Invite Them…. And they Will Come

A Simple Lesson in Class Development Class development is a concern for most countries. How does any one-design class compete, when there are so many boats for people to choose from? In my experience, the most successful way to introduce sailors to the Snipe Class is simply to invite them - provide them with a good crew/skipper and a boat for a major regatta. This was my own experience. Andrew Pimental (owner of Jibe Tech) and I raced in the same Laser fleet in Newport, Rhode Island. He was looking for a crew for the 2003 Pan American Games Trials and someone in the fleet suggested me. Andrew asked me and I said “yes.” It was an important regatta and an opportunity to race with a great skipper. At the time, I was sailing Europe Dinghies and was looking for some good cross-training.

Invite Them…. And they Will Come Image

A Simple Lesson in Class Development

Class development is a concern for most countries. How does any one-design class compete, when there are so many boats for people to choose from? In my experience, the most successful way to introduce sailors to the Snipe Class is simply to invite them – provide them with a good crew/skipper and a boat for a major regatta.

This was my own experience. Andrew Pimental (owner of Jibe Tech) and I raced in the same Laser fleet in Newport, Rhode Island. He was looking for a crew for the 2003 Pan American Games Trials and someone in the fleet suggested me. Andrew asked me and I said “yes.” It was an important regatta and an opportunity to race with a great skipper. At the time, I was sailing Europe Dinghies and was looking for some good cross-training.

Womens Snipe Worlds 2008 Roquetas de MarFast forward 5 years. Now I was looking for a crew for the 2008 Women’s Worlds in Roquetas de Mar. I wanted a crew that was good with tactics and could hike hard. I couldn’t find a crew, but knew of a skipper that would be perfect. I emailed Anna Tunnicliffe and asked her if she wanted to sail the Women’s Worlds with me. She had never sailed a Snipe before, but she said yes.

I challenge each Snipe country to invite one of their best Laser, 420, or 470 women skippers to compete in the 2012 Women’s Worlds. The Olympics will be finished. Find them a good crew and provide them with a good boat and sails. Make it easy for them to compete. They will be surprised at the level of competition. They will have a good time and they will return to the Class.

France, Portugal, Sweden, Germany, Poland, Ecuador, Denmark, Croatia, Colombia, Canada, and England – We hope to see your countries represented in Malaga this September!

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