Hello All,

I read a quote from Paul Henderson who charged that USA Yacht Clubs are more interested in running a restaurant then in developing sailors!

Johnny and Charlie completed their third Olympic cycle and they have been at this full time. Gary Bodie noted that it takes 12 years to put your self into medal contention.

The sailing world is extremely competitive and two USA medals may be as good as it gets for years.

Do you feel that our Sailing Clubs are really dropping the ball here?

Mark

Yes! Every yacht club or sailing club that Rick and I have belonged to has turned into a social club. Rick is right now trying to get the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club interested in doing some sailing here next year -- like Wednesday night racing -- ANYTHING!

Hi Mark,

I agree with Mary 100% (or at least 99%). I have been the rear commodore at Mattituck Yacht Club (You raced there at least once, if I remember correctly) for the last 2 years and have been a member for 12 or so. It's gotten pretty bad. Most parents drop their kids off for the sailing program as if it were a daycare center or summer camp (and why not? it's only $500 for 5 days-a-week, for 8 weeks - try to find a camp for that price!). The adults just want to throw parties and have barbecues - nothing wrong with that, but we only run one race a year (albeit, with 120 sailors) and when I ask abour running another race, I don't usually get very positive feedback, and only one or two volunteers.
I hope to start my own sailing program (from a beach that a local marina said I could use). I hope to start the summer with a 5 day, all-day program (like The Rick White seminars - which was one of the best experiences of my sailing life - but I doubt I'll come even close to the job Rick & Mary do). I'll use a weeks vacation for that, and the rest of the summer will have to be in the evenings 1 or 2 times a week (4-6pm?). Kind of like little league, with a different parent for each week to help me. It will be limited to 6 or 7 "families" and their children, and hopefully very low cost (The only expense I see is insurance).
I think I may be done with the yacht club thing. Too many politics and non-sailors. I may have to join just so my kids can show up and race someplace, as I believe it is a requirement to race at other yacht clubs

Steve
Hobie FX-1, Sail #211

The St Crox yacht club has a very strong sailing program,,they have youth camps every summer,, for optis,lazers and 420s..there are races for the kids nearly every weekend during the summer and races for the club or anybody that want to enter usually once a month,,,,unfortunetly as good as the sailing is here we just dont have a whole lot of people that sail.

From the scuttlebut

From John Fallon: With all respect to Gary Bodie and the rest of the US
coaches, why is winning Olympic medals so important that we should ask
young men and women to give up other options in their lives to pursue this
goal? The U.S. Olympic Sailing team in Athens achieved incredible results
considering it is made up primarily of men and women that are on track to
pursue other careers in life besides sailing. The time they have taken to
represent the U.S. in this game will undoubtedly be a lasting memory, but
not their only legacy.

I think you will find that more sailors participate in the U.S. Olympic
trials than in any other countries Olympic selection process. This might
not produce the best team to win medals, but I think it produces the best
long term health for our sport.


Hmm... Should we have lots of competition at the trials and other regattas in the USA because its good for the sport of racing if we can generate lots of competitors in the USA....Perhaps... not winning any medals or qualifying for the games.

Or should we have two or three teams in each event... send them to the EU and let them train over there in order to achieve the level of excellence needed to win medals and in the end, hand pick one team close to the games?

Take Care
Mark

Mary -

This spring I took on a new job which takes almost all my time. I was invited by a "sailor" to go sailing on a Sunday afternoon. I accepted because I hadn't seen his new sled nor had i been on the water this year. I arrived on time to find a party going on three sleds in a row. After about an hour I asked when we were going out and was told "we don't take the boat out we sit and talk and enjoy the day"??? I asked if anyone was going out and not one responded. One guy has about $150k in his and its never been out of the slip. He was speaking about the "air-conditioning" he had installed so they could spend the weekend comfortably...

I guess that sled have become the new houseboat.

I haven't been invited back,

thom

So what should yacht clubs and sailing clubs and catamaran fleets be doing to help develop sailors for future Olympics? And what CAN they do?

Yesterday I put up a flier with a pic of my ARC22. I asked anyone that would be interested crewing, learning to sail, or just going along for a ride. Its in the gym where I work. There are around 5000 people there but not all work out. SO far its been 36 hrs with no calls. This weeekend is a three day weekend!!!

I don't have an answer to your question ecept maybe the racing pics with all the extreme conditions may trun off newcomers more than turn them on.

But if it were a pic of a jetski or bass boat I believe there would be a line about 200 yards long to go for a ride.

