I have found sailors to be among the most resourceful people I know. With COVID-19 restrictions in place for a while longer, and with a murky view of what the “new normal” will become, I find myself wondering what it means to be resourceful today. Re·source·ful; adjective; “having the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties.”

Regardless of how “quick and clever” we are, being resourceful while also cultivating greater patience and following safe social distancing guidelines is an added challenge. Over the past few weeks, I have participated in several video conference calls in search of ideas and inspiration for GRSC, from a Yacht Club Leadership Forum sponsored by US Sailing to the Midwest Women’s Sailing Conference that was reformatted as a half-day video seminar. These interactions with other passionate sailors were welcome opportunities to connect, and it reinforced the notion that we are all in this together.

A solo sailor practices the best form of social distancing available

Here are a few suggestions for your consideration as social distancing continues:

While quarantined, use the vast resources of the internet and/or
consult equipment manuals

• Learn more about how to read the weather
• Learn more about your routing equipment
• Improve your radio skills
• Learn how to splice a line and improve your knot tying skills
• Learn sail repair
• Build the optimal first aid kit
• Improve your skills via virtual sailing/racing apps

Once boats are in the water but before we are clear to sail or race with a full crew:

• Rediscover the joy of cruising as a family
• Practice in different positions and outside your normal comfort zone, including docking
• Try double-handed sailing
• Practice Man Overboard procedures while short-handed
• Learn how to optimize your boat’s set up
• Stay connected and keep traditions going
• Skippers can host a virtual season kick-off with their crew
• Join GRSC’s next “Virtual Happy Hour” (Watch Facebook and your email for more details).

Regardless of when current restrictions will be eased, it is becoming quite clear that our members and society at large may have varying levels of comfort with group activities. The GRSC Board will be discussing how to safely “open up” once restrictions are released at our May meeting. We will do our best to schedule GRSC activities that are accessible to most and we can provide options to participate virtually when possible. We will report back with our plan, so stay tuned for updates via email and Facebook.

It was great fun to host our first virtual GRSC Happy Hour on April 24 using the Zoom video platform. We had 17 participants and we welcome more of you to join our our next gathering. Details will be sent via email and posted on Facebook. I hope you can join me, and I look forward to hearing more about your stories of resourcefulness!