Chris Woods
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Jun 7, 2006, 2:17 PM
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How to Get the "Average" Sailor Excited About Racing Sailboats - The Future of Sailing - Summer Solstice Series Team Racing
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One Way to Get "Average" Sailors Excited about Racing Sailboats - the Summer Solstice Series
(June 6, 2006) Tuesday evening was the first weeknight of one of the most interesting sailing programs in the country. 12 yacht clubs, 36 boats and 100 people raced at 6 different venues in the first of four weeknight Summer Solstice Series team race regattas. The program has grown from 4 to 12 clubs in the last year and is proving to be a model for getting people out on the water for some serious fun racing, within today's time and social constraints. Participating yacht clubs include: American, Centerport, Indian Harbor, Larchmont, Manhasset Bay, New York, Noroton, Northport, Pequot, Seawanhaka Corinthian, Stamford and Storm Trysail.
The Summer Solstice Series was started in 2005 as a way to demonstrate how racing sail boats can be a fun, competitive learning experience for sailors who are short of time but not short of a love for the sport. The series was a tremendous success and brought over 100 new-to-team racing sailors "back" out on the water in a competitive but supportive environment. The original four clubs has grown to 12, with several more asking to join in. The key to the "SSS" is the same fleet-building approach that works for any class, but with the added help of creating the critical mass that is often missed in early start-ups.
First, the SSS focuses on using existing yacht club assets (usually club-owned fleets of boats) and existing yacht club members. This means the program does not require anything "new." Second, the team racing format is the most efficient way of experiencing the fun of racing; with 5-6 races in an evening, lots of tactical situations, market rounds and close encounters. The tactics and strategy are slightly new for most people, but still well within the understanding of the average sailor. And sailors are sailors because they like to learn. Team racing provides sailors with the tactics and learning, while easing the learning curve and minimizing mistakes because your teammates come back to help you when you goof up. The short race format makes big mistakes a learning experience, rather than a day-long view of others' backsides. Third, and most important, the SSS team racing culture is about the intermediate sailors having fun and getting involved.
As anyone who knows about growing fleets will tell you, the best racing has lots of the middle and back markers. All ages, generations and ability levels participate in the SSS. The Summer Solstice Series focuses bringing out new sailors and inexperienced team racers and deemphasizes the score. In many cases, teams will swap crews between races in order to even out. Most clubs are looking to find programs that are time-efficient and also attractive to those members who "used to sail a lot" but now have competing interests. Also important is making sure there is critical mass and that the program does not overreach. To ensure this, we have structured the SSS into groups of yacht clubs that rotate amongst themselves. And we ensure that we find additional crews and teams to develop a critical mass at each of the 6 events that are going on during the week. For more information on how your club can bring get involved, contact Chris Woods at chrisw@followup.net
Thanks to the following yacht clubs for bringing the Summer Solstice Series to the sailing community. This "bring out the members" intro/intermediate team racing program is turning out to be a great way to get people on the water. It was particularly cool to think that there were 6 different events going on at the same time! - American
- Centerport
- Indian Harbor
- Larchmont
- Manhasset Bay
- New York
- Noroton
- Northport
- Pequot
- Seawanhaka Corinthian
- Stamford
- Storm Trysail
Chris
NYYC Team Racing
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