Friday, December 9, 2016

(Treasure Island, San Francisco, CA)- Travis Lund, Executive Director at
Treasure Island Sailing Center (TISC), offers an example of how sailing
J/24s (and dinghies) on San Francisco Bay can provide a helpful distraction to life. He comments,

“I’m often asked what the TISC is or what we do here in San Francisco,
CA. I’ll admit it is sometimes difficult to accurately describe what a
youth-driven sailing center does and harder yet to transmit why my staff
and I are so dedicated to the mission of TISC.

For most of us who sail, we typically don’t ponder how sailing has
affected our lives…we just know it has. Most of us seldom think about
what our lives would be like if we never learned to or had the enjoyment
of sailing.

Growing up in a small industrial town of 23,000 people in Northern
Michigan, there were few entertainment options. I really didn’t know
much else other than playing in the water in the summer and playing in
the snow in the winter. My parents owned a small sailboat and I somehow
found ways to sail and race and eventually got good at it.

I have been able to make a living at it for most of my life, and yet I
still find it difficult to articulate how and why it has become so
important to whom I am. I think the best way to answer this question is
to envision my life without it. And, I cannot.

However, a recent event has helped provide some clarity.

On November 9th, TISC ran a recruitment event to help our Envision
Academy Sailing Team (EAST) gain new members. Envision Academy (EA) is a
tuition free charter high school in downtown Oakland whose population
is mostly underserved.

About a year and a half ago, with the help of Anthony Sandberg, owner of
OCSC Sailing, we formed a sailing team for this school. With the
financial support of the St. Francis Sailing Foundation, we’ve been
providing boats, transportation and instructors for the team at no cost
to the students and their families. The current team is all upper level
students and we wanted to bolster the team numbers.

We
had the day planned for weeks and didn’t really think about the actual
date as we had enough on our plates to simply organize the event. But
the morning of the event, I received a call from EA’s Athletic Director,
Coach Henry, to inform me that he was going to do what he could to get
the kids on the bus as quickly as he could. As it was the day after the
U.S. national and local elections, the school was in a state of
pandemonium.

He explained that kids were looking like they were leaving school, that
parents were coming to pick their kids up, and that helicopters were
flying overhead in wake of what might be either protests or riots later
in the day. He warned me that we would not have the 42 kids we had hoped
for, and that I should prepare the staff for what might be a sullen,
scared or confused group of kids.

Anthony Sandberg chipped in and we chartered a bus to bring what became
27 freshmen and sophomore students out for a 3-hour introductory sail.
As they arrived it was clear that Henry’s call was right.

What should have been an excited, frenzied group of 14 and 15 year olds
was replaced with some very quiet and reserved children while others
were wrought with anger. The regular team was also there, and was also
visibly distraught. We provided the kids with pizza and snacks, and they
were feeling a bit better when they hit the water.

Before EA’s arrival we had launched four J/24s and as many RS Ventures.
We had several volunteers who were instructed to show the kids a good
time, introduce them to sailing, and relay their experiences with
sailing. I had prepared everyone for what might be the attitude of the
group and so everyone was a bit on edge. While the EA student body is
very diverse, our staff and volunteers were not, and I was concerned how
the day might play out.

Once the kids got into life jackets and began to load onto the boats
something unexpected happened. Faces went from frowns to looks of
interest and investigation. The loud and frank talk of the election
results turned to questions and quiet.

We loaded kids one by one onto the boats and off they went. There were
four girls who stayed together, all wearing Hijabs. I have never seen
anyone wear one while sailing and was surprised when these girls were
completely unaffected by the wind and more affected by the sail.

I hopped into our chase boat and went out on Clipper Cove with our
Program Manager to take pictures. What we saw as we went from boat to
boat brightened our day. The kids’ demeanor had changed.

Right there before our eyes in the span of a few moments these kids, all
of them, were either engaged with their coach, dipping their hands in
the water or sitting on the decks with the wind in their faces looking
skyward.

They marveled at the older EA students who were practicing around buoys
in their FJ’s for an upcoming regatta. We could tell many of them were
envious. As we went from boat to boat the kids each took a turn giving
us their best pose or goofy look, each one trying to outdo the other.

Eventually the kids came in and switched boats from keelboat to dinghy
and vice versa after a very short break. During this second sail, I
radioed the coaches and volunteers to come in. I had received another
call from Coach Henry who now informed me that I had better get the kids
back a bit early as some streets near the school were being closed due
to protesting! We could not imagine, nor believe, that some adults were
behaving like impetuous, petulant teenagers! God, help us!!

While I hastened the boats back to the dock, it was difficult to
organize the group to leave. They needed to get a group photo (several
really, with different poses and funny looks) and were chatting up their
coaches and my staff. The mood and the voices were boisterous, giddy
and loud; like kids. Before they left, 22 out of the 27 signed up as
being interested to join the sailing team!

While I do not know what they went home to, I do know that while they
were here, for those brief moments on the water, they were at peace. And
not just them, all the staff and volunteers became one group, united
for a purpose and connected by the water and the sport of sailing.

That is what we do at Treasure Island Sailing Club! And, while I still
have a difficult time describing how sailing has affected my own life, I
can tell you it has, it does, and so long as I’m in this position and
likely still breathing, it will! I hope in some small way that day that
it affected these kids, too. I think it did!”