25 September 2016, Centre Island, NY – On a brisk fall Sunday morning at Seawanhaka Yacht Club, parents, coaches, and kids huddled under a massive tent for the skippers meeting on this, the second and final day of the 2016 Optimist Atlantic Coast Championship. Back-dropped by a gorgeous clubhouse, the food spread in the tent was fantastic, bordering opulent, and the view from the rolling grass hill down to Oyster Bay harbor was, and is, beautiful. What a wonderful place and a great opportunity for Optimist sailors.
Right on time, the competitors meeting was called to order by the club’s PRO. A club member, the PRO was dressed in traditional yacht club officer attire, complete with formal nautical hat. He offered a quiet but dignified presence as he asked for attention, but the crowd didn’t seem to be tuned in. For a moment the scene reminded me of a lonely flight attendant offering passengers safety advice before a flight.
Patiently, but with purpose, the PRO offered a very nice allegory of times gone by, when sailors who weren’t paying attention would climb the rigging of naval sailing ships, play around, and sometimes whistle, a practice called “Skylarking.” Today we may call it “horseplay.” I think the message was a dual one; a sailor whistling in the rigging while shirking duty was thought to bring storm winds, and since we didn’t have much wind at all on the day before, we were all asked to whistle for more wind on Sunday. Also, and more subtly, however, I think the PRO was reminding the crowd to pay attention, and to respect the event.
Then, and what I found most compelling, the PRO offered his sailing observations of the day before:
- Boats were hitting each other, very often, and without consequence. No protests filed.
- Several sailors, clearly over early just before a start, were overheard compelling their fellow competitors to remain over early, so that the race would be abandoned and a general recall called.
In my short time following the class, these observations are made too often, at regional and national-level events. In fact, the PRO of the 2016 New England Championship earlier this summer, offered very similar observations to parents after the first day of sailing. It is a problem, it’s not going away, and it needs to be addressed.
Not all is lost, by any means. Getting lots of kids involved in sailing is great. Having lots of enthusiasm and organization is also great. The Optimist Class Association has a pure mission and is filled with caring people. Smaller fleet Optimist regattas abound, green fleet events provide a perfect platform for beginner development, and team racing offers great competition. Also, to be fair, these kids are young, and of course mistakes are more likely, and those mistakes should be treated with patience.
However, are we at, or beyond, a tipping point, where rules and proper sportsmanship are sacrificed for numbers and show, and where fleet sizes have become unmanageably large? And, are we as race administrators and yacht club hosts ultimately to blame, and in fact inviting this problem ourselves? Yacht Clubs seem to take almost sadistic pride in out-registering each other for regional and national Optimist events. Sail Newport claimed with glee and honor that the 400+ competitors constituted the largest single one-design regatta ever held there (or anywhere, maybe). I have heard other exclamations of “ours was the biggest” at similar events in different locations. That’s great, but so what? Maybe the sheer size of these events is actually the root of a problem that is teaching our young sailors poor lessons on the water. It’s great that kids want to register, but after a certain point, do we lose the ability to hold a valid, safe regatta that develops proper skills? What’s more, the larger the fleet, it seems, the less the racing, and the more the waiting.
With 20-30 coach boats swirling around, we’re putting 100+ kids on massive starting lines in 2-3 heats, where in many cases collisions are inevitable, fouling is rampant, and starting becomes an all-or-nothing, rules-be-damned gamble. Learning to “get off the line” at a large Optimist event can teach bad lessons, as the Seawahnaka PRO noted, ones that kids then take to the next level. “Successful” sailors become role models for the younger ones, and the younger ones watch, and emulate, what they do. At that next level, where fleet sizes almost always go way down, not only do these poor habits not work, they have to be un-learned, and quickly. And, that can lead to disappointment, and can also lead to kids leaving sailing. And if they are not un-learned, those sailors almost invariably damage their reputation with their peers.
These may well be, by far, the largest fleet sizes many of these kids will ever encounter, at the ripe old age of 10-15. Are they really ready for it?? Is this good development, or what’s best for them at this age? The number of boats on the line in Optimist events compared to protests filed seems to be very uneven when compared to other one-design classes. We discourage protests while we encourage situations where they are going to happen, to the very group of sailors (kids) who are least experienced with rules knowledge.
Forget for a moment about sportsmanship; huge fleets of Optimists can simply be a safety concern. Two hundred, three-hundred or more singlehanded sailors on the water can be a logistical nightmare, but it can also be an accident waiting to happen.
