Helping build our sport, Took an extra junior sailor out for our last race this year Options

[Vernon Green]

This summer I met a 14 year old kid that had saved up all his birthday and christmas money to pay for a sailing class at my club. I was there helping and after talking to the kid realized he was really into the sport already and had a desire to race.

So for our last race of the season I called him up and invited him to sail with us, sure an extra untrained person would make us a little slower but anyone with the drive this kid has will be good for the sport.

I bought him a cheap pair of sailing gloves and included him in all the crew emails leading up to the race. The day before the race he came out and helped me and and the rest of the crew with some rigging and cleaning. He was practically bouncing off the walls and was asking the whole time what his jobs were gonna be.

Afterwards I talked with the rest of the crew and we figured out some good responsibilities for him.

Not only was he a great asset during the race to us he also helped launch other competitors boats and make lunches for the RC boat before the race.

In the end he had a blast, we took 3rd and he even got to trim the spinnaker on one leg.

Here is a picture from the race, you can see him grinning from ear to ear in the life jacket!

(IMG:http://inlinethumb11.webshots.com/44490/2842569180102412815S500x500Q85.jpg)

I urge everyone to take out some inexperienced sailors to build our sport, plus it was alot of fun for me seeing him so excited!

[GRUMPY]

Good job Vern. Little bugger looks like he could use some sun!










Those life lines don't look "taut" to me....

[SSM]

Been doing it every week. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Getting lucky so far with passionate crew green or not. Knock on wood!

[Vernon Green]

Good job Vern. Little bugger looks like he could use some sun!










Those life lines don't look "taut" to me....

Yeah, he is a little bit of a band nerd ,but good kid.

As for the life lines they are not required by the class at all. I just have them to recline back against for booze cruises.

[dacapo]

Yeah, he is a little bit of a band nerd ,but good kid.

hey, watch it...................I was a band nerd . Did I tell about that one time in band camp??

[bowman81]

The guys I sail with are always willing to take out new guys and our club knows it, most new people get directed towards us. We generally get people that want a champagne cruise on a beer can wednesday night.

At one point we had 2-3 permanent people on board striaght out of the clubs "adult intrdouction to sailing" course. Some of these people are great, enthusiastic and willing and as with any group of people anywhere we have had a couple that are complet fuckwits but it hasn't stopped us taking new people out.

[razorback]

Keep that kid connected! Enthusiasm is too precious to waste.

We'll take anybody that shows up on the dock on race day. Really. We just put them with whichever boat we think they'll enjoy the most. So, athletic competitive types go on the racier boats, aspiring Jimmy Buffets go on the Freedoms and Hunters. I won doublehanding with a prison guard I met while shoving off a few weeks ago. Great guy, and really has a knack for it. That reminds me, I've got to make sure he comes back.

[Great_lakes_race...]

Keep the kid involved! I'm 14, soon to be 15, been racing since I was 9, only because of the fact people were nice enough to take me on board with basically zero sailing experience, since then I've become addicted. A week without racing is a wasted week. I spend countless hours pouring over results, reading, etc. keep this kid involved, we all know how much our sport needs desperately for the youth of the world to some how become interested in sailing. keep up the good work. looks like the kid is having a blast!!

[vtfishsailor]

nice job. Years ago I was a member at a club that had a club owned fleet of Ideal 18s. I was in that program and was also an instructor at another club up the coast a bit. After work on nights that there was racing I always tried to take along some of my junior sailors to get them out in a different type of sailing/boat. If I couldn't get the kids I always showed up and took out whoever was new to the sport. It was working great and I sailed with lots of different people of varying skill and enthusiasm. What killed it in the end was that other sailors in the fleet who were good sailors started showing up with regular crew for all the races. These were guys who owned sailboats at the club and raced them on the weekends but couldn't be bothered to put in the effort to sail them on wed. nights. The class got too competitive with only 8 boats soon there were nights where all the boats were taken by these guys. The purpose of the fleet was to introduce people to sailing. I kept at until I left the club but the whole thing changed so much. When I left it was always the same guys out there, playing bumper boats, and being intimidating to anyone new.

