Elizabeth, I enjoyed your article, “What’s Happening to Participation in One Design Sailing.” US SAILING will to address this question and some solutions at the One-Design Sailing Symposium on Nov. 12-13, 2011 at the Bay Head Yacht Club (Bay Head, NJ). Please encourage your readers to attend. Information is attached and on the web at http://racing.ussailing.org/One-Design/ODSS/2011_ODSS.htm. Regards, Lee Lee Parks Inshore Director US SAILING Learn and Share with the Best at US SAILING’s 2011 One-Design Symposium Presented by Bay Head Yacht Club, Bay Head, NJ November 12-13, 2011 As an avid one-design sailor, we want you to know about the many presentations, breakout sessions and other learning opportunities at the upcoming US SAILING One-design Symposium in Bay Head, NJ on Nov. 12-13. US SAILING’s 2011 One-Design Symposium (ODSS) is the premier event for one-design class racers. This event brings together one-design leaders, racing icons and industry experts in our sport for a great exchange of ideas and information. This year’s keynote speakers include: US SAILING President Gary Jobson Multiple one-design class champion Greg Fisher North Sails Manager Nick Turney Olympian Carol Cronin Melges, J/22 & 24 PRO Hank Stuart ISAF Measurer David Sprague Star & Snipe photographer Fried Elliott TOPICS: More than 25 panel discussions, workshops and breakout sessions are planned including two days of Go Fast Workshops – learn from industry experts and class champions how to get around the course faster. Topics include: Sail Trim, Racing Tactics & Strategy, Rig Tuning and more – Nick Turney, North Sails Tricks of the Trade: Boat Maintenance, Will Harris, Waterline Panel: PRO’s & Classes working together to create great regattas & increase participation Panel: What Makes Classes Strong? Greg Fisher and a panel of class leaders Insurance Myths Dispelled: Making Smart Decisions, Sarah Davidson, Gowrie Group Manage Your Image in Class Marketing & Media, Fried Elliott Lightning Boat Grant Program, Laura Jeffers One Day Race Management Seminar – Friday, Nov. 11 at BHYC (extra fee) Learn more about these keynote speakers and their presentations. REGISTER: The $150 ($195 for non-members of US SAILING) registration fee includes the official ODSS notebook, more than 25 presentations, panel discussions and workshops, plus two cocktail parties, two lunches, morning coffee and access to Saturday evening’s awards dinner with keynote speaker Gary Jobson. Extra tickets for Saturday cocktails, dinner and presentation may be purchased for $60 per person. BONUS! All US SAILING members attending will receive a free copy of Dave Perry’s Understanding the Racing Rules of Sailing and Winning in One-Designs. Register online today! Visit the event website Preliminary Agenda Travel & Accommodations Questions? Email [email protected] or call 1-401-683-0800 x650. US SAILING One-Design Awards will be presented at the Symposium. Know someone deserving? Make a nomination before October 15.
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Maine Maritime ACADEMY WINS World’s Largest College Sailing Regatta
LARCHMONT, N.Y. (Oct. 11, 2011)–The Storm Trysail Foundation (STF) and Larchmont Yacht Club teamed up to run the world’s largest college regatta over Columbus Day weekend, with 400 collegiate sailors racing on 47 offshore boats ranging from 35 to 44 feet. Schools came from across the country to compete in the placid waters of Long Island Sound off Larchmont, N.Y. where three light-air races were sailed on Saturday. The race committee started two races on Sunday but had to abandon each after the wind shifted too much; after the second abandonment the wind died away to nothing and never returned.
Winning overall was Maine Maritime Academy, which topped the eight-boat J/109 fleet with a perfect score of three firsts. (They also were leading the fourth race when it was abandoned.) The finish proved that the school is at the top of its game and bodes well for its participation in the Student Yachting World Cup in France later this month.
