Ever walked into a party and felt like the whole room stopped and stared at you?
If you're part of a fleet that is trying to encourage kids to sail with you, being a "strong fleet" won't help at all if everyone is staring at the kids when they come to the big party, aka the regatta. There are two things you should consider:
1) Are you making the kids feel welcome, off the water as well as on the water? It's easy for adults to sail with the kids, teach them during the races, and then at the dock, walk over to the keg and talk 'above' the kids. If they aren't welcome at your table, they won't want to be on the boat for very long. If you answered 'yes', are the kids being included in the sailing discussions at the table? Are adults talking to them, not condescending down to them?
2) Speaking of condescending, when you get an experienced youth sailor in a regatta, cheating is a really good way to get kids to choose a different boat class. That kid at the helm of that keelboat, the one that another boat's skipper is yelling at, trying to intimidate him to get off the starting line, has probably sailed in more regattas because he doesn't have to work all summer. If he wanted to, the kid could quote the RRS sections and numbers, and successfully protest for violating his right-of-way and lack of sportsmanship. But he won't do that; he'll just never sail your boat class again (true story)!
At 9, 7, and 4 years old, my sons fell in love with sailing on a J/22; just them and one extremely patient skipper. The boys have since raced in national and international championships in eight different boat classes in eight years. Yes, they love high-tech and speed, and are currently begging for a Nacra F18, but on any given Wednesday night, you'll find a 17 year old working spin on a J/92, the 15 year old on the helm of a J/22, and the 12 year old cranking sheets on a Hunter 35.... because it's the relationships that make the difference.
The sailing crowd are friends AND mentors. Thanks for contribution from SailingScuttlebutt.com
