04/22/2012

So this may end up being a long, rambling post. We will see. We have Niagara pretty well dressed; All but one yard is up. We have a few sails ready to go and others that shouldn't take too long to rig up. We have had fairly lucky weather, and have had lots of volunteers to help us with it. It's been a great season so far and the crew is well meshed and is generally a really solid team. Station Maine came and went, and it was a wonderful visit. It is really impressive to see teenagers working hard on such a strange thing, and really caring about it. We have this sort of idea about teenagers and how we expect them to believe. Station Maine has, twice now, reminded me that teenagers are really just people, and it's all about proper motivation to get them to understand the stakes, and responsibilities that they find themselves experiencing. It sounds dumb to say it that way, but it's the truth. It's way too easy to fall back on preconceptions and stereotypes. I've also taken a share of compliments and suggestions in the past bit of time, which I'm always a little weird about. I've never taken them well. I'm told that I don't bitch much, which is a good thing... that I'm a hard worker. I don't really see myself that way, I just do my job, but hey. More interesting to me was that someone recently told me that I'm clearly going to open a school. I've rarely really considered myself a teacher, but I'm starting to see some sort of pattern with it coming out more and more. I will say, having jumped back and fourth between sailing and "the real world" that were I ever to open any kind of business ashore, I would staff it with as many tall ship sailors as I could. It's just a different mindset, and a much more productive one. I was also called a "great role model" which always makes me nervous. I do, however, make a fantastic hot chocolate, and take full pride in that. I'll take that compliment well.