F4 EZ EE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, JUNE 12 , 2022
opened in the 1980s and 1990s as
community members created al-
ternatives to costly boat owner-
ship and yacht clubs. Today, many
offer lessons and activities even
along the country’s most spectac-
ular urban settings; if you’ve ever
daydreamed about admiring the
New York skyline from a sailboat,
Hudson River Community Sail-
ing offers access from Chelsea
and Inwood. Centers allow par-
ticipants to learn and explore on
all kinds of waterways, including
lakes great and small, rivers, bays
and coastlines. And they’re an
increasingly popular way to gain
public access to the water, accord-
ing to US Sailing.
“Community sailing is a bigpart of the future of sailing,” said
Jen Guimaraes, youth education
manager for US Sailing. “It’s giv-
ing so many more people the
opportunity to try it out.”
Community Sailing New Or-
leans (CSNO) is one such new-
comer. The center kicked off its
programming in 2021 and antici-
pates serving about 1,200 adults
and children this year. To help
create a more accessible West
End waterfront post-Katrina, ev-
erything was built with an eye to
eliminating economic, physical
and social barriers to sailing.
CSNO’s cornerstone programs,
many of which are free, include
sailing and maritime career
courses for younger children andhigh-schoolers, adaptive sailing
for people with disabilities and
veteran and service member in-
struction. The center also offers
adult learn-to-sail classes, wom-
en’s clinics, boat rentals and so-
cial sails.
“You’d be surprised how many
people have lived here their
whole life but never enjoyed Lake
Pontchartrain,” said Khari Par-
rish, operations director for
CSNO. “I’m excited to help people
in New Orleans get out on the
water and experience a different
perspective of their city.”Diving deep
In Washington, DC Sail oper-
SEE SAILING ON F5Park Service’s Birding for Begin-
ners webpage, which notes that
birding is an accessible hobby
that you can do anywhere; all you
need is a bird guide, binoculars
and a positive attitude. I knew
where to get two of those.
Bob Mulvihill, ornithologist
for the National Aviary in Pitts-
burgh, recommended the Birds-
Eye Bird Finding Guide. It “up-
dates very frequently, so you can
often see what has been seen at a
spot earlier the same day,” he said.
He also recommended eBird Mo-
bile from the Cornell Lab of Orni-
thology, which allows birders to
log their sightings in a global
database. The app has “turned
the observations of birders every-
where into data that can be used
for a great many important pur-
poses,” he said.
It also showed me that the
caracaras of Florida weren’t that
far away — a small mercy with gas
prices soaring like, well, raptors.
Before going anywhere, I prac-
ticed using my borrowed binocu-
lars — a birding tool, Mulvihill
says, that changes everything.
Taking the time to learn how theytypically so fleeting. Normally, I
wouldn’t have noticed these birds
unless they were perched on my
glasses, as I am so used to moving
through the world without really
looking at a lot of it.
Before setting out in search of
crested caracaras, I decided to do
a trial run at a local park with a lot
of flora, fauna and, best of all,
shade — although Mulvihill
points out that following the sun,
especially in the early morning,
will net you more sightings. A
patch of sun warms the birds,
“but more importantly, it warms
their food, the insects,” he said.
Still feeling lucky, we went to
the local dump, because it
seemed like the logical place to
find scavengers. Reader, we did.
There were lots of vultures and
non-scavengers, too, such as a
red-tailed hawk, probably hunt-
ing rats, and an intensely cute
killdeer, which was as out of place
as a Squishmallow among the
rusted refrigerators and mil-
dewed mattresses.
So far, no caracara.
A more experienced birder told
us we stood a chance of reachingour goal about an hour south, so
we headed to Joe Overstreet
Landing, a boat launch in Ken-
ansville on Lake Kissimmee. The
most abundant animals on this
long road into Florida’s interior
were cattle, which were even
grazing near the boat ramps. We
saw fast-flying American kestrels,
white ibis looking like the Egyp-
tian god Thoth, towering sandhill
cranes, black vultures, turkey vul-
tures and one bull that seemed to
be following us. This put me more
“in the moment” than I care to be.
As we hopped into the car and
took off, I saw above us a huge
bird with a dark body, black-and-
white wing tips and a white neck.
It could easily have been a carac-
ara.
“This is your white whale,”
Doug said. He wasn’t wrong.
The Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge and its Black
Point Wildlife Drive, a stone’s
throw from the Kennedy Space
Center, were godsends. There are
seven miles of dirt road that
visitors are allowed to drive, bike
or walk, with designated areas
where you can park and lookBY LIZ LANGLEYCars are whizzing past me as I
walk down a major artery in
Orlando. Suddenly, they begin to
slow and even stop; an ostenta-
tion of peacocks is crossing the
street, strolling like browsers at a
farmers market.
