Welcome to the Regatta Promotions Sailing Marketing Blog

The NO answers are the winners when it comes to National Security. Most of you said that you will NOT be thinking of National Security when you are out on the water this summer. That is great because we want you to be thinking about all of the fun you will have at the regattas planned for this summer. Our next poll asks you which is your favorite GMORA Sanctioned event of the summer. We have some options to choose from or write in an event that is not listed. We want to know, so take the poll today!

On Monday of this week April 28th 2008 the US Gov’t asked for the help of recreational boaters to be on the lookout for suspicious activity on the nation’s water ways. According to the Gov’t there is an actual threat to national security from terrorists potentially using small craft to carry a bomb that can do major damage to a US city or port. They are trying to enact an on the water neighborhood watch with very little enforcement back up - the US Coast Guard already can’t handle all the calls they receive, as noted in the associated press story.

So we want to want to know from you what you think. Answer our easy poll question of the month. Will you be thinking of National Security this summer while on the water or will you be enjoying the experience like you always have?

There was a lot of buzz regarding the latest poll that we had up on the site that had to do with the change to the 2 boatlength circle rule 18. The unanimous winner was that NO, the rule should not change, 3 boatlengths is just too hard to judge. We had some great comments on this blog, if you want to read what others had to say about it. I tend to agree with many that say 3 boatlengths will be very subjective and that it will create more problems than solutions. It sounds like this will be a new prescription change to the rules, so while out sailing this summer, start thinking in that direction to get geared up for 2009.

You have all cast your ballots and the YES answers win. Most of you thought that the next America’s Cup will raise the level of sailing. We will have to wait and see if this really is the case.  This week’s poll is an interesting one, and we want you all to weigh in.

We can’t ignore all the court cases, articles, interviews and gossip about the next America’s Cup. Why is it the only time sailing makes the sports its because of a court case or some crazy guy or gal who is lost at sea? Anyways, with all the ta do about the next cup, we wanted to know if you think the America’s Cup is representative of the best our sport has to offer. So check out our weekly poll let us know how you feel.

From a regatta organizer point of view and from someone that tries to market the sport of sailing to the general public all I have to say is shame on you guys (the rich guys controlling the BS). Each side points fingers at each other but is unwilling to do the hard work to make our sport better. Or does it even matter? Is the cup irrelevant to the true participants in our sport? Unfortunately, that answer is no and the Cup did a lot of good for our sport last go around. More t.v. coverage, more professionals getting paid big dollars, more sailing, more development and more sponsors willing to commit their advertising dollars to sailing. It worked both for the sponsors and the sport.

Last weeks poll question asked if you thought US Sailing’s decision to make every sailboat race participant a member of US Sailing is a good idea or not.  Well the majority of you all answered NO.  We would agree with you but after doing some research and a comment from one of our readers we would have to disagree.

However, we don’t agree with the way US Sailing has approached this situation.  There has to be a better, more fluent way of encouraging membership other than just mandating it.  We need the leadership to implement prodceedures and policies that will encourage regatta organizers and racers alike to promote membership.  Ideas such as US Sailing supporting regattas with money based on the percentage of participants that are US Sailing members.  This would definitely motivate sailors to join the membership revolution.  There are probably many other ideas and if we think of them we will certainly write about them here.

Have a good idea about how to get US Sailing to the next level along with the rest of our sport?  Just post a comment, we would love to hear it.

At USSailing.org president Jim Capron attempts to answer a few question about a new prescription in the 2009-1012 rules. The prescription will require the owner and skipper of each boat to be a member of US Sailing.  Not sure if we agree this is a good idea but we want to hear from you. Will this rule once again provide a stumbling block for building participation in the sport of sailing? Is this prescription in the rules a good idea? Vote now at our weekly poll question on the left side of this page.

Below is Mr. Capron’s comments.Newport, RI (March 16) - US SAILING wrapped up its Spring Meeting in Newport, R.I., this morning and the more than 120 committee members in attendance are returning home with new ideas and fresh energy. As President of the national governing body, Jim Capron (a lifelong sailor from Annapolis, MD) presided over the three-day meeting. One of the more prominent issues discussed over the weekend was a possible new requirement for racing sailors to be US SAILING members. To bring more light to the ongoing discussion, we asked Jim Capron to answer a few questions on the issue.

