I can still remember the first day I spent at Don Lee. I had brought a youth group in for a retreat, and we had arrived on a Friday evening, and because it had been a school day, it had been a long day. We got in late that night and after a few activities and getting all the youth settled in (and relatively quiet), I finally went to bed.
The next day we continued with our retreat, making our way through the schedule until we reached the afternoon free time, where we had a number of activities available, including sailing. I will confess that I am not a sailor. So I was a little apprehensive when one of my youth, who had been coming to Don Lee for the past few summers, offered to take me out in one of the small sailboats. He assured me that he could handle the boat just fine – nothing to worry about.
We made our way out into the water and began to sail. The weather was wonderful, the water was beautiful, and I was having a great time. My nervousness faded away and I was marveling at how well the young man was handling the boat. Well, apparently, there is a maneuver where the sailor has to move the boom from one side of the boat to the other in order to move the sail into a particular position. When this happens, the sailor is supposed to call out “boom” as a warning.
There was no warning.
The boom and I met in the middle of the boat – or rather, the boom and my head met in the middle of the boat, sending my glasses flying overboard. I recovered them quickly, and after making sure that I hadn’t suffered any other injuries, we were on our way. It made for a great story later that day and we laughed about it with the whole group.
The other thing that I remember, though, is that Don Lee had taught that young man to be confident in his abilities as a sailor – confident enough to take his youth director out on the water. And I appreciated that. Since that retreat, I’ve met other youth and adults who have spent time in those same boats on that same water, and they all display that same confidence – not just for sailing, but for life as well. It’s amazing what some time spent on the water will do for you!
