Now that’s what I’m talking about!

I have a neighbor with a big boat. It seems unusual because he’s also black. When I asked him about it, he talked about his love of fishing. He’s almost retirement age, with a boisterous laugh and obvious contentment with life.

I wonder if that comes from life on the water?

I look wistfully at the boats and beach homes every time I go to a body of water. I think. What would that be like to have a boat? To spend your whole summer on the water?

Bill Pinkney knows. In 1990, at the age of 54, he set off to sail the world. He left from Boston and sailed South, past Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Uruguay, and Bermuda—and through tropical storms, 70-mile-an-hour winds, and 55-foot waves. After 22 months and 32,000 nautical miles, he sailed safely back to Boston’s harbor.

Since he was the first black man to sail the world alone, his voyage was followed by millions of school children through TV, radio and computer. He had done the voyage to have something to tell his grandchildren. The experience gave him many more ‘grandchildren.’

Pinkney and Paul Mixon, another black sailor, teamed up in 1996 to create the Black Boaters Summit, an annual event in the British Virgin Islands. They had a hard time convincing folks to come out on the water at first. Some of the first captains couldn’t swim, nor had any experience with open water. The first year had 10 boats. It has since had as many as 24 boats, 280 sailors. It’s a community, a network; it’s responsible for 6 marriages.

It’s good to know I’m not alone fantasizing about life on the water. These people dared to dream, and then make it happen.

At this particular meet, there was a cap gun to announce the start of the race, instead of a buzzer, like the kids were used to. My son’s starts were all delayed, as you can see in this picture.

Girl Scout Camp: One year I was faking it, scared of the water, but wanting so badly to pass into the swimming level that used row boats. Sail boats were for the real swimmers. They knew how to do the BUTTERFLY! That was just a pipe dream for me. . .

Somehow I managed to not touch the bottom of the lake enough times during my swimming test to qualify for the rowboat level–I’d finally graduated from canoes! But I remember wistfully eying those sailboat girls. Could I ever be a good enough swimmer for those?

The next year, I finally learned to swim. As in, I learned to tread water, and got over my fear of deep water. Not as much as brother did, mind you–he would swim along the bottom of the 14 foot water–that was crazy! But I passed out of advanced beginner (Red Cross swimming)–at age 12!

My brother and I jumped off a boat to swim to shore on our vacation in Cozumel, Mexico that summer. We scared our parents, non-swimmers, to death, especially when we kept going down to see how deep the water was. But it was freedom! Freedom from fear, freedom from faking it, freedom to explore a whole new world!

Later, in High School, I passed the intermediate level, and had breast stroke and side stroke under my belt.

I returned to Mexico for my honeymoon, and even though I was still scared to be hanging out on the bottom of the pool, I went scuba diving with my husband. It was so beautiful just a few feet under the surface!

It wouldn’t be until I was a grown woman with children before I finally learned the butterfly. And that was from watching them at swim practice.

And now I wipe final fear cobwebs from my mind by going to the Y and swimming laps. I was so scared I’d get kicked out of the pool for not being a real swimmer at first! Now I see swimmers of all levels and ages working out side by side. It is a fellowship, even though we don’t say much to each other. But we share that freedom to explore underwater.

We don’t have to be scared to go to the lake. We can try stuff like tubing, waterskiing, white water rafting, surfing, snorkeling, . . .and we can be free of other things too, like obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure. . ..

All because we dared to have life in the water. It is totally worth whatever amount of time or money it takes to get there.

Wanda Butt’s 16 year old son Josh drowned in 2007. Rather than just be a sad statistic, she started a lifesaving program called Project Josh. Her page on the Diversity in Swimming page has this quote:

I am Josh’s Moms. From the tragedy of losing my son Josh to drowning – my goal is to be triumphant and to help other mothers avoid such a horrific loss. I have been inspired to “make a difference and stop the drowning.” The Josh Project is my vision. The Josh Project will save lives by teaching water safety and minority children to swim for free! I want parents to know the importance of our children knowing how to swim. Swimming is a life skill, an accredited sport and fun! The drowning rate in our communities is like an epidemic – but together we can “cure” it. In partnership with USA Swimming the national governing body of swimmers we can make a difference. My vision for The Josh Project is to have a JPAC (Josh Project Aquatic Center) where we teach swimming, water safety, boating safety in classes and in the pools. We can do it. I believe that GOD is on my side and I will not fear. To GOD be the GLORY.

Wanda Butts is based in Toledo OH, and she has a Norfolk VA branch of Project Josh run by Norfolk State faculty member, Shaun Anderson. Anderson was a competitive swimmer at age 5 who went on to swim for Penn State University. He is trying to get a swim team started at Norfolk State, where he is director of pool operations.

These people are doing something besides hand-wringing and pontificating. Anderson would like to see more black competitive swimmers. Butts would like to see 100% black swimming proficiency. They are working together towards the latter goal by offering free swim lessons.

What they’re finding is that in reaching towards the 100% swim goal, they’re getting more people interested in the competitive swimming goal as well. In all the circular arguments as to why there aren’t any more competitive black swimmers, nobody thinks that swimming proficiency would have anything to do with it.

But I could see that. I hated swimming when I didn’t know how to do it. Now I am passionate about it. I am not alone. We can all make a difference by supporting programs like Project Josh. For more information, check out the Project Josh website.

I found this on the Diversity in Aquatics ning site.  Enjoy!

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