At the end of his remarks this Sunday morning, the Seawanhaka PRO recalled advice from a friend, and reminded us that a poor reputation, especially in sailing, can be made in 5 minutes, but can then take a lifetime to change. There is so much that is right with the Optimist dinghy and the Optimist class. I hope that the class will address his concerns, and continue to provide incredible experiences for our kids.
We invite your comments, and they can be posted by scrolling down and writing them in the “Join the Discussion” box.
From Matt Kreuzkamp: With all due respect, the bad behavior noted (pushing the line and un-protested collisions) can quickly be quelled by an aggressive race management team. The RC can institute starting penalties and likewise 3rd party protest when they see collisions or boats hitting marks. The kids racing at this level are aggressive and knowledgable. They know the rules and their repercussions. The more they experience those repercussions, the better they will become at the sport. Any big fleet will have these same issues the article presents -whether the competitors are kids or adults. Most of those kids know the rules better than adult competitors. If a child doesn’t flourish at the competitive level of these championship events, there are less intense venues within the class and certainly in the sport outside the class -which is important for parents and coaches to note. It is really impressive to speak with a 14 year old kid who sails at this level and discuss rules, starts, strategic theory -the good ones are better and more disciplined than their adult counterparts. You do make interesting points and I hope my commentary is not received as argumentative. A final note in regard to rules enforcement we as a community are to blame. Protests, redress filings, even starting penalties have been treated as taboo through my entire life’s tenure in the sport -as a community we need to change that culture. We need more leaders in the sport to emulate the lessons and culture promoted by Dave Perry for as long as I can remember. Thank you for presenting this article.
I don’t know why we can change things we do the judges on the water it’s just a matter of changing usoda
What changes do you propose need to been done at USODA that aren’t already in place to deal with “bad behavior?”
From John Zambriski: The Kids know the rules but their brains are not complex enough too recall them correctly. They are simply to young to police themselves.
We are asking way to much of these young sailors. Especially when everything they have done in their life has been under adult supervision. Social problem solving is art an all time low.
Seawanhaka unfortunately was plagued by poor wind conditions which forces the committee and kids to act aggressively when you know it will only be a 1 or 2 race regatta. The Seawanhaka PRO did a fine job with what mother nature handed them. Although I agree 100% with the PRO first comment as to contact, I do not agree with his second comment with regards to general recalls. When you are starting 100 boats on a line, starts are of the utmost importance. If you are not going to have a good start, forcing a general recall is advantageous and well within the rules. That is why we have Z, U and Black flags to cure that behavior.
With that said, the US opti class have few venues that can handle the large events during the summer months. The US class should rethink more regional regattas qualifying to US Nationals. This would make for smaller numbers that would open up better venues. Regards.
Dear Editor,
As an Opti Dad currently for 6 years and counting from San Fransisco to Narragansett Bay, and Biscayne to Galveston Bay holding many Opti volunteer positions on pin, signal and mark-set boats, I have seen all the challenges PROs, OAs and racers face. The issues the PRO sees should be addressed with signal flags on the race course. If I heard kids telling others to create a general recall as a way to escape an OCS call, those sail numbers would be noted and a discussion could ensue with their coaches/parents. I feel that behavior is completely outside the Basic Principle which governs this sport: “Competitors in the sport of sailing are governed by a body of rules that they are expected to follow and enforce. A fundamental principle of sportsmanship is that when competitors break a rule they will promptly take a penalty, which may be to retire.” If competitors are allowed to encourage others to break the rules for mutual benefit, we are most assuredly creating bad habits and doing a serious disservice to the sport. The “successful” starters as you note, are not “rules-be-damned” sailors. They are consistently at the favored end, protecting their spot with various legal techniques and a work of art and skill. There will be some rubbing, and I guess that is the nature of the beast with these large events packing 100 boats on a line. If the protest committee wants to work into the 3am hour, then each foul could be catalogued by the race committee, but that is also a disservice. “Is it good development?” That is a very valid question and one that could be addressed with USODA Board of Directors. The quality of racing is suspect when one side of a course is so heavily favored and 100 sailors know it. It is not a challenge any more, it is a bloodbath. Launching 400 sailors off and then back on shore for a thunderstorm is also problematic. It has been handled well but again the quality of racing is damaged when delays in the staring gun are due to sheer numbers trying to get out to the course. More races could be sailed with smaller fleets.