The other division winners were the U.S. Naval Academy, which won both the 12-boat IRC 40 class and the seven-boat J/44 class; Tufts University, which won the five-boat IRC 35 class for the second year in a row; and first-time participant University of Southern California, which traveled the farthest to attend the regatta with their coach Mike Segerblom and won the 15-boat J/105 class in a tie-breaker with last year’s overall winner, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, N.Y.
Even though no races were sailed on Sunday, the college sailors as well as the boat owners–who loaned their boats and served as coaches and safety officers during the racing–enjoyed a fun-filled weekend. “This was a great learning experience for me and my crew,” said Connor Sestudies, the tactician for the Purdue team. “It was a great opportunity to sail on these boats that the owners generously let us use. I’m looking forward to next year.” His teammate Matt Steiner added, “I had very little experience on big boats before this event. After this weekend, though, I’m looking forward to getting into more races. This event definitely opened my eyes to the world of big boats, and I like what I see!”
In some cases, less experienced boat owners such as John Maltz signed up to learn as much as the college sailors, with STC assigning experienced coaches where needed. Maltz, who recently bought the J/105 Sunnyside Up, sailed with American University, where he once was a student, and had experienced J/105 sailor Mike Quaglio as a coach. Within minutes of the regatta’s finish, Maltz texted Regatta Chairman Adam Loory, saying, “Great regatta; sign me up for next year–Mike was the best!”
Thanks to the financial support of the Storm Trysail Foundation and sponsorship from Rolex, Vineyard Vines, Caithness Energy, Safe Flight Instruments, UK-Halsey Sailmakers, Coke, Heineken and Gill, the regatta was free to the participants and the boat owners. Larchmont Yacht Club provided free moorings for over 30 visiting boats.
For complete results, pictures and video go to: http://www.stormtrysailfoundation.org/intercollegiate.htm. For results, go to http://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative.cfm?eID=562
AP Over Alpha: What's Happening to Participation in One-Design Sailing
By Airwaves Staff Writer Elizabeth Dudley
The J22 East Coast Championship was canceled in the early part of September. It had to be rescheduled for a later date due to a “lack of interest”. Four years ago, the J22 class, at least in the Annapolis area, was one of the strongest fleets. But just a few weeks ago, before a major event was to be held in Annapolis, only nine boats had registered, even with the deadline looming. However, this dropping off in numbers at regattas has not only been seen in the J22 fleet, but in one-design fleets around the country.
I am sure at some point in everyone’s sailing career, you have sailed an event and were disappointed by the attendance. Or you have participated in the phenomenon of: I’ll sail if everyone else does. But everyone else is thinking the same thing, no one signs up, and then no one sails. The more boats that sail a regatta the better the competition. The more boats that sail, the more fun everyone will have.
So then why are fleets struggling to keep participation numbers up? And how can that be fixed? What makes a strong one-design fleet strong?
The answer, like everything else to do with sailing is not black and white. It will differ from fleet to fleet, location to location, and everyone has an opinion. Before writing this article I spoke with Joel Labuzetta, Junior Program Director at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Skip Yale, owner of Yale Cordage and active in the youth sailing program of Falmouth, Maine, and John Loe, an avid sailor. Each had their own take on the matter at hand, but many of their thoughts were similar.
Perhaps the idea they agreed on the most was that in order to keep a fleet strong, young people have to continue to be introduced in to the boat. Joel Labuzetta gave the example of the V-15 fleet in Annapolis. It used to be a strong fleet, but then everyone that was sailing the boat had kids and got busy. There were no new young people in the class to keep it going. It has fallen off significantly. Like most other things in life, there is a succession: the old phases out and the new phases in. The problem lies in the breaking of that cycle. But then how do you keep the wheel in motion?
Typically, when a parent signs their child up for a junior sailing program, they sign them up to sail a specific type of boat. Be it optis, lasers, or 420s. The kids then spend their summers learning a lot about one type of boat. This is certainly not a bad thing. But Skip Yale says that the Falmouth, Maine area junior sailing programs have found success in introducing their sailors to “unconventional” junior sailing boats.