It’s not surprising to see pea-
cocks on a busy street. Central
Florida is chockablock with birds
— exotic, common, wading, div-
ing, hunting, humming, singing,
running. I thought I knew them
pretty well until the day I came
across the crested caracara on
audubon.org. The stately brown
raptor has a white head and neck,
a severe black crest, an orange
face and a lethal-looking blue-
gray beak. They are elegant hunt-
ers but also efficient scavengers.
How had I missed an eagle-size
bird that looks downright debo-
nair while chasing vultures off
roadkill?
In a short time, I romanticized
the birds so much that I didn’t
want to see them at a zoo or in an
aviary. That’s like going to see
someone at work. I’ve never gone
into the wild looking for a bird
before; it’s not my place. I’m more
an air conditioning and TV type,
supportive of the great outdoors
without having to darken its leafy
doorway. If I was going to find a
caracara, though, I was going to
need some recommendations on
where and how to look for these
birds.
I’m not the only one whose
imagination has been captured
by caracaras.
“I had no idea they existed. I
wasn’t looking for them. I wasn’t
ready for them,” said writer and
musician Jonathan Meiburg, au-
thor of “A Most Remarkable Crea-
ture: The Hidden Life of the
World’s Smartest Birds of Prey,” a
love letter to the nine species of
caracara. Ready or not, he was
doing research on remote societ-
ies in the Falkland Islands when
three striated caracaras landed
nearby and regarded him with a
curiosity and forwardness he
didn’t expect from wild animals.
Meiburg ended up volunteer-
ing to work on a caracara survey
on the outermost Falkland Is-
lands, which are teeming with
wild birds, “like it was thousands
of years ago,” he said. “I didn’t
know the world could be like
that.”
I needed some quick, practical
advice on how to look for birds,
and I found it on the National
more closely at a bird or gator or
walk a trail, which we did. We saw
a green heron and great blue
herons, lots of egrets, numerous
sandpipers doing their always-
cheering little dashes from mor-
sel to morsel in the salt marsh,
and many others we couldn’t
identify.
So far, no caracara.
On a tip that caracaras had
gone south, we drove to the Ritch
Grissom Memorial Wetlands in
Viera, which promised the birds
on a sign that told you what
wildlife to expect. That sign was
alongside one about it being alli-
gator nesting season and not to
go near, or even think about,
alligators while in the park. Usu-
ally that kind of thing would
make me decide I’d rather go to
Target, but I was determined to
go in. I kept walking even when I
saw a little gator in the water, my
stomach stiff with nerves and
hope.
Here we mostly saw lots of
anhingas, also called snakebirds
for the serpentine look of their
long necks and heads sticking out
of the water. Then we saw some-
thing huge with pink wings rising
up into the sky: a roseate spoon-
bill. I’d seen them before, but
never in flight, and it looked like
something from “Fantasia” with
the sun shining through its
bubble- g um-colored feathers.
Then I saw a four-foot alligator on
the bank in front of us and ske-
daddled like a shoplifter.
Before we left Viera, we asked a
local police officer about caracar-
as. He said there was one that
used to hang around his house
trying to tear his screens down.
He showed us a picture of it
sitting on his windowsill.
So close, yet so far.
I did finally get to see a carac-
ara, but it was at the Audubon
Center for Birds of Prey in Mait-
land. Not finding the birds you’re
looking for, it turns out, is a big
part of looking for birds. On the
other hand, the birds we did see,
the fun we had discovering new
places together and the proverbi-
al voyage of self-discovery — me
walking past an alligator like it
was someone I didn’t want to talk
to at a party — made for a worthy
quest, and one I intend to contin-
ue. Who knows, I may even buy
my own binoculars.
Like Ishmael said: “I try all
things; I achieve what I can.”Langley is a writer based in Orlando.
Find her on Twitter: @LizLangley.On a quest f or the elusive caracara, a reluctant birder finds her passionISTOCK/WASHINGTON POST ILLUSTRATIONIf You Go
WHAT TO DO
DC Sail
Small-boat programs are located at
Diamond Teague Park piers, 99
Potomac Ave. SE. The American
Spirit schooner is docked at the
Wharf, 650 Wharf St. SW.
