Steering a Fresh Course – October 2022
With River Romp – our annual Junior Olympic Regatta – a month away, Ross and I were enjoying a long weekend in New England visiting US Sailing, friends & family. National weather reported a storm brewing in the Caribbean.
Back home, Mike & Elizabeth started storm preparations on the south side (big boats and powerboats docked/trailered here ), the north side (our main training & program location) and Moody Road (off-site and off-season storage). Team Edison was comfortable that all was well…if Jim Cantore was in Clearwater and Tampa was in the storm’s sights, we would be fine. But the track shifted and suddenly two words – STORM SURGE – made all the difference between clean-up and destruction.
But the generosity & compassion of the sailing community and friends of sailing began charting a steady course of support. Former sailors who are now young professionals arrived within hours of the storm with fuel, ice, water, and hugs. A Go Fund Me page was started by yet another of our “kids”.
Community Sailing of New Orleans Community Sailing, US Sailing, St. Augustine Youth Sailing, Sarasota Youth Sailing, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Wayzatta Sailing (MN), the Florida Yacht Club, Marco Island YC/YS, Naples Community Sailing…all offered resources and “whatever we needed” to help.
Our initial planning phases look like this
Response:
- Assessment
- Communication
Recovery:
- Collect
- Clean
- Consolidate
Restoration:
- Creating a plan
- Short term
- Long term
- Stakeholder input
- City and County parameters and guidelines
Navigating the next few weeks…
- We continue to work each day to collect, clean, and consolidate
- We wait for the water quality to improve before we put children in boats
A special thank you to ALL of the countless volunteers who have:
- Washed sails
- Cleaned blades and gear
- Scraped river muck off of tools and containers
- Moved boats
- Donated time and energy
- Donated heavy equipment
“On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.” – Williams