As a part of the programs the kids are in a different type of boat each day. They not only sail optis, lasers, and 420s but are also given the opportunity to sail boats like the J24. Learning to sail other boats, junior sailors are no longer restricted to junior regattas. The idea is to get the junior sailors psyched to sail night races and the bigger events held in the area. Maybe in this way, when junior sailing and college sailing come to an end, it will be easier for the young generation of sailors to figure out what to sail next.
Skip Yale also also spoke of the J24 Down East Regatta that recently took place in Falmouth, Maine. Participants ranged from the young high school sailors to the “Tony Parkers of the world”. 42 boats showed up for an event that last year had numbers only in the mid-twenties. Yale attributed part of its success to the diversity the junior sailors experience in the junior programs. Yale also said that there were a good number of families sailing the event. Parents and their children sailing and having fun is a great way to set-up the next generation of sailors.
On the flip side of that, Joel Labuzetta brought up the conflict of competition and leisure within the sport of sailing. Sailing is such a diverse sport. It can be more of an individual sport, it can be a team sport, it can be extremely competitive, and it can also be quite leisurely. But in order to keep a one-design fleet strong, does the fleet have to push for one or the other? Labuzetta suggests that they do.
Boats that go out on a Tuesday night for competitive racing do not want to be the only boat that is being competitive. On the other side of that, boats that just want to have fun often do not want to deal with the seriousness of the competitive boats. If there are conflicting thoughts among the sailors of the class, it could deter boats from going out and sailing.
Another discouraging factor to the sport of sailing, as John Loe stressed, is the economy. It is a factor that is difficult to deal with but one that definitely has a strong presence. Most levels of sailing take some amount of money, obviously some more than others. Money is an easy way to get back in to sailing, but money is not always on hand. Rather than buying a boat, it is cheaper to crew for someone who already has one. You join forces to split costs so that you can sail, but then you end up with less boats.
There is no real answer as to why some fleets have so much success while others fade. There is no set formula to revive a dying class. The simplest answer may just be to encourage as much sailing as possible. The more sailing opportunities there are and the more excitement there is surrounding the sport, the more participation numbers will stay high. As Joel Labuzetta said, and as repetitive as it may sound, “A strong fleet encourages the strength of the fleet”.
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Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars Looking to Expand Programs Across the Country
LARCHMONT, N.Y. (October 7, 2011) – Local involvement proves an important component in the Storm Trysail Foundation’s (STF) popular one-day Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars, and to that end the non-profit organization is looking to expand its impact nationally by implementing more seminars at key sailing venues across the country. The program, which was established 15 years ago, currently hosts seminars in Newport, R.I., Larchmont, N.Y., Annapolis, Md. and Perth Amboy, N.J., with approximately 300 junior sailors – ranging between the ages of 12 and 20 – attending each year. Throughout the day, participants are taught the importance of safety when sailing on big boats through classroom sessions, dockside demonstrations and on-the-water experience. The seminars are sponsored by the Jamie Boeckel Memorial Fund for Safety at Sea, which donates life jackets to the programs. (The fund was established in 2002 to preserve the memory of Jamie Boeckel, who died in an accident while performing bowman duties aboard Blue Yankee in the 2002 Block Island Race.)
“Local leadership is needed to stir the pot and recruit kids in any given area,” said Rich du Moulin, who heads up the STF’s Junior Safety-at-Sea effort and is also chair of the Larchmont seminar. “Currently, we have about 15 people in different parts of the country with serious interest; if we can double from four events to eight, we’ll be very happy.”
The Storm Trysail Foundation is working closely with US SAILING to create guidelines that will assist volunteers looking to host a Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar. “We want to make this program accessible and easy for people who have never done this before,” said du Moulin. “If there is a strong interest in a given place, we can get some Storm Trysail Club members to help set up the lesson plan, work with them as mentors and possibly help with seed funding, if needed.”
