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Scuttlebutt News: Team Tsunami
(Dec. 11, 2006) What started at a holiday party as cocktail conversation one year ago has finished its first season as one of the great acts of charity that occur in the sport. When an Annapolis sailor wondered out loud about buying a J/105 so the local kids could have a boat to sail, it was easy to discard it as an “inebriated idea.” However, that all changed when a brand new boat arrived in the spring. What follows below are the details behind Team Tsunami, which has provided a rare opportunity for youth sailors to learn the ins and outs of keelboat sailing on their terms. MISSION Team Tsunami has been developed to give middle and high school age children the opportunity to learn how to enjoy and handle a keel boat, with modern sail configuration, modern electronics, and one design competition, while racing and practicing as a team. A J/105 has been selected to specifically meet the needs.
Team Tsunami has been created by the sailors racing with the Tsunami Syndicate. They saw a need for the juniors in the Annapolis area to acquire skills on a keelboat and to have the resources to participate in local competition. To make the experience more productive and fun for the juniors the syndicate has hired instructors. A curriculum has been developed so any level of junior will acquire the necessary skills. All skill levels of juniors are invited to join the team and they will be trained to become competent boat hands on a keel boat. No team member is allowed to monopolize a position on the boat, a rotation schedule will be in place. Our ultimate goal is to train Annapolis juniors to enjoy sailing and/or racing and to be competent sailors as they grow older. As for a racing goal we would like to find other junior teams to compete against on a national level, while maintaining a consistent showing in the Annapolis J/105 fleet. TEAM A roster is developed of children from the community who show interest in joining this program. The age bracket of children is 10-18 (or graduates of high school). There is no skill level requirement to become a member of the crew. There will be no cost to become a member of this program.
The focus of Team Tsunami for the first year was to compete in the AYC Wed Night series. The team members for each evening are responsible for preparation, racing and cleanup of the boat. All members of the team will have an opportunity to compete at each station of the boat. (skipper, tactician, foredeck, pit, mast, main or jib trimmer, etc). The skipper of each evening will work with the coach to select the positions for each team member for that race. The boat is also available for training sessions by members of the Tsunami family and/or the instructors on the roster. As interest is shown by the team, other CBYRA races are scheduled. FUTURE As Team Tsunami enters into its second year, the syndicate personnel want to maintain a strong showing with the local fleet. In an effort more day long bay races will be added to the schedule, the Annapolis fleet members will be approached for placing the kids as crew members, and the current roster of 21 members will be increased to 27 members. One of the other goals of Team Tsunami is to compete against another junior teams in the US on the J/105. The syndicate personnel are working to locate other junior big boat programs in the US to work with. Through US Sailing, J Boats and word of mouth they are hoping to create exposure to interest other programs or syndicates to explore the development of a junior big boat program. Photos courtesy of Team Tsunami: www.team-tsunami.org |
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