As Julie Andrews would say, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.” I became a Mariner the summer before entering sixth grade. I was small (5’0", about 90 pounds), had glasses, freckles, and was chalk full of energy and excitement. I loved my two weeks at summer camp but was anxiously looking forward to the fall sailing season when, as my older sister Corinne informed me, the real Mariner fun began. My sister was an “older Mariner,” a girl who was very involved in the program, and had been telling stories about Camp Casa Mare for years. Well now it was my turn.

I remember that first weekend. It was Aquatic Weekend 1997, and chaos abounded. There were so many classes and people the only place you could get some real peace and quiet was on the water for Mariner sail. All of the girls seemed so much older than me; yet, they were all friendly and accommodating towards all

of the “young Mariners.” They were easy to emulate. I remember that I wanted to be like those “older Mariners,” no, not be like them, be them! I think that I grew up a lot in that weekend; I saw the potential me in all of those young women.

Over the years I met my fair share of characters and had some very interesting experiences. Everything at camp was larger than life. It was a different world, one where every experience shaped your adolescence. Looking back, the funny thing now is it’s not the sailing that I remember. It was the hilarious and sometimes trying times that I had with my new found friends. We played pranks, went hunting for cars, ate gallons of Frank’s soup, froze underwear in the freezer, played kickball, climbed trees, swam in the bay, went down to the point, played war, and slept until one minute before breakfast. Most of all we just talked. Camp was our jungle gym, our therapy session, and our home.

Things have changed, but things have
stayed the same also. Now that I am the commodore, I have taken the place of those “older Mariners.” I still get wide-eyed stares from 11-year-olds and the immediate affection that I once gave the older Mariners of my generation. I love seeing new girls come into the program, and most of all as commodore, I want to give girls someone to look up to or at least be able to talk to. I think that preteens need to see their potential for the future in the teenagers they are around.

I love being a Mariner even more now at 17 than I did at 11, for when you truly love something your love grows and grows. I encourage everyone reading this to check out the program–remember, learning doesn’t stop with school, girls need other places to learn and grow as a person. Camp Casa Mare is a place where girls are taught to keep the wind in their sails and their courses true.