culverk:

Next time I'm up on the Eastern Shore I can come sail with you. We can talk about racing and rules. While I'm no expert, I can manage my way around a course.

Who ever said "Pooh-Bah's" aren't nice guys????

I wouldn't pass that offer up culverk if I were you!

Good Goin'
Greg

How do you promote Catamaran Sailing? Simple, just get involved. There are plenty of opportunities to volunteer at all of the following: US SAILING, local yacht clubs, community sailing, catamaran sailing organizations, boat shows, and of course your local Cat dealer. We just had our US SAILING AGM in Phoenix, and you will see a new direction and support from this organization. As an example we have a new Area Representive in Area H, Peter Nelson. Peter, along with Laura Sullivan,Division 4 HCA Chair and her husband Jerry Valeske have presented Hobie 101 and 102 during the last five years at Sail Sand Point in Seattle. This program, open to all Cat sailors, has resulted in an expansion and growth in Cat sailing, racing and participation in the Northwest. This is the same group, along with other local volunteers that helped obtain five Hobie Cat Waves for the Sail Sand Point Community Sailing program, see www.sailsandpoint.org, and helped continue the Fast and Fun, free outreach sailing program. Next year, this effort is expanding adding Hobie 16's at SSP with an emphasis to train youth for local racing, and the US SAILING Youth Multihull Championship.

Just do it!

Caleb Tarleton
Sail Sand Point
US SAILING, Multihull Council, and Multihull Youth Championship Committee
Hobie Class Association, Fleet 95, Division 4
NAMSA

Caleb, You folks sure set a great example! Fantastic work!

Another note:
Targeting the young demographic has nothing to do with money. From what I can see, if my friends and I find something that we truly like to do, we will buy it. I bought my first hobie 16 when I was 16. I went through that, then a hobie 18sx, a Nacra 6.0na, and now I have a 2001 N20. Daddy didn't pay for squat. Even though I am young, I still can dig up the money for the toys. I have a friend here in college with me that just bought a 1999 Nacra 5.5uni this past weekend. He bought a full spin rig for it 2 days later. Go figure. It's not necessarily about the money. Where there's a will, there's a way.
Trey
N20 873
Layline.com

"Kids Today..." hey, I've tried with many a kid but most of my son's 12-13yr. old friends are much more interested in the latest hand held electronic game! I have to drag him, kicking and screaminig, off the couch, to get him out sailing, and we live ON A LAKE, with the H14 mast up, ready to go, 100 feet out the back door! And most of the other kids around the lake only want a Jet Ski, not a sail boat.

At least my 9yr. old daughter likes to sail with me! I don't think I will take her racing though, I think that is what turned my son off. My wife only wants to cruise...and wants me to buy a (spit on the ground when you say this) Cruising Power Boat! I may not return from my next trip to Europe!

Timbo,

The wifal unit "trained" me to never force anything on our three sons. I worked diligently to rebuild our H16 and take them to the lake the summer they were 10, 11 & 13 years old (IMHO a cat can be intimidating to a child at this age). After a few trips they quickly tired of the drive out, set-up/takedown, and trip home. I sold the boat to a friend. Now that they're 19, 21 & 22 they enjoy sailing, they have to decide which of many friends they will invite. Be patient, it may come full circle.

if my parents hadn't FORCED me to go to sailing summer camp at the yacht club for three straight summers, I wouldn't have this passion now.

I didn't sail through highschool, but as soon as I got back to college I took it up again and loved every bit of it.

I do think that maybe theres a few to many chemicals reacting with each other in the younger teens to be able to get them to focus on anything.

IM(unqualified)O

All very valid points - but there is hope. When I first got involved in racing, my situation was similar to yours. Had sailed since childhood, had been sailing a Hobie-14 and then a Hobie-18 for a couple of years before getting involved with what is now the West River Catamaran Racing Association. Entering a regatta seemed out of the question for the basics of not even knowing where to start. Then there were the usual fears of getting in the way and being labeled as things you wouldn't mention in polite conversation...

But... When I got involved in the WRCRA I found at least two things that got me going and that I am committed to continuing - One is the ability to sail your boat on a weekly basis in a competitive setting. The other is the fact that the people involved in that competitive setting have a deep-seated commitment to helping others get a foothold in the catsailing faith. Amazingly helpful bunch, and most who have benefitted from this continue the practice by helping other newbies.

