Promoting options for teenage sailors

The growth of high school sailing in the USA has focused youth activity toward institutional-type boats such as the Club version of the 420 and Flying Junior. While popular, this emphasis has narrowed the path for teenagers, limiting exposure to other types of boats that can improve retention and learning.

A popular two-person youth alternative is the 29er, which is the younger sibling of the 49er Olympic skiff, and was presented recently to the West River Sailing Club (WRSC) in Galesville, Maryland.

It all started with a visit by 29er Class President, Jim Bonham and Maggie Roesch, Class Representative for the Mid-Atlantic Area. They needed a place to store a trailer of 29ers, but they also liked the club’s beach launching area, beautiful river, and lack of congestion.

After meeting with WRSC Vice Commodore Jahn Tihansky, the idea was hatched to host a 29er Clinic in mid-November.

Caroline Atwood (owner of Skiff+ 29er Sailing Team) loaned a boat and suggested the right formula would be four kids, one 29er, one coach and an assistant coach. That way you have the boat sailing and the two in the coach boat can take turns when they get tired.

Olympic Aspirant Casey Cabot agreed to organize the clinic with Bryan Bay, High School Head Coach at West River, as the assistant who shadowed a clinic held by Caroline on how to coach 29ers. Caroline is committed to helping this class become a potential platform for youth sailing.

“By teaching coaches how to coach we get more bang for our buck,” said Atwood who regularly runs practices and welcomes potential coaches to shadow her sessions.

The clinic enjoyed beautiful fall days with still relatively warm waters, which as it turns out is important at your first 29er clinic. Aged 15 to 17 years, they were asked what interested them in signing up for the clinic:

• “I signed up because I never sailed this kind of boat before.”
• “I might want to switch to 29ers.”
• “I just never want to miss an opportunity to sail for two days!”

And about sailing the boat…

• “We were more of a swim team than a sailing team.”
• “The boat has no will to live…it does whatever it wants.”
• “You have to sail the boat or the boat will sail you.”
• “Crew/Skipper communication is much more important. Otherwise things will go terribly wrong.”
• “I wish that both the skipper and crew had traps.”

WRSC intends to host a High Performance Week next summer when the kids and adults would have the chance to sail a different high performance boat each day: Melges 15, 29er, 505, Chesapeake 20, and multihull. Additionally, the club plans to have a 29er regatta and are hoping to host another 29er clinic.

Source: Kathy Parks, SSN