Two Camper’s Experience
Storytelling Series - August 2026
This month’s storytelling series comes from Bodie and Wyatt, two youth Summer Camp participants.
Wyatt and Bodie Spaulding (no relation to our founder, Myron Spaulding) recently participated in our Spaulding Summer Sea Camp, a day camp based at Spaulding Marine Center where youngsters spend half of each day learning to sail and the other half working in our wood shop. The 12-year-old brothers had this to say about their experience:
Wyatt: The Spaulding sailing camp was an amazing experience and a week that I will never forget. I loved the camp so much and definitely hope to come back next year. I personally loved the food, which was from the restaurant FISH and specially made for us. I enjoyed how much sailing time we got and the awesome woodworking class. The instructors were so cool and so kind; they always helped me and the other students.
Bodie: The weeklong Spaulding sailing camp was unforgettable. The restaurant called FISH provided us with a different amazing dish for lunch each day. We always had a little meeting with our instructor every morning before we put on our life jackets to go sail in the Pelicans. After a few days, we had already learned so much that we were able to sail with only our group—we got to choose! We had so much fun out on the water. I liked that we got to choose our groups to sail with. Then, we were lucky enough to have woodworking lessons, and we made tool boxes. Our amazing instructors were able to teach us so much in just a week. We also got to see the boats Spaulding Boatworks was working on. I loved the motor boat rides, being on the water, and so much more. Camp was so much fun, because we met new people, we got to sail and be on the water—and the food FISH made us was like heaven in your mouth!
Wyatt: There were a few challenges, like the last day of camp it was very windy. For some of the kids, it was their first time sailing so we could not sail. The camp was absolutely amazing, and I loved it. I learned so many cool things. I learned a lot more about sailing, and how to sail Pelicans. I had so much fun at this camp. I learned how cool it is to watch professional boat painters paint boats and saw many awesome boats. I also got to have many long conversations with boat workers in the Spaulding Boatworks yard.
Bodie: I may have said earlier that meeting new people was something I liked, but it is also one of the challenges that I met that week. Another challenge that I faced was super windy days, and I think a lot of people would agree with me. That is why I also liked having our counselor on board with us to help if we ever got into a pickle. We had amazing instructors with us all the way. I learned a lot, like how to sail smaller boats with a smaller team. I also learned how people work on boats that have been taken out of the water. FISH also gave us a demo, with the head chef fileting a tuna that I, for one, thought was so cool! I also learned how to make a tool box and that sanding is not a future job I would want.
Wyatt: I would recommend this camp to all kids who love sailing and woodworking. I personally love sailing and woodworking, so I loved this camp. It was an amazing experience, and I had so much fun. I will use these skills in the future. I am planning on sailing a lot when I am older, which is one of the many reasons I loved this camp. This camp will help me so much in my future.
Bodie: I would recommend that other kids go here, because it teaches you to sail, to cut wood, and to work together and be kind to one another. My dad sails, and so do both my grandpas. So I will show them what I learned—and I have already beat them in a race. If I ever sail when I am older, this camp will always be that little voice telling me to get back on the water.
