Sail1Design would like to welcome John Storck to the Airwaves team!
By John Storck III
With the recent cancellations of both the NYYC Team Race, and the 2v2 Random Pairs Regatta (both historically strong events in the V15 class), it seems more evident than ever that the boat and its class are quickly decaying into stories for the grandchildren. Vanguard 15 Fleet Race regattas began declining in participation years ago, but only recently have the long-preferred team race regattas followed suit. Many people have tried to figure out why this has happened, and many people have fought nobly to save it. I’m not attempting to do either of these things, but rather give a simple tribute to a class that gave me some of the best times of my life.
Yes it’s true- we used to have 80+ boat fleets at major fleet race regattas, and more than 20 teams at many team races. More importantly, the class seemed to be built on a priority of having a great weekend with your friends. My friends and I sailed our way to an 0-20 record on Saturday at our first ever Mid-Summah’s Team Race, and we had a great time.
It was certainly a low-rent district of sailing, mostly consisting of college students or recent graduates. Boats would show up on Saturday morning in varying states of readiness, but through the friendly atmosphere, everyone would make it on the water eventually. Housing was typically an oversight, leading to far more people crashing on a local’s floor than their parents would have liked. There were rarely trophies, and no one cared. The smiles on people’s faces and hugs exchanged on Sunday afternoon were far better. And that’s what kept people coming back, despite whatever condition their boat, sails, car, etc. were in.
Now, I know the class isn’t totally dead, and there are still some great local pockets, but I wanted to point a hopeful gaze toward the future. The V15 class was amazing, and something else will be as well. It wasn’t long ago that the J/70 was only an idea. What’s important is to learn from the strengths of past classes like the V15. The one thing that is obvious is that it was built through a pre-existing community; college sailing. When I was a freshman, I knew I would buy a V15 for the following summer. All of my friends seemed to be doing the same. So think about your sailing community. Think about your region. How many of your friends are thinking about what’s next? Imagine if you all agreed on what type of boat you would buy, and just made it happen. You could be gathering in different spots all through the summer with your friends to have a great weekend. That’s what the V15 class was, and I’m confident something else will be. I know it’s not that easy, but why can’t it be? Call a few of your friends today to get the conversation started.
I feel truly fortunate to have been able to be a part of the V15 class for many years during its absolute height. I’m blessed to have a lifetime of memories assembled within the shallow cockpit of a V15. And I know there are hundreds of people who share that feeling.
Here’s to the V15 class, and all those who I shared the good times with. The grandkids better enjoy the stories, because we’re going to tell them anyway.
What class is next? What are your thoughts? Share with us your memories of the V15 below!!!
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[…] By guest writer Mike O’Connor. This article is in response to our recent post: Elegy For the V15; Good Things End, But That’s OK […]
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I doubt the zim 15 will catch on with it’s $11,000 price tag (they haven’t announced that part yet)
Only a fool our a scoundrel would burry his loved ones alive. I foresee the rise of a new more wild V-15 (wv-15), as well as many more years of racing, cruising and fishing ahead.
Rhetoric aside, Stork’s very well written piece brings up an important problem in sailing, one that the v15’s rag-tag culture addressed if only a little bit and only for a short while. Sailing has always been a sport for the have-a-lots and what was most refreshing about sailing in the vanguards was that a have-a-little could be competitive in the fleet without sinking a ton of money into the boat. (of course we have to acknowledge that the boat did little to help a have-nothing get into the sport). John aptly terms the vanguard class the “low rent district of sailing,” and what disturbs me about the idea the vanguard culture might be squeezed out – gentrified by carbon replacements and the teak halls of exclusive yacht clubs.
I think there is life left in the vanguard but most of all I hope this eulogy sparks a discussion about how to keep the “low rent district” open for sailing!
The vanguard class is still the best option for anyone looking to team race or participate in college-style fleet racing. Used boats can be found for very cheap and remain competitive for many years. One problem is the lack of regattas available to sail. Another may be the trend toward college age sailors looking to get internships and recent graduates taking corporate jobs in cities where they can no longer race. I think the vanguard class remains a great option. This summer, it seems that the regattas that were going to happen were not publicized very well. Social media seems to be the best way to get the word out and get people racing. With the right leadership promoting regattas and encouraging participation, the V15 class could definitely make a strong comeback next year.
Well if the class website and Facebook(Vanguard 15 Class Association) aren’t enough then what would you like? Is the key to saving the class Instagram or Snap Chat?
Good article John, I loved the v-15 for the fun sailing, great social scene, and great class support from the builder. Vanguard did a great job to build the class and supported it to a tremendous positive outcome through partnerships with local events (chip johns at bbr), us sailing, and isaf to provide boats at hinman and team race worlds.
