Harness the power of the wind and water when you Set Sail with Equinox Hotel and Hudson River Community Sailing this summer — and keep your brain sharp by doing it.
There is nothing like turning off the engine on a boat and letting the sail take you anywhere you want to go.
“That’s my favorite moment, coasting our way down the Hudson River. Then we’ll just add more and more layers,” says Don Rotzien, Director of Community Sailing and Operations at Hudson River Community Sailing in New York.
Those layers include putting up a second sail, steering with the current in mind, pulling the sails in or easing it out by “trimming” at varying degrees (trigonometry) to the wind to harness its energy. You “tack” by crossing into the wind or “jibe,” cross away from the wind.
Rotzien, who teaches children and adults how to sail, thinks there is a real transformative value to learning to sail. You learn communication and leadership skills as you work closely with your crew. There’s math, trigonometry, currents, and learning to deal with forces beyond your control — which he thinks translates into navigating our lives, harnessing all the forces that can pull or push us in different directions.
Science also shows the value of learning multiple skills. In two studies in 2020 where older adults learned at least three new skills, such as Spanish, drawing, and music composition, participants increased their cognitive abilities so drastically that their cognitive abilities were similar to those of adults 30 years younger.
In a follow-up study a year later, the same scientists found that the enhanced cognitive abilities were ongoing, leading them to conclude that their “findings provide evidence that simultaneously learning real-world skills can lead to long-term improvements in cognition during older adulthood.”
“The question is no longer whether we should pursue learning as adults but rather how society can optimize the environment to maximize opportunities,” writes Rachel Wu, one of the study authors and an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside who studies cognitive aging and learning across the life span, and Jessica A. Church, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin who studies cognitive development and learning in children and adolescents in the June 29, 2023 issue of Scientific American.
Rotzien says the best part of learning to sail is that anyone can do it — even if you’re not particularly strong or athletic because the mechanical systems on the boat can take up the physical load when winds get stronger. This is where learning to “grind” or cranking a winch to control a sail comes in.
Hudson River Community Sailing is a non-profit that offers sailing and maritime education to underserved schoolchildren and the New York City community at large. But last year, it also partnered with Equinox Hotel a few blocks away along the city’s waterfront to offer learn-to-sail lessons for hotel guests.
“We were looking for something truly unique that we could offer our guests and members,” explains Katie Tardiff, Brand Director at Equinox Hotels.
Sailing isn’t something people think of when they think of New York City, says Rotzien, but out on the water, you can take in the Statue of Liberty, the George Washington Bridge, and the city’s skyline. “It’s the best way to see the city,” he says.
As for Equinox Hotel guests?
“Where else can you wake up from the best night’s sleep, spend the morning in a 60,000 square foot Equinox Club filled with local members, hop on a sailing boat for 3 hours and then relax on a sprawling terrace sipping on beverages and eating deliciously nourishing meals – or opt to pack it as a lunch for the boat?” says Tardiff.