Just a thought here. Events like Catapalooza are great. We sailed with some newsailors out to the island, wind picked up a bit and people teamed up on 20's and f-18's. I think that's awesome, however I think we should be careful. If our intention is to bring out "ol rusty" and get them sailing at our events again we should make a conserted effort to value the boat they brought. The temptation is to try to grow "our" fleet by introducing people to "our boat". More boats in OD is a good thing but there's nothing wrong with runnin' what you brung.
I didn't see it like that - the kids of the parents who were there want to ride on the big boats to see what it was like. It was their suggestion. However, I do agree that we didn't put enough emphasis on helping them with their own boats - capsize and recovery should be a main event. Trey is the professor in this area.
Maybe I should have been more clear. I don't think we intentionally steer new people to our fleet. It's just that we have been on some of the older boats and moved on to what we feel is a more exillerating ride. I think sometimes we assume that it is more exillerating for the new folks too. So my temptation is to enlighten them when I should be excited about their Hobie wave adding to the number of participants.
Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won't expect it back.
