While most 13-year-olds will be spending this summer going to camp, or hanging around with their friends, Spice Valley Middle School M2 student Brian Bulhoes will be travelling to Columbia to represent Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association in the South American Championships. What makes this story unique is that Brian has only been sailing for about a year.

The Waterwise sailing programme was piloted at Spice Valley last year and 15 students, including Brian, spent a month “sailing” in simulator Optimist dinghies on the school’s tennis courts, learning about Bermuda’s long maritime history, drawing parts of the boat and learning the mathematics of sailing.

Brian, who says he “absolutely loves sailing” describes the programme as “wicked” and is the first in his family to sail.

Brian has what it takes to be a champion, says the deputy principal at Spice Valley Middle School, Darrin Lewis, who believes the programme gives his students the opportunity to participate in a sport previously regarded as a “rich, white man’s sport”.

The Royal Gazette caught up with Mr. Lewis as he put a new group of M1 students through their paces on the school’s tennis court - with Brian’s help of course.

Mr. Lewis was one of a handful of Physical Education teachers who learnt to sail before offering the Waterwise programme at schools six years ago.

“I didn’t realise what I was missing,” the 33-year-old chuckles, adding that before then he never really spent much time on the water, but now lives for weekends and finds the sport both exhilarating and challenging.

Students who succeed in the programme practice three times a week and spend Sundays with the Bermuda Optimist Dinghy Association (BODA), racing in Hamilton Harbour.

“That’s fun,” Brian adds with a big smile. “But it was hard work because I had to start with the basics, like learning to rig the boat before I was allowed to even get in.”

Normally teenagers Brian’s age stay with the Optimist class until their 14th birthday, but Brian has the right build to stay with this class longer says BODA sailing coach, Paul Doughty.

He explains that Bermuda is the first country to integrate this type of programme into the school curriculum — which starts with the Government Aquatic Programme for eight-year-olds.

By running the programme prior to the summer, Mr. Doughty elaborates that it gives students the opportunity to continue their training by enrolling in summer sailing programmes offered by the Ministry of Youth and Sport at various clubs.

“The thrust of the sailing community is to further sailing and we all agree that the sport itself will be healthier when there are more people participating,” Mr. Doughty says.

Waterwise, he believes, gives children like Brian the opportunity to meet challenges, think on their feet and solve problems: “A little boat like this is quite a demon and they are first taught how to right the boat should it capsize.”

By the end of this year, some 500 students will have participated in the Optimist sailing programme. “It helps create a better awareness of where they are on the planet, an awareness of themselves, while also broadening their horizons, creating a much better life for themselves,” Mr. Doughty adds. “A small boat is a rich learning environment and it makes teenagers more independent because they have to think and make decisions for themselves.”