Andy Creighton
Sailor of the Week: August 6-12
Safety and all-around sportsmanship must be valued and recognized in a sport such as sailing, where Mother Nature can strike at any moment. As sailors, we harness the energy provided by her to enjoy the sport, but she reminds us of her power from time to time, and we need to be ready. Andy Creighton, 13, of Manchester, Mass. values safety at sea, respects the challenges proposed by Mother Nature, and has been ready to respond to dangerous situations at sea on more than one occasion.
Andy received the William Leach Sportsmanship Award for the brave and selfless actions he displayed at the USA Junior Olympic Sailing Festival at the Scituate (Mass.) Harbor Yacht Club on August 3-4. During Tuesday’s (Aug. 4) racing, a 10-year-old sailor’s boat took on water and capsized after a wave created by a nearby motorboat splashed in. They were racing the same course, while Andy sailed in the Optimist Red Fleet; the sailor in distress was racing in the Optimist White Fleet. After she regained control of her boat, he approached her while letting his sail out to a flutter. Andy held on to her boat with one hand and helped bale with the other. They both finished their respective races.
This was not the first time Andy answered the call of a fellow sailor in trouble. Last month during Marblehead Race Week he came to the aid of a youth whose boat was capsized by the stormy conditions. Andy stayed with the troubled sailor and comforted him until the coach boat arrived on the scene.
Andy and his twin brother, Sam, have been sailing their entire life. While Andy’s craft of preference is the Optimist, Sam sails the 420, and his father sails a 36-footer in the Marblehead to Halifax Race. Andy enjoys racing and cruising. He is looking forward to joining the Manchester Essex Middle School sailing team this year. Andy would also like to learn more about racing 420s, team racing, and windsurfing.
Behind the scenes, Andy spends some of his free time expressing how he feels about sailing through poetry. Read one of his short poems:
Do You Ever Wonder
Do you ever wonder,
what life would be
if we lived on the sea,
the black sky,
the stars way up high,
the crash of the waves,
the creak of the mast and stays?
Do you ever wonder what life would be,
in this dream with me,
living on the sea?