Why do you feel it’s important for US SAILING to get more sailors to join the organization?
Active competitive sailors expect a level playing field through standardized rules, offshore rating certification, trained and certified race officers, judges, and sailing instructors, and much more. All these services are provided by the national governing body, US SAILING. There is also a consensus among the Board of Directors that, in fairness to everyone, those who participate in the competitive aspect of our sport and benefit from these services, should be members of US SAILING.

How would US SAILING get more competitive sailors to join?
For several years, the leadership at US SAILING (the Board of Directors and numerous committees) has discussed the necessity and fairness of getting sailors to be members of the organization. The most likely method of obtaining membership would be through a new US SAILING Prescription for the 2009-2012 Racing Rules of Sailing that would require US SAILING membership of racing sailboat owners and skippers. This possible requirement is currently being reviewed.

Why is US SAILING doing this now?
Frankly, we are one of the few national authorities for sailing in the world for which membership of all competitive sailors is not required. We are also one of the few U.S. sports’ national governing bodies for which membership is not required, either directly or through clubs or regional associations. The majority of national governing bodies of U.S. sports require membership, such as figure skating, skiing, and tennis.

So, what is the next step?
A lot of details still have to be refined. The Board will make a decision in June on US SAILING Prescriptions for the new rule book. We are also looking at new membership structures to make it easy for members to follow any new requirements.

No real surprise here, knowing our current readership and having just attended the MBBS this past weekend.  It was great to see all our Regatta Promotions friends at the show.  Thank you for all the kind words about our efforts to increase the sport of sailing.

Thousands of people came through the Maine Boatbuilders Show this past weekend from all over the U.S.  The best sailboat on display was the spitfire a boat that was a rehab project by French and Web up in Belfast, Maine.  I received many comments that the boat looked brand new (which it did) and many wanted to see the boat racing asap!  Other sailboats of note were the Alerion by Rumery’s Boatyard and a couple of pretty looking boats by Artisan Boatworks.

The traditional, for MBBS, boats were all there as well.  Hinkley, Back Cove Yachts, Sabre, Lyman Morse, and others all had great examples of pure Maine craftsmanship.  We hope to see you at the show next year.

After writing the last blog entry(see story about Hasket Hildreth), I started to think about the simpler times in sailing when we didn’t have a thousand digital outputs, computers, global positioning systems and everything else we now rely on to go sailing. Everyone has a “go to” device that they count on each time they go out to race. Vote now and lets see which of your instruments or data sets is the most important.

My “go to” instrument is True Wind Angle. For tactical reasons this is the most important piece of data that I rely on to make quick informed decisions that will make a huge difference in the race. True Wind Angle data makes every tactical decision on the race course quick and accurate, it tells you when there has been a wind shift of the course. The data can help at mark roundings, crossings, whether to change direction and at the start, all places where big gains can be made. However, most boats under 35 feet don’t have a sophisticated system that is able to output this data. Therefore the compass and pencil often have to suffice for keeping track of the wind and when all else fails “use the force Luke”.

So it’s still February and for most of us in the US that means cold winter. What can keep us motivated and interested in sailing all winter long? - other than reading this blog? Sailing Movies! Check out the list of my Top ten and answer the poll (scroll down the screen to see the answers) and let us know which is your favorite. You don’t agree with any of my answers, well I guess that’s ok just add your answer to the list. Also validate your pick by posting your comments to this blog entry right here! So what’s my number one pick? Dead Calm - great thriller, cool boat, explosions, blood, and decent sailing scenes. For sailing/racing authenticity I love Drum, which is about a maxi boat that capsized during the Fastnet race - losing its keel and then went on to place respectively in the Whitbread Race. Drum also has a good sound track by Simon LeBond of Duran Duran fame who is also the narrator. So many movies it’s hard to choose. There are many more that 10 sailing movies, want to know what they are? Check out this list that rates each movie and also gives a good brief description:

Nautical Movies