I've been around 505's since the beginning of my life,
and I learned the basics 'of a trapeze/spinnaker boat from an early age. I guess you could
say that I have the "correct" appreciation for high performance dinghies. My
father (Macy Nelson) has been sailing 505's for what must be going on 30 years now, and,
much to his pleasure, I am suitably obsessed with the sport. I am a member of a sailing
team, and I traveled the East Coast on the Club 420 circuit (ed. Nick Nelson and John
Howell were second at the 420 North American's). I'm starting to race more demanding and
boats, and I've been employed as a junior instructor. In short, I'm on the path of a
sailing life, and I'm the type of junior sailor that should be on your recruiting radar
screen.
All dinghy classes are concerned with their membership numbers. I've heard recruiting
discussions within the 505 class a lot recently. What's the answer? Junior Sailing.
I know the US juniors sail a slow, heavy boat with little sail area. But we don't know
better, now, do we? Understand that the majority of us are naive regarding highperformance
sailing. Only a few of us have started breaking into the world of skiff sailing with the
29'er, but not many.
To get junior sailors on a 505, you need to understand junior sailors. We're teenagers,
we're on a quest for speed and adrenaline, we don't have the patience for careful,
exacting boat work, and we have little money. We look at the 505 and say three things;
"It's really fast" but, "it costs way too much", and "these guys
spend more time working than sailing!" Perhaps in our youthfulness we exaggerate a
little about the boat work, but the point is still valid.
You are competing with a host of classes supported by companies that aggressively market
inexpensive and simple boats directly to juniors (Laser, 29'er, Vanguard 15, Vector,
etc.).
At every C420 regatta for the last year I have seen demo Vectors cruising around the
racecourse and sitting in the boatpark. At the 29'er worlds there were non-junior classes
there. We had two I-14's, there was a 49'er down the hill, and even an Aussie 18 showed
up. They all made a point of going out on the water when we went out on the water. The
Toronto I-14 class organized a regatta dinner at the Kingston Yacht Club. People went over
and checked out each boat. These 29'er guys, when they are older and in the market for a
fast boat, will remember back at the 2001 29'er worlds when they saw the really cool fast
boat called the I-14/49'er/Aussie 18. It was a lost opportunity for the 505.
To hook people you need to market. Effective marketing to juniors means having a boat at
every major junior regatta. You need to aggressively "brainwash" the juniors.
You need to take people out and show them why reach legs exist. You need to have people
think that except for collegiate sailing, the 505 is the next step up in serious racing.
You need to organize with the youth classes like the 29er fleet. The 29'er class
secretary, Dave Bernal, wants to get 29'er sailors into high performance dinghies like,
and I quote, "the 49'er, the 505 and the I-14."
For some kids, the "up the hawser" approach to teaching works. My former
teammate and I were luck enough to sail a borrowed boat at the 505 ECCs (ed. Nick and John
sailed to a respectable 15th). We were lucky in that my dad was the enabler who pulled all
the strings in getting us a boat, rigging, sails, and transportation. On the water, my dad
also provided valuable feedback between races that helped us cope with the strong winds on
one day. If there's a promising junior team in your area, consider this approach.
However, for most kids, initiation into the 505 will require a slower approach. If you can
convince some adrenaline junky junior sailor to go out with you, let them get comfortable.
Don't go into a full explanation of the tuning systems. Just pull as few lines as possible
and hide the rest. The less we see the easier it is for us to adjust. Don't pop chute
right away, heat up and assume they are still hanging on from the trap wire. They won't
be. Just let them sit out there and realize a boat can plane upwind. Five minutes after
that realization, you are on your way to having a new 505 sailor. Take them out again and
teach them a little more about the boat. Maybe this time do a tight reach, jibe, douse, do
a little mark rounding. The third time out, get some other 505's sailing and do some nice
easy short races. Long grinds are not done in 420's or other junior boats. We can usually
see our windward marks during a leeward mark rounding; they are not over the horizon.
Besides, we don't have the patience yet. At the end of the third day tell them to start
spreading the word.
So we now know that you need to "hook" someone by appearing at junior regattas
and offering rides, then you need to teach them, slowly at first so we don't get
traumatized by all the strings and seeming complexity of the 505. You need to enable them
wherever and whenever possible.
But, in the end remember a few things. We serious junior sailors would love to be brought
into the clan of high performance dinghies. But the initiation is really scary. Be
aggressive on the image, especially now with the new Big Spinnakers. Shove the 505 under
the nose of juniors and leave it there. Run circles around our coach boats. Show us what
you can do. And when you are done, come and talk to us, help us with what you can, case
the shock of what we have just realized and show us the light.
TANK TALK - FALL 2001