Team Building: Sailing Skills for Families
This wonderful piece of art was masterfully drawn by 10 year old, Andrew. Andrew
and his family have just flown back to Toronto after spending a week building sailing
skills together aboard Voyageur 10.10. The sunny skies, palm trees, sun and seas of
Marigot Bay must have impressed Andrew while he was participating in daily
lessons, land trips and sailing adventures in beautiful St. Lucia.
Many families relish the thought of owning a sailboat; spending weekends cruising
around Centre Island in Toronto or taking an extended sailing vacation in the 1000
Islands, the North Channel or even the Caribbean. For some, the first sail can be a
pleasurable experience; a new larger boat is a fun adventure for the family who has
sailed smaller ones in the past. For newcomers to sailing, family members may
enjoy anchoring in a secluded bay after a sail in calm waters, and sunny skies. But
the new sailboat with family aboard presents its challenges, even for the most
experienced skipper. If your family has limited sailing experience together and you
are trying to entice them to this wonderful vacation idea, there are many
considerations to make.To limit their anxiety and assure a future of happy sailing
adventures, sailing instruction for all, is a good start.
These days when dance and music lessons, sport teams and business trips pull
the family apart, scheduling family sailing lessons bring you together to a common
goal. Voyageur Sailing offers Team Building: Sailing Skills for FamiliesWe believe
strongly that knowledge and preparedness will ensure a pleasurable experience for
every member of the family. Everyone reacts differently to the sailing experience. Lack
of understanding can produce anxiety adding to the chances of seasickness and
non-enjoyment. With the guidance and expertise of a knowledgeable and
experienced instructor, your family will learn together what is “safe practice” while
sailing. They will be challenged at their individual level to become competent with
appropriate skills. Under the careful eye of an instructor, they will learn whether to be
alarmed with what they feel, see and hear aboard a sailing vessel. Although Mom or
Dad may be more experienced, teaching your children to sail could be a recipe for
disaster equal to teaching your son or daughter to drive. By learning together, your
family will begin to trust each other; mainly because the instructor has provided a
framework into which each member can provide input. Your first family lesson can be
arranged as a sailing holiday in Vancouver in 2014 or 2015, wherever Voyageur 10.10
is sailing at the time.
Email us if you wish: Ken Gillstrom k_gillstrom@hotmail.com or Carol Gillstrom
cgillstrom@gmail.com We will happily customize the teambuilding course that is
right for your family’s sailing plans.
