Sip and sail during difficult summer

The coronavirus pandemic has touched us all, but in these challenging times comes opportunity. In this report by Arland Whitesides, sometimes opportunity is simply pushing through the challenges:

This is our third summer offering Sip and Sail at Carolina Yacht Club, located at Wrightsville Beach, NC. To facilitate this plan, our club purchased three very used Flying Scots as a way to offer an opportunity to sail to the membership, plus we have a fourth private FS which joins us.

We go on Friday nights, about 6 pm, with experienced sailors as the skippers. It is their way of giving back to the membership for supporting sailing. Guests bring a small cooler, life jackets, and facemasks/buffs. Temperature checks are mandatory as is wearing masks … except when sipping.

We have all ages of adults go out. Some grew up sailing, married someone who does not sail, and no longer have a boat. Some always wanted to go for a sail and never had the opportunity. Some used to sail, lost their spouse to death or divorce and miss sailing. We have people who know how to sail, but do not live near the water and are home visiting family.

We usually have a nice sea breeze in the evening when the heat of the day is past.

We started out with Sip and Sail once a month. Now it is once a week. We always have a waiting list. We hope to offer some special Sips and Sails for parents night out, mothers night out, girls night out, millennials night out, etc

Each boat usually has five people (before COVID-19, boats had six) so with 20 people out on the water, you can see what fun it is during this difficult summer.

Scuttlebutt is eager to share stories for how people have turned the challenges relating to COVID-19 into opportunities. And to stoke your interest, we will be randomly selecting submissions and awarding free stuff from the Scuttlebutt Store.

Send to editor@sailingscuttlebutt.com.