The club also decided to use these boats for the club championship. That really upped the competitive level.

[Cats Rule]

Great job! Train him up and you'll have a great crew there in not very long. Always good to see new people getting out and getting stuck in.

[InNeedOfSomeRest...]

Keep the kid involved! I'm 14, soon to be 15, been racing since I was 9, only because of the fact people were nice enough to take me on board with basically zero sailing experience, since then I've become addicted. A week without racing is a wasted week. I spend countless hours pouring over results, reading, etc. keep this kid involved, we all know how much our sport needs desperately for the youth of the world to some how become interested in sailing. keep up the good work. looks like the kid is having a blast!!

+1

[Vernon Green]

To finish the story Sky (the young kid) contacted me today asking about buying a laser. I happen to have 3 older lasers in sail-able shape, needless to say he is getting a great deal on a laser and going to get to store it behind my keel boat in the dry storage at the lake.

[Kack]

Good job dude.

[tuf-luf]

Who cares about the pasty teenager... we want to know more about your bowchick!!



Seriously though... always good to bring new/young sailors into the program. Good job!

[CJV]

Good stuff. I was just thinking we need in our club a farm program to keep dinghy sailors moving onto keelboats. But a channel from other, non-sailing sources would be cool too. Thanks for the inspiration, I think there's hundreds of ways to get young people to put down their DS's and PSP's and get on the water...

[Beau.Vrolyk]

Great job getting that Kid out on the water!!

Our fleet has a really simple rule: No one is EVER left on the dock. We publish when the fleet will leave the dock and anyone and everyone who shows up gets to sail.

I've had some skippers tell me: "Don't ever send that guy to my boat again!" my response is: "deal with it." There are certainly some skippers who haven't a clew, who don't welcome new sailors, and think they're "too good for that sort". I've found that in a year or two the newbies are winning and the pompous ass trying to recruit them as crew. We make a point of reminding the now X-newbies of who took them out first and taught them to sail. We also make a point of encouraging them to follow the rule:

No on is EVER left on the dock.

It drives the pompous ass skippers crazy when their new hot young crew bring three newbies along!

I love it!!!

[Silverbullet]

Great job getting that Kid out on the water!!

I've had some skippers tell me: "Don't ever send that guy to my boat again!" my response is: "deal with it." There are certainly some skippers who haven't a clew, who don't welcome new sailors, and think they're "too good for that sort". I've found that in a year or two the newbies are winning and the pompous ass trying to recruit them as crew. We make a point of reminding the now X-newbies of who took them out first and taught them to sail. We also make a point of encouraging them to follow the rule:

No on is EVER left on the dock.

It drives the pompous ass skippers crazy when their new hot young crew bring three newbies along!

I love it!!!

Great point.
What is worse?? Continually sailing short-handed, or getting to expose someone new to sailing and possibly returning the favor of when someone once taught you about sailing. Teaching someone and seeing their eyes light up when they understand is highly rewarding. Plus, they become inspired, encouaged, loyal, and tell their friends all about it. Next thing you know, he/she is bringing friends and helping them along.

It's quite simple - reap what you sow. OR continue to be a dick and wonder why your boat does shitty and fewer and fewer boats are coming out to play.

[Presuming Ed]

This summer I met a 14 year old kid that had saved up all his birthday and christmas money to pay for a sailing class at my club. I was there helping and after talking to the kid realized he was really into the sport already and had a desire to race.

So for our last race of the season I called him up and invited him to sail with us, sure an extra untrained person would make us a little slower but anyone with the drive this kid has will be good for the sport.

So why did you wait until the last race of the season? If someone mentions to me that they're keen to come sailing, we get them along as soon as possible. Trained up two good new crew this year.

Hire for aptitude and attitude. Skills can be taught.

[Gorn FRANTIC!!]

Who cares about the pasty teenager... we want to know more about your bowchick!!

Seriously though... always good to bring new/young sailors into the program. Good job!

