Sailing Story: Arielle Wilson

Arielle Wilson’s plunge into sailing began as a cathartic way for her family to deal with difficult news. Her uncle had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

“It was my dad and my uncle’s way to bond,” she explained. “They just showed up with a boat.” 

Both her dad and her uncle had sailing experience in their younger years. Her father had even completed a few Atlantic crossings in the 50s and 60s. However, until her uncle’s diagnosis, sailing had never been a family affair. Then, the trajectory of family summers seemed to be forever changed. 

“My uncle at first was very interested in teaching us everything but it wasn’t very organized,” Arielle explained. 

Part of the disorganization was due to the fact that Arielle had 3 young children at the time.

“It’s hard to learn sail when you have a 3 year old,” she explained. “I had a hard time taking the reins when my dad and uncle really knew how to sail.”

However, when her uncle passed away recently, Arielle realized it was time to take the next step–  from sailing passenger, to her dad’s right hand man, filling in the spot where her uncle was so sorely missed. 

“It’s either somebody take this and enjoy it or sell it,” she said. “So I decided to take it and enjoy it.”

From observing and following her uncle’s and father’s instructions, Arielle knew she had already picked up a lot.  

“I knew, not necessarily just the fundamentals, but how to trim the sheets and everything that needed to be done but only when someone told me to do it,” she said. “I hadn’t really taken the time to know the terminology and also, I’d never really been at the helm.”

Arielle knew that in order to feel comfortable at the helm, she would need a confidence boost— and a push. 

“I will 100 percent take the backseat and I knew I didn’t want to do that… but I needed the confidence,” she explained.

So on her 40th birthday, Arielle signed up for sailing lessons. To her excitement, her 15 year old daughter Eleanor also asked to join. 

“She loved it,” Arielle said. “I think we have sailed every weekend but two since the class.”

Not only did Arielle gain the confidence she needed to be her dad’s right hand man on their family sailboat, Eleanor also gained the confidence to teach her friends to sail too. 

“This summer we brought two of her closest girlfriends up. She taught them how to sail,” Arielle said. “She is thinking about entering the races next year.”

While Arielle’s dad may have originally bought the boat with his brother to tighten their brotherly bond, their sailboat has ended up doing so much more. It’s bonded an entire family, for generations, with a sport to love together.