
Volunteerism, community spirit, resilience, courage, hard work? These are qualities that the fiercest of storms, natural or man-made, often bring to the surface in a community. For students at the Marco Island Interscholastic Sailing Team, there was no hesitation in committing countless hours to the island’s sailing center before and after Irma. The Interscholastic Sailing Team is made up of students from Marco Island Charter Middle School, Lely High School and Marco Island Academy. With amazing speed and focus, they pulled together in the spirit of conquering adversity and prepared for Irma, the now infamous monster storm. After news had spread of Irma’s unexpected change of route from the east coast to the west coast, these freckle-faced, eager and normally carefree students bonded together with admirable strength and dedication in preparing the Marco Island Sailing Center’s launch site for the winds and the surge that were predicted to hit the island.


Photos by Robert Leahy
Finally, after a long storm induced recess, reorganization and a lot of hard work, the students took to the seas again, undaunted, full of hope and promise. On a cloudless day with the glorious color of sea and sky, often celebrated on Marco Island, they sailed, unafraid and ready to relive the magic of the Ten Thousand Islands, a place like no other in the world, with students as resilient and courageous as the living seas they navigate.
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