As a club the number of people willing to help is outstanding. And we try to communicate this willingness to help to alleviate concerns people might have. And we have success stories to show for it - there are quite a few that started out as newbies and have now moved up to A-Cats, N6.0s, I-20s, etc. As for money, used catamarans are the best bang for the buck to be had in performance sailing period. $500 used Hobies can get you out on the water and get you hooked, and are sufficient to race in our club setting.

This is turning out to be a shameless plug for a club, but honestly these are the things that get people going. Find a club, and get going. If there aren't any clubs that fill the need, consider starting one - even if your experience is low, find others and learn together.

After sailing with the club for a bit I finally made it into my first entry regatta, and even though there was still some pucker factor involved, I had a bunch more confidence and experience. Plus, there were other guys from my club there and they once again helped in the effort.

Getting involved in racing is like getting experience in all other aspects of sailing - experience breeds confidence, and the only way to get experience is stick your big toe in. Remember the first time you sailed in heavy air? Probably were scared, but afterward you felt more knowledgable and comfortable in addressing similar conditions. Find or found a club to help you and others stick your big toe in.

By the way - more shameless plug - due to people moving up to newer and bigger boats in our Fleet, we now have the opportunity to offer some boats for sale to people who want to get started in the whole game. Typically people selling the boats will offer a break to keep it in the Fleet, AND the help from the rest of us is FREE. If you want to get into the game and are in the area (some of us are as far away as Virginia), check out The West River Catamaran Racing Association

There's also an A-Cat Fleet around the corner from us that delights in spreading the A-Cat scratch fever, so come on out!

John, Sorry been out of touch for a while. Hope it comes thru this time. BTW ages 7, almost 6, 5, and 3.5!

"Fast lightweight cats are not liked by those in the Hobie-slug clubs either. It's most due to serious boat envy, IMHO."

Am I serious? Only in some ways.

Basically, if cat people have the attitude that monos are slugs, why shouldn't the "slug sailors" get a little narky towards the cat sailors who insult their boats?

Maybe the problem is your attitude towards their boats, not their attitude to your boat?

Having moved into cats (while still sailing dinghies, yachts and windsurfers) it seems that there may be more bias from cat sailors against monos, than there is from monos against cats.

If there is some bias against cats, it could be born from the fact that in most places, it's those who prefer and sail monos who teach kids how to sail in Sabots and Optis; who train the kids into 420s etc; and then face cat sailors saying "hey, now you've spent hundreds of hours teaching your kids while we cat sailors have been sailing our own boats, we want to turn your kids into cat sailors".

Chris,


You need to keep your anarchy over at SA

I'll go out on a limb here and testify that the "monoslug" comments are all made in jest. Its a playful jab that is meant to simply lighten the room up.

Its our way of judging the crowd, if someone takes offense to the comment, we know we're in the wrong area of the club house (the part thats not covered in sand, aka, the beach).

Believe me when I tell you that I've been to some mixed-boat regattas and heard plenty of off-colored "those catamaran people" comments.

Its all pretty stupid if you ask me.

it takes a lot of skill to race a monohull well just as it takes a lot of skill to sail a cat well. I race on a monohull (J29) and the skipper used to race cats for something like 15-20 years. When he got a little too old to continue putting up the mast (his wife as well) he bought a monohull and still has a great time racing it. However, when I tell him I can't crew for him because I am racing my cat he often says that he'd rather be racing a cat also!

I'll second that!

There are some people looking through their mono or cat, J2X or Laser, Hobie or F16, or whatever "colored glasses", who tend to be the most vocal. Is it worth the time to try to change their opinions? Maybe not, but it can be fun!

Fortunately, as an entire group, Sailors are decent folks and, as enthusiasts, appreciate all the different craft for what they are.

Sure, cat sailing is high speed and high fun, but I haven't met a sailboat I didn't like...In fact, I'm thinking of getting an El Toro* for plopping in a local pond here on lazy summer evenings.


*http://www.eltoroyra.org/

More ideas on sailing promotion.
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/blog/2009/06/promoting-sport.html