...Have a Go!

I have decided that schools in New Zealand do the coolest field trips of all time. I went on a field trip to go sailing! Yes, in sail boats, on the ocean. It was unbelievably fun even though it wasn’t what I expected. I expected to have one giant sail boat that we all would get on and sail away, but no. Instead all of the children literally learned how to sail on their own. 

All of the students were paired up into groups of two and assigned a sailboat. They were so tiny I couldn’t believe it! Perfect for kids.

 Then the students were given some instructions on how the boats worked and the different parts of the boat. First. There is the boomer. The boomer is the part of the sail that moves across and can whack people in the head, hence the name boomer. I about died laughing when I found out the name to that part. It’s perfect right? Second, there is the rudder. And last there is the centerboard. The centerboard is in the center of the boat and it gets pushed down through a slit in the boat. This acts the same as a fin of a surfboard. It keeps the boat going straight.

*The wooden piece is the centerboard 

After the students understood everything we were off! I got to ride in a little motorized boat next to all the sail boats to help them out when they needed it . It was hilarious to see the students’ reactions. When they began they were terrified and held on to everything with such a grip. Then by the time we had made it to the other side of the bay they were racing each other and laughing hysterically. It was incredibly entertaining to watch the students’ reactions when the boomer would fly to the other side because of the change of wind. It’s like it was a surprise every time. It never got old.

*This was my boat! 

* This is how we pulled the boats back to shore when the tide pulled us very far out.