Club 29er

Matty Pierce and Ryan Satterberg (130lbs combined)
practice capsize recovery.  Ryan is 8 years old.

The 2013 Summer Program is in full swing at the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation with week 2 wrapping up today, and for the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to coach a beginner 29er clinic using club equipment.  The event was largely experimental, as there are very few clubs who own equipment, and even fewer who offer support to the kids sailing the boats.  The two weeks have been a learning experience for me as much as the sailors, but the resounding success of both weeks has prompted me to schedule another 2 weeks in the middle of July.

The first week attracted 11 participants, many of whom had told me that they were taking the summer off from sailing.  The sailors ranged from 8 to 16 years old, with backgrounds in FJs, optis, and sabots, but little else.  Of the 11, 5 were girls and 6 were boys.  

"Boat yog-in'" with Niles Sterner and Frankie Doyle.

The first week focused on rigging and boat work subjects, while rotating the participants through 2 club boats to practice capsize recovery, balance on the trapeze, and teamwork.  The curriculum was designed to help the sailors achieve measurable proficiencies in a variety of skills that I outlined in a chart at the beginning of the week.   By the end of the 5th day, most of the sailors could consistently right the boat from a turtle in less than a minute, and could balance while performing a variety of "boat yoga" positions.

During week 2, the curriculum got a bit more technical, introducing some tuning ideas such as "Light", "Side Force", "Driving Force", and "Windy" condition tables, as well as boat handling mechanics.  After lectures on these topics, kids took written tests before going on the water to experiment with their new knowledge.  The strange new struggles of sailing a tippy boat with a trapeze kept everyone engaged, and asking questions, and as a result, the learning curve was steep all week long.

After the two weeks, we had some missing gel coat, and one broken tiller, but in general the boats held up to the abuse with few unexpected issues.  That's pretty good for 12 year old gear!

The most convincing takeaway from the two week program was that this is what kids want to do.  Of the 11 who started the first week all 11 came up to me at some point throughout the two weeks to ask if I would please run another 29er clinic soon.  Even the boat work lessons kept the kids riveted, as they learned how to splice and whip lines.  This is the future of the sport, and I think that this small experiment proved that skiff sailing can be incorporated into club level programs with great success.

For photos of the week click here

To view public 29er High Performance resources click here