She'd 1000 times better in your cut off denim crew shorts than you ever would Tuffie (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Thats all you need to know

[kevlar]

A friend of mine whom I sail with from time to time has always been bringing juniors out on his 105. I brought another friend's and took some out for a larger Regatta as well. It worked out pretty well. This club has a great junior program, along with a growing one out of the local highschool as well. It's really great to see.

On the 2nd 105, (that I crew on regularly) we're considering mooring at the same club. Considering regular crew's schedules for Wednesday nights and some club races, I'm considering trying to make maybe half and perhaps more of the crew kids for those races... we'll see how it comes together over the winter and through next season.

It's a winning situation even if we make a sacrifice in standings. It's generally light air through most of the season anyway, and it would give me an opportunity to work on my teaching skills and things like that.

Fun stuff. I grew up sailing with my father. It was some guys I never met before that picked me up on a dock and before I knew it, I was back into this. That's the least I can do no matter if it's a 15 year old or someone else.

[Vernon Green]

This summer I met a 14 year old kid that had saved up all his birthday and christmas money to pay for a sailing class at my club. I was there helping and after talking to the kid realized he was really into the sport already and had a desire to race.

So for our last race of the season I called him up and invited him to sail with us, sure an extra untrained person would make us a little slower but anyone with the drive this kid has will be good for the sport.

So why did you wait until the last race of the season? If someone mentions to me that they're keen to come sailing, we get them along as soon as possible. Trained up two good new crew this year.

Hire for aptitude and attitude. Skills can be taught.

Most of our races are out of town and several hours away. This one was on our local lake, I figured that would be a good place to start then if he enjoyed it we could look into him travelling with us. Also his parents are pretty protective and at first weren't huge fans of him coming out but they came too the club after the race and had dinner with us and I think that has changed.

[NautiGirl]

Keep the kid involved! I'm 14, soon to be 15, been racing since I was 9, only because of the fact people were nice enough to take me on board with basically zero sailing experience, since then I've become addicted. A week without racing is a wasted week. I spend countless hours pouring over results, reading, etc. keep this kid involved, we all know how much our sport needs desperately for the youth of the world to some how become interested in sailing. keep up the good work. looks like the kid is having a blast!!

I'd take 10 of the 15 year old kid who crews on the J/30 I race on over 100 of most of the adults I've raced with.

Kid never complains. He's got no fear. He does whatever he's asked with no questions asked. He's polite and courteous to everyone. He doesn't get drunk and pass out 90 minutes into the race. He doesn't drink all the rum (though he makes a killer Dark 'n Stormy post-race) and he never shows up hungover.

I don't particularly like the company of kids, but kids who are keen to be on the water and learn are a joy to be around.

Be patient with them, and treat them with respect, and you end up with valuable member of your team for years to come.

[syrenab32]

To hammer home the idea that sailing can be multigenerational, we're running a contest where sailors can share HOME VIDEOS of FAMILY (AND KIDS) SAILING. Share a YouTube link and in about a month, sailors will vote in the best. We're giving away signed books, and the grand prize winner will get one of those cool hydraulic gimbaled stern rail camera mounts, so that they can keep up the good work.

After the contest, the site will stay up to serve the same good cause. We've already got some great entries -- but we need more!

Start here: http://www.savingsailing.com/Home/Movie.html

No profits. No advertisement. No sponsors. Nothing. We bought the grand prize.

-ndh

[RacerChaser]

this past year the Farr 30 North Americans(part of CBRYA Race week), Turbo Duck took on a junior sailor, we ran out of options and i was really hesitant to bring on a junior...

Man was I wrong!

Mike Saldi a junior at Severn School came on board and trimmed the guy exceptionally well, he knew the ups and downs of the downwind sailing and did a great , great job.....

He also got to sail with Jeff Linton, Rolex superstar and a heck of a fisherman to boot...

Mike is the current Farr 30 North American Champ, first of many...

[stngr17]

Great job Vernon! I am currently involved with a few other club members who are trying to revitalize the racing/sailing program at our local yacht club. It is amazing the resistance you run into from older members while trying to appeal to the younger set of racers.. I have a good feeling though that we will have a decent class racing by summer and even a newly minted frostbiting group racing in the next few months. Keep your fingers crossed!