As an Opti Mom, I could not agree more with you noting “consistently at favored end, protecting their spot with various legal techniques and a work of art and skill”. I agree this is something which should be addressed with the USODA Board of Directors!! Also totally agree with “quality of racing is suspect when one side of a course is heavily favored and 100 sailors know it”!! All I hear from my son, who is 12, is it’s the starts mom!! Is that really all the skill that’s needed to win an opti race – where you are on the start line!? Karen Mastovsky
Living in land-locked Switzerland, I don’t want to judge or give advise for Optimist saiing in the USA. All I can say, that Swiss Optimist (www.optimist.ch) runs an annual Championship with 8 Acts in different regions and there are always 100 to 125 boats competing without problems. The Easter Optimist Meeting on the Italian Lake Garda has even up to 1000 Optis participating. The regatta format (groups) and a firm race management are key.
Btw Optimist big fleet racing in Switzerland cannot be so bad, as the Optimist World Champions 2014 and 2016 are Swiss.
100 boat starts are really tough to get right. Divide the fleet into smaller groups, say 70 or so. More races, but fewer delays for restarts.
I thin sailing should be fun and of course competitions are important to but they are getting to large in numbers and are a huge safety hazard and don’t forget all the rules the sailors have to remember I think we should simplify the numbers a bit
I’m opposed to international competition and big fleets in the junior classes full stop. Consider, by 18 the youngsters have sailed in the biggest fleets they’re ever going to, they’ve sailed in full on high pressure world championships probably in different continents, they’ve done it all with the very best in boats financed by mum and dad, and then we wonder why they drop out of the sport? Face it, other than the Olympics whats left that they havent already done?
Really? The sport is so narrow that there is nothing to do after a successful time in the Opti?
Very fortunate for youth to get opportunities to compete at these levels, but they are not done! There are multitudes of classes, championships, and types of sailing that are available to youth and all sailors. After aging out at 15, not 18, there is likely a whole new set of skills that sailors will develop and learn in new boats such as lasers, 420s, FJs, Keel boats, high school, college, professional, Corinthian, Olympic,Americas Cup, foiling, kiting, windsurfing, overnight racing, offshore, on shore….. this list can go on and on and on. No matter what, after optis, or whatever sailing you begin with, there is always another boat, another venue, and more to see and experience. Sailing is a progressive and changing sport that you continue to grow and learn in every time you are on the water. Getting international competition and big fleets in optis is only one way to begin a lifetime of sailing and racing, and it is a really amazing way to unite a international group of kids with shared interests, hopefully, fostering friendships that will continue in a lifetime of the sport.
I’d like to mention the safety issue I saw while at Sail Newport for the regatta on 8/10. A car carrier came steaming along side the course. Needless to say as a parent, I thought this was dangerous. Why was this allowed?
I was coaching when the car carrier went by. Lots if notice and clear direction from PROand team. Never any danger and actually pretty interesting.
L
Kids have also been known to grab the rails of nearby boats at the start and pull the adjacent boat back. The rule of thumb to address this behavior is to pound the offender’s hand with the tiller extension. Cornelius Shields must be turning in his grave.
Where have you seen this in the U.S.? This might be more prevalent in Europe, but would love to know where you’ve experienced this at a USODA regatta?
I’ve heard it’s prevalent at the big Lake Garda regatta in Italy. I have a son in Optis, and I haven’t heard about it here in the US.
With respect to the author’s viewpoint of poor sportsmanship and rules violations on the starting line at the 2016 ACC’s, hosted at Seawanhaka Yacht Club, the article neglects to mention the excessive amount of time it took the race committee to get into sequence. I was on the water in a coach boat, supporting team and watching my son race, and listening to the chatter on the radio, most of which seemed to be focused on making sure that the marks were set within excessively low tolerances. There was more than enough wind early in the morning on both days, but the race committee delayed and was simply too slow to make use of the wind opportunities. The race committee would also not initiate a start sequence until the entire course was adjusted, when common sense would dictate that adjustments to further course marks could have been made during the race before the first boat rounded the first mark. Perhaps the course was too long, perhaps USODA rules are too strict? Regardless, there was a fleet of 10 – 15 year olds that were very frustrated with the race committee delays, which certainly would contribute to any aggressive start line behavior. I agree with the statement “At the end of his remarks this Sunday morning, the Seawanhaka PRO recalled advice from a friend, and reminded us that a poor reputation, especially in sailing, can be made in 5 minutes, but can then take a lifetime to change.” However, I would change the 5 minutes to 2 days on the water waiting for the race committee to get into sequence due to perceived “paralysis through analysis” with setting marks. As a parent, with travel expenses and taking time off from work, only completing 2 races in 2 days was inexcusable given the amount of wind that was blowing in the mornings. This article seems like an attempt of pass the buck and point the finger at the Opti sailors for the delays at Seawanhaka. I’m sure that hosting a major USODA event is a significant challenge, but we have attended others where the start sequences were much more timely.