2011 Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars
The Larchmont Seminar (Larchmont, N.Y.) was hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club on Friday, July 22, and is a requirement for participation in the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound’s big boat events, including Stamford Yacht Club’s Dorade Series and Beach Point Yacht Club’s Junior Overnight Race. “Throughout the fifteen years of running the seminar we have probably hosted about 4,000 kids including their junior sailing instructors,” said du Moulin, who added that this year’s seminar had 22 boats donated by locals for the 220 junior sailors that attended. “We’ve never had a problem getting people involved, because big boat sailing is a big deal on Long Island Sound.” This year, Storm Trysail Club members and volunteers added to the schedule a fire safety component; the local fire department came by and taught the students how to put out a boat fire using various types of extinguishers. “It’s all about teaching kids in a way they learn best –hands-on–and giving them the tools to help them sail safer,” said du Moulin.
Also taking a swipe at fire safety was the Raritan Seminar (Perth Amboy, N.J.) out of Raritan Yacht Club (RYC) on Friday, July 29. The seminar hosted 17 participants representing four New Jersey Yacht Clubs and the students were taught by local firefighters how to not only disable common boat fires but also put out a diesel fire themselves. The group also participated in dockside demonstrations where they learned how to use safety equipment such as jacklines, throw-ropes and how to deploy a Man Overboard Module. “Most of the juniors attending this year’s program had little or no big boat experience,” said Kelly Robinson, who chaired the event with the help of Storm Trysail Club members Rich du Moulin and Bob Behringer. “By the end of the day, they were setting, dousing, gybing, and stopping the boat under spinnaker with proficiency.” Robinson added that nearly half of the participants had attended last year’s event, and the program plans to expand participation in future years by presenting trophies for junior participation in the RYC’s Fall Lighthouse Race (25 nautical miles) in October.
The Newport Seminar (Newport, R.I.), held Wednesday, August 17, hosted 28 participants, including a handful of junior sailors participating in the annual Ida Lewis Distance Race (ILDR), which hosts a Youth Challenge every year and started two days later. “We have such a tight sailing community here and have never had a problem borrowing boats, getting donations and with the great pool of professional sailors in the Newport area, there are always volunteers to help out,” said Lat Spinney, who co-chaired the event with Dan Faria. “Most of the kids that attend our seminar sail alone on small boats, so the teamwork aspect of communicating and working together is important if they want to go forward with big boat sailing.”
The participants toured the 80-foot maxi Falcon 2000; took part in dockside demonstrations, including a life raft and flare demonstration by Life Raft and Survival Equipment of Tiverton, R.I.; had a visit from the U.S. Coast Guard Castle Hill Station; and listened to many experienced speakers talk about offshore sailing, including US SAILING’s President Jack Gearhart. By the afternoon, each student was out on the water sailing one of the six boats that had been donated for the day and practicing man overboard drills. “It is a local effort, and having all the volunteers involved keeps the event organized and fun,” said Spinney. “There isn’t a minute that the kids aren’t doing something, and it shows in their faces at the end of the day.”
The 28 junior sailors that attended the Annapolis Seminar (Annapolis, Md.) at Annapolis Yacht Club were provided with top coaching, and crew for each of the five boats borrowed for the day consisted of five to eight kids and two local Storm Trysail Club members. “Instruction on the boat was very up-close-and-personal,” said Event Chair Jeff Goldring. “The day went swimmingly. The weather was stellar and what gelled was when we got the kids out sailing. With permission from the U.S. Coast Guard, I taught the kids how to shoot off a flare, and after they watched how it was done, I brought my expired handheld flares and let everyone shoot one off. It was one of those things that they would never have the opportunity to do in another situation.” The afternoon concluded with a wrap-up pizza party where everyone got together to watch video from the day and ask any remaining questions. “The kids were abuzz and pumped and there was a good bit of positive feedback from parents.”
About the Storm Trysail Foundation
The Storm Trysail Foundation is a 501(c)3 charitable organization dedicated to supporting the education of young sailors, junior safety at sea, and intercollegiate big boat racing. The purpose of the Storm Trysail Foundation is to effect, promote and enhance the education of young sailors in safety at sea, safe boat handling in all conditions, and safe blue water racing and passage making, through the hosting of seminars, regattas, and other on-the-water training, and through the making of grants to other institutions to foster similar training.
