I Knew I Wanted To Be A Sailor
Years of tacking back and forth in her career as a boating instructor
“Learning to become a boating instructor is a bit like tacking a sailboat. You rarely get a chance to go directly upwind or directly towards your objective. You may need to sail off in one direction. This may put a little bit distance from your destination, but then turn and tack back and forth until finally you reach your objective.” By Margaret Pommert
Margaret Pommert knew she wanted to sail. Growing up in Auburn, Washington does not offer many opportunities on the water. Nor was her family a boating family. But Margaret had a deep, soulful need, one that involved being on the water. Margaret saved money from odd jobs, convinced a boyfriend to drive her to sailing lessons on Lake Washington, and found her passion as a sailor.
“When I was a teenager I knew I wanted to be a sailor,” Margaret said.
Margaret moved to Southern California shortly after college. Needing to develop experience she volunteered at a local sailing program, building upon her experience as a sailor and learned how to become an instructor.
“You need to develop experience, some of it will be relevant to being a boating instructor and some may not. You also need to develop experience in teaching,” Margaret said.
Designed to give people who did not have access, Community Sailing Programs in Southern California provided access to sailboats and getting people out on the water. Margaret volunteered and it was there she learned more about sailing, about being an instructor, and how to maintain the boats.
At the Venice Boys and Girls Club’s After School Sailing program, she taught on small keel boats. Most of the kids had never been on the water. The after school program was designed as to teach boating and safety education and wa a joint program with the local harbor department and part of the sheriff’s outreach program. The Boys and Girls Club’s summer Fast is Fun sailing program, she taught on Hobie Cats.
“Teaching kids helped me become a much better teacher! If you don’t keep it fun and engaging, they quickly lose interest. A group of bored middle-school aged kids can find remarkably creative ways to get into trouble. So they taught me to see and correct potentially unsafe situations quickly, before anything happens. You’ve got to give students (of any age) freedom to go out and play and learn and make mistakes…but in a safe way.”
Margaret soon joined the UCLA Marine Aquatic Center as an assistant instructor in their sailing program for students and alumni. The programs were taught on a variety of small sailing dinghies and Hobie Cats. It was here that she aspired to being hired as a full instructor.
After teaching sailing for many years, and becoming a certified sailing instructor, Margaret felt it was time to move home — to Seattle. Her student were now adults. She became more involved in the Women’s Sailing Program with the Seattle Sailing Program. Working closely with a dedicated and experienced team, they set out to provide a safe and supportive environment for women who wanted to learn more about sailing. You will find Margaret and an active participant in Northwest Women in Boating, a group of women sail and power boaters, as well as, as the Facebook group Women Who Sail (and Power Cruise.)
After years of tacking back and forth in her career as a boating instructor, in June of 2017, Margaret was invited to teach at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. As part of a team of twenty of the best civilian sailing instructors in the United States, their job was to teach a group of Ensigns (fresh Naval Academy graduates) to become sailing instructors. The Ensigns then teach the new class of 2100 freshmen (called Plebes) how to sail as a foundational part of their curriculum at the Naval Academy.
Surrounded by former Olympic sailors and the head instructor for the Georgetown sailing program, Margaret was a little starstruck and in awe interacting with a group of people who were as passionate about boating education as she is. Margaret was both honored and delighted to be included.
“For somebody who loves to teach sailing, teaching with some of the best sailing instructor from all over the country was amazing and I really enjoyed it,” Margaret said.
The she spends teaching enhances her teaching skills, and the time spent boating enhances her boating skills, which she then uses to teach others.
Margaret was recommended to teach at the Naval Academy through years of networking, connecting with the right people, and building upon her reputation as a boating instructor. Years of experience and education, while being known for working as a good team member, qualified her for the position. A position she well deserved.
Her career now spans decades of volunteering, teaching, taking advance instructor training, testing to become a Performance Sailing Instructor, and being involved with organizations that develop and revise curriculum for sailing instructions, proving Margaret is dedicated, willing, and more than able to instruct others in boating.
Being an instructor is a job filled with a lot of responsibility, to find balance Margaret enjoys just being a crew member sometime. All she has to do is follow orders and leave the captaining to someone else.
She has crewed on a boat during the Baja Ha Ha, a rally of around 160 boats that leave around Halloween and travel down the coast of Mexico. Over the winter months, she crewed on a boat doing the Pacific Crossing from Mexico to Tahiti. Every year is she crew on the lead boat for the Waggoner Cruising Guide’s Flotilla up the Inside Passage to Alaska.
Margaret’s advice for younger people:
1. Build experience.
2. Be a good employee. Be aware of the needs of your clients (your students) and your employer (the sailing school). Margaret takes her responsibilities seriously. For her clients she makes sure they are having fun, learning what they need to learn, and kept them safe. For her employers, she makes sure to maintain the boat, keep the school aware of any issues with the boat, help define the curriculum, and provide a safe and educational environment for the students.
Margaret was selected to serve as a Reviewer for the new National On-Water Standards (NOWS) Program for Sailing instruction. Funded in part by the U.S. Coast Guard, the purpose of NOWS is to advance the overall level of quality, availability and consistency of On-Water, skills-based instruction in recreational boat operation through the development, integration and application of On-Water standards within the national System of Standard for Recreational Boat Operation.
“The best sailing instructors tend to be women,” Margaret said with a chuckle as we concluded the interview. Even though she said it in tongue in cheek, she concluded that sailing women instructors tend to think things through and not muscle their way through a problem. They tend to think things out ahead of time.
When Boating — you may have a list of things that have to be done:
1. Maintain the boat
2. Get the boat safely from point A to point B
3. Being a good crew mate
But in the end you will feel satisfied and then you can just relax and enjoy boating.
No matter what our passion is — what we dream of doing — we set our course to reach our destination. Then sometimes, as sailing instructor Margaret Pommert says, “We have to tack and put some distance from our final destination before we can reach it”.
Margaret dreamed of sailing and now sails the seas while teaching others about sailing. The dream of a woman strong in determination and passionate about making a difference, while doing what she loves.
Margaret Pommert’s Bio:
A northwest native, she started boating about 40 years ago. But she has also been fortunate to enjoy many of the world’s top cruising destinations — the Inside Passage to Alaska, Caribbean, South Pacific, Great Lakes, Channel Islands, San Francisco Bay, Greece, Baja, Chesapeake Bay, and our San Juan and Gulf Islands.
For several years, she taught sailing in California, on dinghies and keel boats, mono hulls and catamarans. When she moved back to Seattle, she became an active sailing/boating instructor, while enjoying racing and cruising in Puget Sound/the San Juan Islands.
This really is a great boating area, and I love introducing my students to our local waters!
I enjoy helping my students develop their capabilities and confidence in a safe, fun, and stimulating environment.
Margaret Pommert is a certified instructor for following organizations:
