sailing during the week.
Over the summer, I didn’t really have the typical experience an instructor would have, as I would come into work at Piers Park around 12:45PM, take out a group sailing for an hour and then take out a group of Harbor Explorers. I really enjoyed being able to take out all of these people sailing, even though I wasn’t able to do it for a longer time.
Throughout the time that I was able to have with the groups of people I took sailing, I would try to teach them as much as I could with the time I had about sailing and how the boat works. Along with the things I would teach about sailing, I would also try to teach them values that I personally find important. One of these values that I would try to teach my group of kids is responsibility and how that can be important on a boat and in life. While they were sailing, the students would be responsible for a part of the boat, whether that be handling the tiller and controlling the direction that the boat will move in or controlling the jib using the jib sheets. It was through this that I tried to teach them that, when they are given something to do, they are responsible for it. I hope that these lessons will extend past sailing for these students.
Over the summer, I was able to see so many happy students come through the program. For many, it was their first time on a sailboat and the reactions that I received from them were of excitement, joy, and sometimes fear. However, over the time that I had with these students I saw that fewer and fewer of them became scared of the boat and enjoyed sailing much more. Along with being able to sail on the harbor, my students also learned parts of the boat, knots, and many other things that helped them understand sailing more. Many of these people I had on my boats were able to grasp what I taught quickly, but there were those who had trouble.
One of my favorite parts of the program is how accessible it is to people of all backgrounds and how really anyone could come sailing here. It’s such an inclusive program that even allows those with disabilities to get out on the water, and enjoy sailing just as much as anyone else could. Another of my favorite parts of the program is that the majority of the instructors have been in the same place as the students. They know what it’s like to get on the boat for the first time, and all of the other experiences the students may go through. It makes the experience of the students much better to have someone they can relate to.
After the end of this year’s summer program, I’ll be going back to school to start my senior year of high school. I’ll be looking forward to finishing the year and graduating. On top of this, I’ll be starting college applications, which will be a lot of work that will hopefully pay off in the future. I’m hoping that all will go well with these applications, but I’ll just have to wait and see. I also hope to be able to help out at Piers Park in the fall.
-Bashir Sahrour
