Staff Photos, Explained

July 31, 2025

I already forget where I wasn’t yesterday and have no photos at the moment. That probably means I owe you a “RIGHT NOW” fly-on-the-wall pix fix and I will endeavor to deliver on that promise at some point this morning.

So, allow me to make this report on the photos we have from Week 6 counselor offerings. Thank goodness for those folks. Morgan M. is really good at posting photos on the staff communication site, where Sara grabs hers and others to post for your pleasure.  They asked me at dinner if I thought it would rain soon and I remarked that my innate sense of such matters pointed to the showers missing us. Then it poured, driving council fire indoors. That’s where Morgan captured young Felix C. performing beautifully on the piano. Sustained applause followed.

Several sailing photos give you an idea on how clinics operate on the water.  Towards the end of the photo set you see the while/purple/green sail of our most advanced craft. First order of business is to give the juniors a nice ride in it on a breezy morning. Planting the seed, as it were.

Next up is the learning phase, to include capsizing and recovery. A single pic suffices.

Then it is practice time on the Sunfish, with seven photos of twosomes and threesomes all being followed by the instructor in the skiff, who took the photos. It is important that the teacher be able to communicate with the student while he is learning the ropes.

Friday usually is “certification” day, when the sailing clinicians determine which kids have demonstrated enough proficiency to be allowed to sail by themselves under “indirect” supervision, mostly during B-Block at 4:30.  Lifeguards are patrolling the seas, for sure, but the campers are basically free to succeed or fail on personal terms. “Rescues” are common, and no one is ever criticized so long as he has been following protocol.

Lots of activities have certification standards and you can see the wake surfers going through much of the same rigmarole as the sailors. I have been on the “Ferrari Boat” many times and can vouch for the instructor’s ability to coach the boarders from the back of the boat, as riding that wave hands free involves finding the groove of the wave just a few feet distant from the stern.

Lastly, remember that we here at Kingswood are surrounded by National Forest lands and that makes it easy for us to offer day hikes nearby and overnights on Lake Tarleton herself. The Webster Cliff hikers pose high above Wachapauka Pond on a hike that was back at camp by 3:00. And those sunset celebrants at Pirate’s Cove departed after dinner!  All “Good Camp,” eh?