For more information or to get involved with the Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminars, contact the Storm Trysail Club, 914-834-8857, [email protected] or visit www.stormtrysailfoundation.org.
For more information on implementing a Storm Trysail Foundation’s Junior Safety-at-Sea Seminar locally, contact Rich du Moulin, 914-329-2542, [email protected] or visit http://offshore.ussailing.org/Junior_Safety-at-Sea.htm.
PCISA High School Sea Otter Regatta Report & Results
Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club and UCMB played host to over 200 high school sailors from 53 different teams this past weekend. The biggest attendance the Pacific Coast Interscholastic Sailing Association has seen at this regatta since its start in 1989 with 9 teams. The Sea Otter regatta is the first of five events for the 2011-2012 high school season. The PCISA foundation is extremely excited that 12 new teams have registered this year which brings the total number of teams to eighty.
West coast high school sailing is sailed in the one design CFJ. High School fleet racing is home to some of the best junior sailors in the country and is said to have the most competitive fleet in the US. Mike Segerblom, the PCISA Officer is always one of the first to agree that west coast high school sailing is the, “most competitive in fleet racing”. Newport Harbor high school is a top competitor every year in this fleet and it is no exception at this event. Senior and A skipper Ryan Davidson started his regatta with two bullets. Two firsts don’t come easily in this fleet. “Racing is tough, with a lot of the same competitors in the top five each race”, says Ryan. Davidson is a senior this year and is looking forward to a competitive year of racing and hopes to accomplish his goal of, “top five in every regatta this year”.
The racing was close in both gold and silver fleets. Newport Harbor high school started their season on top with a total of 88 points to win the regatta. Newport Harbor gold fleet A division was sailed by Ryan Davidson and Greer Watson who walked away with the win with a total of 29 points. Conner O’Connell, Molly Pleskus, and Sam Militelo won gold fleet B division by one point with a total of 40 to Newport Harbor’s JV1 team finishing with 50 points. The top ten teams in Gold are familiar names on the results with Newport Harbor (88), Point Loma (98), CDM JV1 (108), Coronado (115), Palos Verdes (132), Branson (134), Cathedral Catholic (146), Cathedral Catholic JV1 (147), Dos Pueblos (162), and Francis Parker (165), rounding out the top ten of 26 teams.
The silver fleet competitors will fight all year to earn a spot in the gold fleet. Crossroads school from Los Angeles put on a show by winning both A and B division to give them a total of 60 points. Other teams rounding out the top ten included, CDM JV3 in second (96), Long Beach Poly (118), Athenian (126), Alameda (140), Bay School of SF JV (143), Marin Academy (149), Stevenson (158), Windward (159), and Sir Francis Drake (161).
All teams will reconvene at Newport Harbor YC in early December for the Anteater Regatta. Other venues for the season include Long Beach, Treasure Island, and Santa Barbara. Stay posted as I’m sure the competition will be tight and exciting.
Smooth Sailing,
Renee DeCurtis
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Confessions of a "Green" Opti Coach
Opti Sailors Say the Darndest Things! By Margaret Boehm
We invite you, after reading this story, to share YOUR stories of Opti coaching. At the end of this article, there is a submission form to share your thoughts and stories of Opti coaching. Top story submission wins a prize. Enjoy!
I started sailing at the age of 12 (fairly late for a junior sailor), which means that I began straight away on Lasers and 420s. My first experience with the Opti was when I was fifteen years old and began teaching sailing during the summers. All of my co-workers were college-aged boys whose size alone could sink the floating bathtub. That summer (and countless others), I was the instructor who had to fold herself into an Opti every morning. At first I resented having to squish myself into the tiny little boat daily, but as I got to know that boat and my young students I quickly fell in love with the Opti (and its sailors).
