Students teach kids the sport of sailing
Growing up sailing, two Hillsdale boaters pass the craft onto others during summer
Betsy Woodruff
Issue date: 10/1/09 Section: Focus
While most students spent the summer landlocked, senior Amy Gunkler and junior Erin Larson hit the high seas.
After all, sailing runs in their blood.
"I've been sailing since longer than I can remember," said Gunkler, whose whole family enjoys the hobby.
Larson's parents also sail. Her father competed, and her mother picked up the hobby when she met him. Growing up around boats, she said she began sailing for the first time when she was 5. After this, she said she began competing when she was 8, and started teaching others how to sail when she was 15.
Gunkler also sailed competitively, starting when she was 9. She grew up in Ohio and drove to Michigan three or four times a week for practice. Now, she prefers to sail for fun and to teach.
"I raced so much when I was younger that I got sick of the pressure," she said.
One weekend, though, she made an exception for her brother, who needed a partner with him for a race. At ten o'clock the morning of the event, she decided to compete with him. She drove to Ohio in time for the race's start at twelve o'clock. Without any practice, she and her brother finished fourth out of about twenty boats.
"All things considered," she said, "you can't really complain with that."
The two women gave sailing lessons last summer. Larson taught at a yacht club in California and Gunkler taught at the sailing center of the Chautauqua Institute in New York, which she described as a religious, educational, recreational and arts community.
Though Larson enjoys teaching children how to sail - she teaches 5-9-year-olds - the job challenges her.
"People say, 'Oh, your job is easy,' she said. "Yeah, it's great that I'm out in the sun, but it's also a lot of hard work."
This summer, she had a 9-year-old in her 5-6 year-old group who had a heart condition, and a 4-year-old with behavioral issues.
Like in any other sport, many parents encourage their children's competitive streaks.
"You get kids who love the sailing but not the competition," she said. "But parents want them to compete. So that's hard."
Gunkler taught 8-12-year-olds in a more relaxed environment. Most of her students weren't being groomed to race - they were just picking up a fun new hobby.
"We'd always be rolling our eyes at the stupid things the supposedly advanced kids would do," she said.
Even after three summers of teaching, she said she still loves her work.
"Almost every day, I'm like, 'Wow, I get paid to do this?'" she said.
Larson and Gunkler each said they plan on sailing for the rest of their lives.
"There's something about being on the water that I really like," Larson said.
After all, sailing runs in their blood.
"I've been sailing since longer than I can remember," said Gunkler, whose whole family enjoys the hobby.
Larson's parents also sail. Her father competed, and her mother picked up the hobby when she met him. Growing up around boats, she said she began sailing for the first time when she was 5. After this, she said she began competing when she was 8, and started teaching others how to sail when she was 15.
Gunkler also sailed competitively, starting when she was 9. She grew up in Ohio and drove to Michigan three or four times a week for practice. Now, she prefers to sail for fun and to teach.
"I raced so much when I was younger that I got sick of the pressure," she said.
One weekend, though, she made an exception for her brother, who needed a partner with him for a race. At ten o'clock the morning of the event, she decided to compete with him. She drove to Ohio in time for the race's start at twelve o'clock. Without any practice, she and her brother finished fourth out of about twenty boats.
"All things considered," she said, "you can't really complain with that."
The two women gave sailing lessons last summer. Larson taught at a yacht club in California and Gunkler taught at the sailing center of the Chautauqua Institute in New York, which she described as a religious, educational, recreational and arts community.
Though Larson enjoys teaching children how to sail - she teaches 5-9-year-olds - the job challenges her.
"People say, 'Oh, your job is easy,' she said. "Yeah, it's great that I'm out in the sun, but it's also a lot of hard work."
This summer, she had a 9-year-old in her 5-6 year-old group who had a heart condition, and a 4-year-old with behavioral issues.
Like in any other sport, many parents encourage their children's competitive streaks.
"You get kids who love the sailing but not the competition," she said. "But parents want them to compete. So that's hard."
Gunkler taught 8-12-year-olds in a more relaxed environment. Most of her students weren't being groomed to race - they were just picking up a fun new hobby.
"We'd always be rolling our eyes at the stupid things the supposedly advanced kids would do," she said.
Even after three summers of teaching, she said she still loves her work.
"Almost every day, I'm like, 'Wow, I get paid to do this?'" she said.
Larson and Gunkler each said they plan on sailing for the rest of their lives.
"There's something about being on the water that I really like," Larson said.
Be the first to comment on this story