Yep, implementing them is definitely tough. What we need is a cultural shift, and that doesn't happen overnight. Where I grew up on Lake Erie, the cool Jr. boat is the Thistle... a boat designed in 1945. One of the reasons the boat is popular is the strong open regatta circuit for the boat, and all the additional social aspects of adult regattas that are not available at jr. events. I know I'm working to get more older sailors to switch to HP boats, but I think it is a much harder sell than to young sailors. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot of inertia in the sailing world, and changing the course away from flying sidewalks is hard!

The price of a performance boat is high, but when you start looking at Olympic pathways, the cost of the boat becomes less significant when compared to campaign costs. That is why I really think we need to develop strong regional training teams. If we can keep travel to within a few hours most weekends, the pool of sailors willing to commit to that path increases.

How do you implement regional teams? You leverage some of the awesome programs and facilities already available, and I think US Sailing should fund regional high performance coaches. I think that would be something that could really make a difference to our sailing culture, and I would be happy to see some of my dues money go towards that. If not US Sailing funding, then maybe we need to work with regional yachting associations. For sure hiring a respected HP coach could be tough for an individual club or family, but if a group of clubs commits to hiring a coach for their combined top talent, it becomes more possible. It is a cultural shift, but possible.

Possible training centers:
New England: Sail Newport
South East: USSC Miami
South West: USSC Long Beach
North West: Sail Sand Point
Midwest: USSC Sheboygan, or maybe Chicago (or my hometown Cleveland!)
Gulf Coast: Somewhere in Texas maybe?

The infrastructure exists... now we need motivated and skilled HP coaches!