The Optimist fleet is considered to be the one of the largest and fastest growing fleets in the entire world according to the International Optimist Dinghy Association, boasting over 150,000 sailors worldwide. As an Optimist instructor, I relearned the basics of sailing through the eyes of an 8 year old junior sailor, and I quickly began to understand why so many Olympic Dinghy sailors credit their Opti experience for their most current successes.
“I think they are the best starter boats for the youth in sailing and I believe all the top sailors out there today would agree,” said Katelyn Kelly Cox, a Chicago-based sailor who raced Optis for five years before making the transition to 420 sailing. Bronwen McAuliffe coached Optimist sailors for 6 years at the Tiverton Yacht Club in Rhode Island. “I like that I had some of my students for 6 years and got to watch them grow up and develop as sailors.” McAuliffe believes that the easy maneuverability of the boat on and off the water makes the boat such a popular choice among youth sailing programs.
McAuliffe credits her experiences with young sailors as a factor in her decision to become an Elementary School teacher. “My students were usually rigged up, dressed and ready to sail before I even finished my morning coffee. There’s an innocence and enthusiasm that all Opti sailors have regardless of whether or not they are serious about racing.”
Richmond YC Opti Sailors
McAuliffe and I traded stories and anecdotes about our love for the “little guys” and realized that we both agreed on the same teaching philosophy with Optimist sailors. On the water communication is the key with young sailors. They learn the most when they are out on the water experiencing the idiosyncrasies of sailing. The concept of “irons” to young sailors is something that Johnny Depp mumbles about in his Pirate movies, and is not fully understood until they are out there on the water hollering to their coach because their boat has suddenly stopped moving and they are not going anywhere. “Being in the water, in an Optimist boat ages them about 10 years. You can see their minds ticking,” said McAuliffe, “and then they get back onto the dock and return to being their goofy selves.”
I believe that to be an Optimist coach, you must have a certain attitude that is both patient and understanding, but never too authoritative. This is something that McAuliffe has noticed in her years as a coach, “420 coaches are always very stern and all business. Opti coaches need to have a different type of energy. The stern way does not work with 8 year olds.”
Something that I believe most sailing coaches can agree upon is that our students can be pretty funny and let’s face it-Opti sailors say the darndest things! McAuliffe remembers a time when a young girl sailor was circling her Opti around a house boat in the harbor. After making a few delicate circles around the home, the student politely asked its owner if he was a hobo. “I had a hard time keeping it together as I explained to her that she shouldn’t be asking people in the harbor if they are hobos.” My favorite Opti sailor moment was when I was motoring around the race course with a fellow instructor and a little Opti sailor with a very serious expression on her face luffed up and asked us to motor over. We braced ourselves figuring it would be something along the lines of why the sprit pole is not called the spit pole because that’s just funnier; or if she could capsize before we sail into the dock. Instead the young sailor looked at the two of us and politely asked, “Are you two married?” I could barely contain my laughter. I was fifteen years old and already being married off to my co-instructor, who spent his afternoons that summer half coaching, half mocking me from a motorboat with a megaphone as I skippered a 420. Looking back years later, the question does not really seem too ridiculous to me if I think like an 8 year old Opti sailor. If you sail straight into the wind or directly towards an upwind mark—you will not go anywhere. If a male and female instructor are sitting on a motorboat together instructing-they’re married.
It is the simplicity of the sport that Opti sailors grasp that makes them a sheer delight for me to coach. Moments like these always pop into my mind when considering my post-graduate plans and “the real world.” I’
m definitely not quite sure if I’m ready to give up my summers with the Opti kids just yet…
Margaret Boehm is a senior Catholic University student. She has sailed and coached in the Chicago area and raced 420s at the national level as a member of Columbia Yacht Club’s racing team. As a student journalist/editor for her University’s newspaper, she assisted with stories that were eventually picked up by CNN and the Drudge Report. She also conducted interview with high profile Washingtonians Barbara Slavin of the Washington Times and Paul Begala of CNN. She has volunteered as an assistant high school sailing coach with DC Sail and sails V-15s out of Annapolis.
