Last night I read John Burnham’s column in this month’s Sailing World titled, “One-Design Heresy”. The story struck a cord in me, particularly after reading many threads in this forum regarding the “decline of sailing.”



In the article, John writes:



“What if racing were easy? What if you could push

your dinghy off the beach and go racing with no more

advance thought and planning than to remember,

"Oh yeah, it's Thursday." What if you just had to raise

the sail on your little keelboat and cast off in time to

meet the rest of the gang out by the harbor entrance

at 6 p.m.?”



Those words do a good job at describing our local cat sailing scene (Lake Champlain, Vermont). A string of “dead boats” line the beach at the International Sailing Center on Malletts Bay ($200/year for mast-up storage at the water’s edge). After work on Wednesday nights, sailors begin arriving with sail bags and harnesses in hand. We gather on the water at 6 p.m. The Sailing Center has the buoys set and the committee boat signals the cats to the line ten minutes after the Solings start. We get in 2 to 4 races on a good week, less on light air days.



“. . . the results are less important than being able to

show up in any kind of boat on any given day—with

one crew, four crew, or no crew at all. What counts is

that you have some company out there; that you have

a chance to try and put some other boats behind you,

and that you can focus most of your energy on simply

having a good time.”



Again, a good description of our local scene. A bunch of 5.8’s, a few H16’s and TheMightyHobie18’s, and my N6.0 (average boat value of perhaps 2K). On light air days, one or two sailors are usually single-handing due to crew that couldn’t get to the beach. If the winds are above 10 knots, those lacking crew might leave a boat on the beach and sail together. While I usually sail with my wife, I’ve recently started taking my 8-year old out when winds are light.



At the finish line, no times are recorded. Advice from the experienced sailors flows freely. Everyone, beginner to expert, feels welcome, and everyone goes home smiling, relaxed, and looking forward to meeting again next week.



“The goal is to go have an adventure—maybe a

misadventure—with a friend, a child, a parent,

a spouse. A starting time and a starting line gets

you out of your office and into the boat before it

gets dark. Once you're out there, something's bound

to happen, either on your boat or somebody else's

nearby. You'll come back refreshed—probably more

so than if you'd spent the evening fairing your bottom

to within .01" of the class-legal tolerances.”



Well said.



I’m not saying that there isn’t a place for the highly the competitive racing scene that pushes both sailors and boats. But, when the battle over classes gets heated, when good manners are sometimes forgotten, and arguments go on and on about which high-priced boat is best , budding interests will fail to blossom. New sailors are not going to enter the sport unless sailing is perceived to be within reach and, above all else, fun.



As a relatively new cat sailor, I’ve found this new forum to be welcoming of new sailors, patiently repeating answers to the questions of the newcomer. (The old forum, on the other hand, too often gets bogged down by the faceless egos engaged in endless bickering.) Thanks to those of you who’ve made this new forum an enjoyable break when desk work keeps me indoors.



P.S. – My eight-year old son, David, made a calendar for me for Christmas. On it, he listed his goals for the year. High on the list is, “Sailing the length of Lake Champlain”. We’ve started planning a trip this summer to cover most of the lake’s 120 miles.



The fun is spreading!