Ultimately, v-15s came down to hiking fitness to do well upwind on long course racing. I think there is a great niche that no boat builder has filled yet. A v-15 style hull with trap for the crew and smallish asym chute designed for a combined crew weight of 290lbs would be a great draw to many. It would appeal to collegiate and post-college kids, bring speed and fun back to sailing without pure hiking fitness, get the crew out of the middle of the boat DW and get everyone used to sailing DW angles to ease the transition to sport boats post college. A v-15 retro fit would be even cooler though the load on the deck step mast woulda be a problem.
This is my hope for the future of college sailing but I think a design like this could really take off. I was surprised the zim15 didn’t have a asym chute at least, trap would be even cooler.
Still great to see v-15s getting sailed at the local level in things like the marblehead Wednesday night team racing league and Rhode Island team race assoc Tuesdays.
Great article by John. I too will never forget all the ridiculous V15 events I’ve been to over the last 7 years. It was a truly special time for “low rent” sailing.
Something interesting happened about 5 years ago(maybe before that) when the “exclusive” yacht clubs starting offering cheap “sailing” memberships to people under 30 or 35. All of the sudden the V15 was no longer the cheapest way to do high quality sailing, specifically team racing. You can now pay under $500 a year and sail 6-7 very competitive keelboat team races for whatever club you are a member of and they cover all the entry fees. NYYC Silver Panda paved the way bringing some of this to the V15 circuit where the club covered some entry fees and travel to world events. The point is that there is now a cheaper option then owning a boat so young people have chosen to do that instead. Yes, its kind of a bummer that you have to be subject to membership at an “exclusive” club but now these clubs are a lot less exclusive.
What’s sad is that dinghy team racing has taken a hit. The bright side is that we will see the re emergence of provided boat dinghy team racing. The 1st annual free state team race in Annapolis, MD has wildly successful. In the coming years we will see more of these Charles River Team Race style events. Colleges now own a boat that is actually fun to sail for graduates, the z420 so its easier to get people excited to go and sail at those venues. Regardless, the free state team race was in regular old club 420s proving that its not about the boat but the accessibility.
The Zim 15 was not intended to replace the V15 with individual boat ownership. It’s mainly meant for yacht clubs and sailing centers who already purchase fleets of boats. Its become standard for the big yacht clubs to buy fleets of small keelboats and Zim is hoping this trend will ketch on with dinghys as well. Im not sure if they’ll succeed but I hope they do.
Please read Mike O’Connor’s thoughtful response to this article, printed here: https://www.sail1design.com/vanguard-15-elegy-rebuttal-aint-dead-yet/
As someone who’s run a variety of V15 & team racing events and has witnessed the generational transition first-hand, here are my thoughts. I don’t know the exact answer, but the result is some mix of the following:
1. Somehow the urgency of needing to be at these events for social and competition reasons has faded. In the height of the scene, you had to be there or you were getting worse compared to your competitors, and you were missing out on a lot of fun. Missing out sucks.
2. Not sure why, but it seems planning and coordinating is not at the top of the priority list for the current generation. Example, I remember people having summer weekend plans made by early June and talking to potential summer team mates in the spring college sailing season. Taking a summer job was contingent on being able to travel to and sail these events. After graduating, our team did the same, but planned even earlier, during the winter. As mentioned by others, this planning concept didn’t apply to things like where to stay and remembering to buy lunch…but I wasn’t going to miss a regatta.
3. The builder has effectively applied negative support by stopping supply of boats and even basic parts like sails, not to mention the proactive stuff like running regattas and generally being out there and supporting the scene. This sends a clear signal – whether intentional or not – to users and stymies the market.
4. Where are the motivated 20-somethings that need to step up and put forth their contribution to sustaining the sport? Each successful event had one person behind it who took the reigns and did what was needed to make it happen. “If you build it, they will come,” applied directly to this class and it’s events. But those people won’t do it forever, so now, who is “you?”
The V15 is a great boat, I re-realize that every time I see it being sailed; it is not the reason for its own demise. Both High School and College Sailing are growing, and team racing is growing in those areas plus in every other age bracket. I assume kids still want to have fun? Despite lack of new boats, used boats are affordable and last. The logistics aren’t that hard. All the elements are there!
Again, I don’t know the exact answer for how to turn things around, but looking backwards for it probably isn’t going to work. One thought – for better or worse, the model of supplied boats seems to be quickly gaining popularity. Plain and simple, it’s easier to participate when you don’t have to deal with a boat. Just show up and sail. Pay a higher entry fee, but don’t pay for a boat. I’ll use myself as an example: I’ll do 10+ team race events this year and won’t bring anything but myself to one of them.
The idea of there being regional “centers” (whether it be a school, community program or yacht club) that host events in their own equipment is not that far away, if not already existing. Perhaps sailing centers should think about how they structure their fleets and programs; builders should think about who their customers should be; and motivated organizers should think about what the current generation really wants in an event.