202-547-1250
dcsail.org
Sunset Sails on the American Spirit
are $50 for nonmembers. A $225
annual membership allows
members to purchase up to four
Sunset Sail tickets at $25 each, as
well as other benefits. Refresher
sailing courses are $75 forBY ERIN E. WILLIAMSYou can see them from South-
east Washington’s booming wa-
terfront: small dinghies, their
sails white and crisp above the
Anacostia River. Even in this
landlocked city, sailing holds a
powerful allure — yet despite its
often expensive and exclusive
reputation, it’s surprisingly ac-
cessible.
The dinghies belong to DC Sail,
the National Maritime Heritage
Foundation’s community sailing
program. Like other community
sailing centers, DC Sail is a non-
profit organization that supports
access for everyone.
“The beauty of community sail-
ing centers is that we provide a
pathway to sailing,” said Traci
Mead, executive director of DC
Sail. “It’s very affordable, and you
don’t have to have your own boat.”
These organizations get people
out on the water while educating
students of all ages on watercraft,
safety, science and environmen-
tal stewardship. Their programs
are open to the public, and by
emphasizing equity, they bring
sailing’s benefits to people who
have historically faced exclusion
from water-based recreation.
The nonprofit US Sailing pro-
vides leadership, national stan-
dards and education for the sport,
including accreditation and sup-
port for community sailing cen-
ters. Although the exact number
is difficult to estimate, more than
130 of US Sailing’s member or-
ganizations have self-identified
as community sailing centers,
and 42 of those are accredited. In
total, there are probably a few
hundred across the country.
Setting a new course
One community sailing center
has offered affordable, accessible
sailing since 1946. Community
Boating Inc. (CBI) in Boston is the
nation’s oldest public sailing or-
ganization, with a fleet of more
than 120 sailboats. Its programs
teach people of all abilities to sail,
paddle and windsurf on the
Charles River — and encourage
volunteerism. As nonprofits, cen-
ters rely on community involve-
ment, revenue from programs
and donations to support opera-
tions.
Many centers similar to CBI
Learning the ropes of sailing doesn’t have to cost a boatload
MATT MCCLAIN/THE WASHINGTON POST
Members of DC Sail’s high school racing program practice i n 20 12. “The beauty of community sailing centers is that we provide a
pathway to sailing,” said T raci Mead, executive director of DC Sail. “It’s very affordable, and you don’t have to have your own boat.”members. An adult learn-to-sail
course at the basic membership
level is $515. Kids Set Sail summer
camps are $350 per week, and the
high school racing program is $550
per spring or fall season. Youth
program scholarships are available.
Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m.
Community Sailing New Orleans
101 N. Roadway St., New Orleans
504-233-3292
nolacommunitysailing.org
Many of CSNO’s youth, adaptive and
veteran sailing programs are free.
A beginner adult keelboat course is
$375, and a customized Women in
the Wind clinic is $32 per person.
Youth sailing camps are $325.
CSNO operates seven days a week;
hours depend on the season.
Mission Bay Aquatic C enter
1001 Santa Clara Pl., San Diego
858-488-1000
mbaquaticcenter.com
MBAC has a variety of classes,
youth programs and rentals. An
adult basic sailing course is $180,
An adult basic sailing course is
$180. Private lessons are $150 for
two hours, $75 each additional
hour. Sailboat rental for qualified
sailors is $40 for 2^1 / 2 hours. Youth
basic sailing and multisport camps
are $465. Financial aid is available.
Open Monday through Sunday, 9
a.m. to 7 p.m.
Community Boating Inc.
21 David G. Mugar Way, Boston
617-523-1038
community-boating.org
The country’s oldest public sailing
organization, CBI offers programs
for adults and children, and it also
offers accessible programming.
Adult and youth classes include
introductory through advanced
sailing, racing, windsurfing and
paddling. There are also youth
STEM classes, a two-week beginner
sailing class and sliding-scale costs
from $1 to $395. CBI’s Universal
Access Program provides adaptive
instruction and equipment, also on
a sliding scale. One-day keelboat
rentals for experienced sailors from
$85. Two-hour kayak rentals from
$34 per person. CBI operates daily;
hours depend on season.work, with an in-person or online
tutorial, can transform the ex-
perience. “I know when I hear the
gasps that people have finally
seen a bird with their binoculars
very well, and possibly for the
first time ever,” Mulvihill said.It happened to me. At a local
park, my partner, Doug, and I
used the binoculars to spy on an
adorable black-and-white war-
bler and green heron catching
minnows. Doug is a wildlife per-
son and is used to this kind of
visual access, but I was taken
aback by having such intimacy
with an animal whose presence is“I had no idea theyexisted. I wasn’t lookingfor them. I wasn’tready for them.”
Jonathan Meiburg, a writer and
musician on encountering caracara
birds in the Falkland Islands