Sailing Story: Thomas Powars

In college, Thomas Powars found himself lined up as a counselor for a summer camp in Massachusetts. As a kid, Thomas had never been to a summer camp so he didn’t exactly know what to expect but he certainly didn’t expect to find himself sailing. 

“I didn’t know it was a sailing camp,” he laughed. As a counselor, he didn’t have an option to go sailing like his students did. However, as a counselor, he did get one day off a week and after making friends with the sailing instructors, he decided to try it out. 

“I realized how much fun it was and I kind of got the bug,” he said. “It’s pretty nifty!”

With an upcoming race on the horizon, one of the sailing instructors goaded Thomas into joining the race along with a few other camp counselors.

“I was with this really big guy who was 300 pounds and taught archery,” he laughed. “I kept telling people, ‘If we catch you Todd is going to mess you up!’”

The threat didn’t amount to much— maybe because Thomas and Todd came in dead last. However, the last place finish didn’t deter Thomas from the sport.

He took ASA 101 on Chesapeake Bay and then, after college, Thomas banked up enough PTO hours in his current job to take a vacation. He started researching where he should go to sail. 

“Go Sail Virgin Islands had great reviews online based on my research,” he said. So he took a chance and booked a trip!

The large catamaran was unlike anything Thomas had ever sailed before.

 “It was totally night and day,” Thomas said. “It is basically like a giant floating RV!”

While he noticed it didn’t heel or maneuver like other sailboats, the act of sailing felt the same.

“[Sailing] gives you something to do — regular boating you just turn on the engine,” Thomas remarked. “[Sailing is] engaging.”

Now that Thomas has his basic ASA courses completed, he’s looking to complete his advanced sailing courses too. 

“I think I’ll enjoy it the rest of my life,” he said. “…unless, I suppose, if I lose my left arm or something!”