US Snipe Sailor Having recently taken the role of National Secretary, I am noticing that there are three levels of planning that exist depending upon one’s role and interest in sailing and the Class. For you weekend warriors / local regatta go-ers, “planning” involves checking on that Saturday morning if you have a crew or don’t have too many house chores to decide if you race. For those who could be categorized as “campaigning” as part of training or aspirations to race at a higher level, you need to check race calendars months Art Rousmaniere in advance. For Fleet Captains, you incoming US National Secretary should be thinking of fleet race planning and fleet building months before your Snipe hits the water because those weekend warriors and campaigners rely on schedules for their own purposes. And for your Board members, the summer’s schedule of national and regional regattas has been set for months thanks to all their work - and we are already looking forward to 2017! I submit to you that it is the misconception or mis-appreciation of these various planning “horizons” where anxiety and frustration occurs. Now (early spring) is the ideal planning season for most of the US fleets, except for the lucky southerners who smile while racing their Snipes when they hear of the rest of the fleets being snow / cold bound. Since January, I have received great feedback from many fleet captains. Some express the dilemma of having not-quite critical mass of sailors in their fleet. And others shared their experiences of things they do / have tried over the years. Below are a few that you may want to consider trying… Expand via outreaching. Mark Williams (Dallas fleet, 45 fleet races in 2015) writes how they encourage participation from other fleets, clubs, college race teams and friends [ed note: the Winchester fleet (54 fleet races in 2015) also has been proactive about reaching out to friends and local Tufts college sailors who have fleet raced loaned Snipes over this past summer]. This results in a wide variety of names in the fleet scores which is good though take care not to get frustrated of how you still may have a small group of core skippers. This requires a core
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fleet energy source such as Dallas’s Gene Soltero, but can involve as little as periodic e-mail updates to a fleet e-mail list that can / should include “friends of the fleet” (i.e. not just paid fleet members). Another method: Mary Buckley from the Lincoln fleet (25 fleet races in 2015) describes how they reached out to the local Young Professionals Group in an attempt to decrease the median age of their fleet. Fifteen “20-30-somethings” attended free clinics over two weekends and much interest was sparked, though as with most investments, no new members yet but they expanded their contact list. Try novelty. Santa Monica’s fleet captain Robert Garlipp says their Classic (wooden) fleet has been a great success to their club. They serve as an alternative to their C15 and Lido 14 fleets for those who are wooden boat aficionados or less interested in the pressure of overly competitive fleets. Be creative. Quassapaug fleet’s (>50 fleet races in 2015) pillar of commitment Joel Zackin reports that they have started fleet races via rabbit starts for years since Whitey (their no-sailing experienced but still dedicated RC) retired many years ago. Even at the large fleets, such as the Medford-Winchester fleet, we only get 4-5 Snipes out from time to time and have no race committee volunteer. In the past, we would cancel racing. We are lucky enough to have permanent marks so we have set the leeward mark as the right end of the line and using an “imaginary” pin as the left end of the line. Courses are simple windward-leewards 1-2 times around. One sailor calls out the starting sequence and logs finishes. For anyone who has played a competitive game where a “regular” referee does not show, the lack of structure can actually bring out the best of all sailors. Make lemonade from lemons. James Rix confesses that the Wichita fleet is struggling. But his is optimistic that a shift to a different site and support from District Governor Steve Tautz by having James host the D2 Districts may draw in some new blood in the area. Keep a sense of humor. Newport (Rochester NY) YC fleet captain Charlie Courtsal acknowledges that his fleet does not appear on the radar much, but they had an average 5 boats in 69 fleet races in 2015 and are the most enduring, socially active and close-knit fleets at the club. They have informal picnics after each day of racing and hold several pot-luck get-togethers at fleet member’s homes. And I love the creative trophies they give, including Most Improved and Tipover trophies, Active Geezers (minimum age of 80) trophy and Grand Masters trophy where both skipper and crew must have Medicare cards. These are all great ideas. Try some out in whatever variations you can concoct. And get back to me with if / how they work. Looking forward to getting back out on the water.
Art.rousmaniere@gmail.com “A ship in harbor is safe – but that is not what ships are built for” – John A. Shedd
Winter 2016