Youth Sailing in the Time of Covid

In the early days of the pandemic back in March, I called Olympia coach, Sarah Hanavan, to ask about what she was doing to manage her program and team under the new conditions. As resourceful and determined as ever, Hanavan explained how she was keeping her team focused, competitive, and connected in light of their canceled season. Using Zoom calls to go over rules, remote workouts, and more, she explained how her emphasis was on using the time to help them grow as sailors.

It was an encouraging conversation that inspired 48° North’s Senior Shout Out series and helped give me some ideas to bring to my own program. As the summer of Covid-19 has shaken out, big changes can be found in most programs, and a host of challenges remain as we head into the fall. Here’s what’s been happening on some teams throughout the Northwest.

SHIFTING CONDITIONS FOR SAILORS, INSTRUCTORS, AND PROGRAMS

Austin Hauter was coaching for Ballard High School this spring and was a mere two regattas in when the rest of the season was called off. Concerned about what the pandemic would mean for summer classes, he went to work planning out ways to safely conduct classes at Corinthian Yacht Club, where he was also working. Small group training, new equipment for handwashing and outdoor instruction, and additional PPE were all measures

“There were mixed signals from parents,” said Hauter. and coming home exhausted and salt encrusted every day. I with coaches and former teammates for mask-clad races and socially distant get-together sails. While catching up with Anna Morrow—my co-captain from my time racing on the Anacortes High School Sailing Team—I asked if she would answer some questions about what it was like to work as the head instructor of the Oak Harbor Youth Sailing Summer program on Whidbey

put in place; but as the start date for camps approached, the Oak Harbor found a way to get kids on the water. Photo by Ben guidelines would change. Severatius.

He encountered an array of attitudes, opinions, and actions Julia: How did you go about keeping kids safe? regarding what precautions were necessary and appropriate, Anna: We were lucky that Island County was moved into Phase and blending those opinions across a group proved extremely 3 in mid-July. In Phase 2, the high school race team was able to difficult. practice in groups of five people or less, with masks and social

As the start date of camp was pushed further and further distancing on the docks. However, we didn't start the summer back, the reality of being able to (or, rather, not being able to) camp program until Phase 3. With support from Oak Harbor afford Seattle living kicked in. Like so many other college sailors Yacht Club and the City of Oak Harbor Marina, we were able to missing the income they normally make instructing, Hauter run small summer classes at around 50% of our usual capacity. headed back home to wait out the pandemic with his family. The Oak Harbor Yacht Club kindly let us use their facilities

Some programs have taken extensive steps to ensure safe downstairs for bathrooms and hand-washing, as well as storage and socially distanced lessons this summer, while others have of personal items while classes were out on the water. Aside made the difficult call to cancel the season. It’s important to from using the bathroom, classes were entirely outside, with remember that each program and community is different, and limited class sizes—6 to 9 sailors each week instead of our no solution is one size fits all. Each little sailing community has usual 12 to 16. We were able to provide socially distanced done their best to offer what they can this summer. For some, sailing by offering mainly singlehanded classes, with all but that’s sanitizing boats between small group lessons. For others, our very last week of class happening in single-person Optimist it’s addressing 160-something postcards to students to remind dinghies. There was a lot of hand washing and disinfecting them their instructors still care about them very much. frequent touchpoints, and we assigned boats and classroom

As an instructor who has moved back to my homeport as a materials to each sailor for the week to reduce the need to result of Covid-19, I miss my students, my fellow employees, disinfect everything each day. Island during this challenging summer. miss morning planning sessions over coffee and afternoons What challenges did you encounter that you didn’t expect? full of kids laughing and yelling as they jump in the water So many games we normally play, both on the water and on after class. But as much as I miss being at work, knowing my land, usually involve things like a shared object passing between program made the call to do what was in our power to keep the multiple people, close quarters, or touching other members community safe means a lot to me as well, and being back home of the group. A challenge we had this summer was a constant has had some benefits, too. cycle of the “Oh let’s play this game,” lightbulb moment before realizing we had to reinvent it to be Covid-19 safe. All of the CONNECTING WITH ANNA MORROW instructors did a great job thinking of new games or new ways

Returning to my Anacortes community has meant reconnecting to play old games, and we still had a lot of fun. 48º NORTH 39 OCTOBER 2020

Singlehanded Optimist dinghies ensured distancing and were the only boat to use for most of the summer. Photo by Ben Severatius.

What did you find most challenging and most rewarding?

It was difficult to keep sailors following the mask-wearing guidelines and staying 6 feet apart, especially the younger ones. I feel for elementary school teachers—we only had a fraction of the number of kids in the average school classroom, and were entirely outdoors, and even then had to be very vigilant as instructors, reminding sailors to keep their masks on (unless in a boat by themselves) and stay apart.

In spite of those hurdles, it was immensely rewarding being able to sail and get kids on the water. This pandemic has been stressful on everyone in a lot of different ways, and to be able to sail was a good stress reliever for the kids. For those that already knew how to sail and those that learned this summer, it was a welcome opportunity to take their mind off of everything for a bit and focus on the sport we all love so much.

What did it take to get the classes going?

It took a lot of planning in order to follow our local, state, and federal guidelines. The Oak Harbor Youth Sailing board created a Covid-19 task force to figure out the best way to create a fun and safe summer camp experience while following aforementioned safety guidelines. Support and collaboration with the City of Oak Harbor Marina and Oak Harbor Yacht Club helped us hone a workable plan that was specific to our learning and sailing spaces.

We also had a great team of instructors and volunteers, who took the changes in stride and worked to implement our program like we planned. We were lucky this summer to have extra instructors due to everyone being home for the summer, so we were never short on people able to help run classes.

How do you think the students felt about the change? How did they respond or adapt?

Because we mainly stuck to singlehanded Optimists, there was little opportunity for the sort of on-the-water teamwork that sailing a boat with multiple people requires. We usually offer classes in Lido 14s with up to four sailors in a boat, depending on their age and skills; but this summer we were unable to provide Lido classes due to social distancing requirements. Some of the kids, especially those that had taken classes before, were sad to miss the chance to sail in a bigger boat with others, but they all adapted very well. Even the younger sailors understood that while the new requirements might change our way of doing things and limit what we can do, it is very necessary to follow those requirements and we

can still have a lot of fun on the water!

As we all go into the fall, the regular NWISA season has already been canceled. Determination and a willingness to improvise keep youth sailing going through these choppy seas. Whether a program is doing online chalk talks or in-person lessons full of new safety measures, Covid hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm or resolve of instructors for youth sailors in the Northwest.

Julia Soes is an Anacortes native who writes about youth sailing for 48° North. She has been a leader on the Western Washington University Sailing Team and an Instructor at Sail Orcas.