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TEACHING Self-Esteem!

We don’t HOPE they get it,

We actually TEACH IT! 


A Youth Empowerment Camp in Colorado

Our Summer Camp boasts a coveted US Sailing nationally award winning curriculum. We use sailing as the medium through which we offer inspiration and empowerment.

Our carefully crafted curriculum is aimed directly and intentionally at changing negative self-defeating thought patterns and beliefs of limitation to an empowering mindset of “Enoughness,” and possibility!

We teach the basics of sailing, through a US Sailing Certified Instructor. We cover capsize recovery, parts of the boat, skippering, crewing, knots, tacking, points of sail …and then some! Then we discuss applying those lessons to life!

Self-Esteem is a SKILL, which can be learned, and with teen culture today, we MUST be teaching!

We do just that!

ABLE to Sail uses that pesky “no-wind” time to empower our youth by using the metaphors of sailing to change the negative mental chatter that causes depression, anxiety, excessive ‘screen-time,’ and ultimately leads teens to participate in high-risk behaviors like Drugs, Alcohol, Self-Harm. Isolationism, and Suicidal Ideations.

Based on pre- and post- surveys, our sailors report a 246% increase in pride, self-esteem, and belief in their place in the world.

We use every lesson in sailing as a metaphor and teachable moment, to address…

  • Avoiding Negative Thinking
  • Feelings of not belonging
  • Coping with being bullied
  • Feelings of inadequacy
  • Thoughts that lead to Depression
  • Coping with Anxiety
  • Letting Go of Mistakes
  • Celebrating Diversity
  • The use of drugs & alcohol
  • Emphasizing the “SELF,” in Self-Esteem

Our Award Winning Curriculum

In tandem with teaching sailing, we take every lesson about sailing and, bookending each day, discuss how, if applied to life, we can create an amazing life. Following is a good representation of most of those metaphors. We delve deeply into the process of recognizing limiting beliefs, identifying where they came from, and then focus on creating empowering beliefs instead. For a belief, namely one of inadequacy in all its forms, is merely a thought that we have “thought” 100,000x and never questioned if it were actually true. And so we question them, challenging the basis of self-negating thought patterns – all through the lessons in sailing!

  • Pretend You’re Brave – Fear is just a thought!
  • Capsize Recovery- Emotional Self-Recovery – If you get knocked down, get back up and move on!
  • NOT sailing is part of SAILING, thus NOT Getting it is part of GETTING IT!
  • Stay Out of the No Butt Zone –“I’d try out for choir, but…”
  • Steering Left to go Right (???) – Accepting new ways of thinking
  • Tiller Toward Trouble – Saying ‘No,’ steering away from a disaster
  • Little Changes make a Big Difference – Doing something different
  • Tacking – When you have to Work for it and don’t just get what you want when you want it, because you want it!
  • In IRONS! Taking what’s not yours, you will end up “in irons” everytime!
  • REACH!!! Stretch yourself – Go for everything!
  • Looking FORWARD! Letting Go of the Past
  • Practice in the Calm to Survive the Storm
  • Sailing SOLO – What do YOU think you did well today? Discovering the “Self” in Self-esteem
  • And ABOVE ALL…DON’T ABANDON SHIP!!!

Tremendous gratitude for our Sponsors, all overflowing, with a heart for our community, a heart for kids…and then some!

Corporate Sponsor Logo

ABLE to Sail sessions are easy to access from

  • Longmont
  • Boulder
  • Broomfield
  • Louisville
  • Lafayette
  • Erie
  • Loveland
  • Fort Collins
  • Mead
  • Firestone/Frederick

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done


The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting...
It is with heavy hearts and profound sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved Diane McKinney , who departed this life on April 29th, 2025 of natural causes at home. A guiding force, a steady hand, and a beacon of strength, she led us through life’s storms with courage, love, and grace. Though the journey has ended, Diane's legacy will forever live on in the hearts of those she touched.
We grieve deeply, but we also celebrate a life well-lived — a life of purpose, passion, and enduring impact. Rest in peace, dear Captain. You are deeply missed.
The memorial service honoring the life of Diane Mckinney is being planned. We will share details here as soon as they are available. All who knew and loved her are welcome to attend and pay their respects.
As many of you know, for now Able to Sail is on hold, as we sort things out and try to build a staff/ program worthy to carry on her legacy and help our youth in need as she would have wanted. Details about this will be shared at a later date. Please be patient as we grieve and process.

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