Sailing used to be that way in the 1970s but not now...

thom

Hi Mary

US Sailing and a select group of Yacht clubs need to develop centers of excellence for particular fleets of Olympic boats. The system should provide racing program, a head coach for the team and potential new members, and the facilities to keep your boat and train in a venue appropriate for the next cycle. You need to generate a critical mass of energy and expertise at one suitable location. Cross training works in other sports... Why can't Tornado sailors learn from 49ner sailors... They won't be able to unless they share a training facility. Sailors who are considering campaigns would then be able to relocate, join the club, and grow and participate in a real training program.... Perhaps these individuals take off and excell! ... It has to be better and cheaper then the haphazard system of coaching and training we use today. Nobody is winning a medal with a solo stealth campaign.. You need the proper environment to excel and the US Sailing center is not cutting it…

Two more points... note that our two medals were earned by sailors who were pushed extremely hard by other US Teams.... In Tornados, Robbie Daniel and Lars Guck each took a turn at being the best in the USA this last round... I have to believe that the competition for Johnny and Charlie helped with their success. I think the 470 team had one legitimate competitor in the USA as well. Without good competition… it’s difficult to get better?

Secondly, Consider the current status of the Miami Yacht Club, former host of the Olympic class Tornado Regatta in January.....Back in the day it served as a major center for tornado sailing.... Now.... they view the Tornado fleet as a royal PIA....In turn.... they make the venue completely worthless with silly rules. ... My favorite rule this year was the mandate... you can not bring your boat onto the property on the weekend.... It will be impounded and removed Monday morning... Sailors must arrive between 9 and 5 Monday to Friday. Obviously, they are not onboard with supporting Olympic sailing any longer!

Is this a pipedream?.... I don't know.

Take Care
Mark

I think you`ll find that most athletes in most sports at the level we`re discussing spend very little time at home, and travel to all the top-level competitions, and compete against the same competitors that they will face in the Olympics many times over before they get to the Olympics.
For these athletes, competing at home is just a formality they have to endure to qualify as the top sailors in their country - In some countries there is no active class at all, and a sailor who wants to compete in the Olympics must qualify through placing well at international events rather than being selected as the best in his own country.
To think that a local sailing program can produce Olympic quality athletes is going to give you a nasty surprise. Aspiring Olympic sailors have to spend most of their time travelling to international events to stay current with what pace they have to maintain to be in with a chance.

Of course, I understand that the local sailing programs are important to get sailors closer to that level, but it`s still a huge jump from being the Tornado national champ to coming 17th at the Olympics.

Cheers
Steve

Just my two cents on sailing clubs:

As people and members get older in yacht clubs, I think they get tired of running the races (rembember the 20/80 rule; 80% of the work is done by 20% of the membership), and it seems to just wear on them. Younger members seem to find it harder to step up to the plate and take over.

Right now our catamaran fleet just finished arguing about the continuance of a summer regatta. The next on the agenda is to argue about the conditions; should it be an open regatta or Hobie only? I think our catamaran club is centered around racing and has to support it fully.

Because some members of the Buffalo Yacht Club (a very old and distinguished monohull yachting club) recognized a steady downturn in racing, they made efforts this year to start a new Fleet with J-22s, and they already have sixteen boats. They also started a summer "Great Race" match race weekend with invitations to the major yacht clubs, and it was a big success. The BYC just put some money into their youth sailing program, and they're hoping that it works, but it'll take time to find out.

But, the key here is that it's because of a FEW sailors who recognized the downturn in racing, and have stepped up to make the presentations and do the work. They've almost had to embarass the rest of the membership to support them financially.

Mary, Are you and Rick back in Put-in-Bay for good now?

Smooth waters,

Wyatt

Hey how about a REAL effort at Youth CATAMARAN sailing. It is very obvious, but I don't see any other organization, Becides HCA, making ANY effort to get young kids on cats.

Bash away, but 18 REGISTERED teams for the H16 Youths!!! Every year this event gets bigger. And these kids will definately move on to Tigers, Inters, A's and the gifted, lucky ones to T Boats. But they need to see and sail these boats.

The key is exposure to the sport. I know it works because I see it happening. I get tired of hearing how the sport is declining while I am watching it grow like crazy on an inland lake in Upstate NY.

Take charge!! Start a youth program, take a kid sailing, let them drive, put 6 kids on a wave let them have fun. You have to make the effort!! Give up a night of race practice to focus on utes.

Hmm, What do I get for my HCA dues. A real live and growing youth program.

It's too late for 08, but not too late for 2012. Out of this type of program you will find the talented sailors and them you can pipeline them towards the big time.

Tom Korz
NAHCA Youth Program Co-chair 1999-2002
Sailed an Inter 20 1999-2002 (You don't have to sail a Hobie to help) Tiger/F18, H16, Wave & F/C 31

Sorry for the RANT
Ready for the anti-HCA bashers