Check out this site for some helpful hints and tricks. There are also some boats for sale.

This weekend was the best sailing "ever" I rigged up and took over a dozen club members (mostly newbies) out for their first cat ride. Smiles for miles (especially after I popped up the spin).

Next weekend we are having a Catamaran Open House whence our cat owners and our sailing camp instructors will be rigging up our cats and giving rides to anyone who shows.

In sailing,

Ken

This saturday and sunday,

Trey, me, and the rest of the EMSA fleet raced on the same race course as kids on lasers, 420's, lightnings, thistles, and, yes, opti's, in about 10-15 knots of breeze.

While it was truly terrifying coming into the finish line at 20 knots and seeing 20 opti's in front of you sitting there, we got a lot of kids telling us "whoa cool!!!!'

I think we made at least 3 new multihull sailors this weekend. Trey especially with his high speed reaching fly-bys between races.

I recall quite fondly a mixed regatta in Sarasota many years back. They put us in a short course with a bunch of 420s.

Picking our way downwind was fun, especially since we'd go flying by realitively quietly and they never expected us to go so quickly past us.

I was going above one 420 downwind and had to single trap as we picked up a header right behind them. Probably hit 15 kts as we went around them (doing about 6). I thought the spinnaker was going to brush their spin pole. The collegate team was duly impressed, and they (along with their parents on a coach boat) asked us about the boats between races.

Only drawback (besides having to pick our way through the fleets) was trying to start with them all bobbing around the PRO boat with their coach boats in tow...

Well, YESTERDAY I took my whole family sailing. I usually have several of my kids friends along for the ride. They love it!

Want to talk about priceless times? Thats it!

Clayton

I took four groups of visitors out on my Wave during my sailing club's Open House. The wind was great, 10-18; everyone got wet and had a Great time. Recruited a new member and convinced a father to enroll his son in our sailing camp.

Before the open house started, I took a weed-eater and a golf-club-style weed chopper to our Hobie Beach. I cleared out all the weeds and bushes under and around all the un-used boats, around the trees and down to the water. I made the place look nice and well used!

Sail Sand Point in Seattle, logged two more Fast and Fun Free Sailing Events last weekend on Lake Washington. On Saturday, at Kirkland, we had 96 new sailors on the water. Sunday, at Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island, we had 60 people out before a thunder storm with lighting cut the program short.
Thanks to our Volunteer Sailors and Assistants: Jill Stewart, Thayer, Jim Etta, Alec Wade, Cynthina Weed, Jeff Renihold, Scott Ruggles, Will, Bob Combie, Paul Carter, Andy Bender, and Morgan Collins. Special thanks to Mark Sele, wife Della, and daughter Heather, that traveled half way across the State from Wenatchee, and spent both days sailing and helping with the Events.
Caleb Tarleton
Sail Sand Point

Caleb, how do you get the word out about these events?

The Kirkland Event was part of the "Day on the Water", and was advertised by the City in their local paper and Emails. Mercer Island was part of the "Greenway Days" an Event from Seattle to Central Washington, and advertised by The City of Mercer Island. Sail Sand Point, www.sailsandpoint.org has sailing programs in both Cities. The Mercer Island program is sold out for this year.
Caleb

This week I've got 30 kids enrolled in sailing camp on our Waves! We've had 15kts so far and they are loving it. They will never forget how much fun they had on a cat when they were a kid (ages 8-16).

Let me think .... it's been a busy week !!!

Last weekend was the Rock Hall YC Annual One Design Regatta ... we had 79 boats total w/ approximently 35 (!!!!!!) being catamarans. That's 44.3% of the boats competing where multi's !!!!! As the Catamaran Rep at RHYC I am stoked!!!

Mon and Tues I spent cutting grass at the YC for the upcoming Junior Regatta on Thurs.

On Thurs RHYC hosted a CBYRA Junior Sailing Regatta ... by the time I arrived at 830am the field I had cut on Tues taking 3hrs (its big) was FILLED w/ Opti's, Lasors, and coach boats !!!!! There were 75 Juniors competing!!!!! The sight of all those Opti's and Lasers sailing around ... well ... PRICELESS is an understatement!!! My job .... cook lunch for everyone (and drive the club manager crazy ... "I need more Burgers, more Hotdogs .... more buns ... more, more, more ...) By the managers count we used 108 Burgers and 50 HotDogs !!!! I cooked for 3hrs and had a blast ( luckily they sent the classes in one-at-time). I can't wait for next year!!!!!

Harry Murphey
Cook: Junior Regatta

Last week I took 3 days off work to teach an adult "learn to sail" class. We had 26 students and 13 instructors. I taught on a Hobie 18. The students got to learn on their boat of choice. Three choices were Hobie 18, San Juan 21, or Flying Scot. It went very well. Taught a few folks that had bought boats recently but didn't know how to sail. Hopefully be keeping these folks sailing.

Not much wind but that was probably good. Funny going back to square one and teaching after all of these years.

My son had his first day of a sailing program on an Opti last weekend and was getting around like a pro in no time. Watch out for this kid in a few years.

Introduced the Beaufort Scale to a nub.

I took my 9 year old nephew out and showed him how to trapeze. I thought he would be scared to death but instead he thought it was the most awesome thing ever. I also took out a friends son and daughter for their first sailboat ride. I think the daughter liked it better than her older brother. I then took out a father and son from Long Island, NY. I usually stay clear of sailing strangers but my nephew had befriended the little boy and wanted his new friend to go sailing, the dad had to go in case something happened. So, taught the nephew to trap and took 4 non-sailors out!

This is not my grand daughter, BUT I started her when is was about this age. This girl is 3 1/2, Ashleigh was 6. She now has 9 years of racing with me and is starting to helm now. They are never to young to start. We need to do all we can to build the sport.




Doug

Go Doug! I sailed with my son (4 1/3 YO) he loved it. Strange thing is he wanted to go sailing around the buoys he saw (maybe some potential there)! When I turned back toward the beach he almost wrenched the tiller out of my hands and screamed "No, We're not going back!" (in Dutch).
That made me proud Dad as you could imagine.

I'll tell you what got me. We where going out for the Wed night on the H-17 with a reacher and I could not get the rudder cam to lock. So we sailed to the end of the lake and I gave Ashleigh the stick. Told her to keep the Telocat under the post. About 5 minutes in she said "Paw Paw, I don't have to look, I can feel it". About broke my heart, I trained her well. Another trophy winner in the works.

Doug

"About 5 minutes in she said "Paw Paw, I don't have to look, I can feel it"
Awesome!

Last Weds and Thurs I towed the "Coach Boat" over to AYC and SSA in Annapolis Maryland for their two Junior Sailing Regattas. I stayed and ended up helping coach the kids from RHYC racing Lasers in tactics since I do not know how to make a Laser sail fast. If you ever have a chance to coach any Junior Sailors, it will wear you out by the day's end, but take it!!!!!!! You will recieve more then you give .....

It's the one positive side of unemployment ... and there are also some more Jr events this week ....

Harry Murphey
TheMightyHobie18/P19MX

July 4th took 18 people out for a sail (at the same time!), Most of them was their first time on a sail boat. The next day, took out 7 was even able to fly a hull with 4 on the windward side. This Saturday we had 8 out for a sail, no hull flying but they sure thought flying a 750 sq/ft spin was cool!

Gotta love those Stiletto's,

Clayton

And you can carry an ice chest!