We've been discussing this topic for a while now and that is; how do you introduce new people to the sport? We've all heard that it's intimidating for people to join a regatta for the first time and I think they may be even more so true as our numbers slowly decline (at least in my area anyway). Most of the regatta warriors in our region are pretty hardcore racers as the casual racers are less likely to attend anymore. Our consistent caravan of sailors are veterans of Worrell 1000s, Tybee 500s, Steeplechase, or National Champions in one or more classes - but we rarely see new people at regattas.

We've had some discussions locally about how to bring new folks into the sport that we enjoy and we agreed that we need to try something...anything. If we're not trying something, we're not trying anything. We've talked about purchasing boats as a fleet to have boats for people to sail. We've talked about having test sail days for local communities. What will work?

When you get some folks there that are relatively new to racing catamarans, what kind of event do you do? Do you have a training session event? Fun Event? Distance Race? Training drills? Swap boats and swap skippers with the current fleet?