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This was first written in response to Jarred asking how to grow a new 505 fleet at the Stockton Sailing Club, in Stockton California. Jarred asked this on the Sailing World Building Strong Fleets forum. Here is his initial post. My response has been rewritten to make it generic and more useful to other 505 sailors I would very much like to add the experiences of those who have been successful at growing 505 fleets around the world. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with what has worked for you. Here are some thoughts: Organize a 505 regatta at your club. This can be a challenge, as 505s have - I suspect - too many regattas on the North American schedule as it is... Check the area schedules on the web sites (any areas that you are hoping will support your regatta). Then talk to the key people in the regions/fleets you want support from, about getting a good weekend for a regatta and getting support from their regions/fleets for the event. Don't schedule the event without having firm commitments from 505 sailors to support it; you will be very disappointed when you have almost no turnout! San Diego ran an 505 regatta last fall, and was really disappointed when no out-of-town 505s showed up. As Francois Bertrand wrote, Montreal also had a disappointing turnout at their first event. It takes careful coordination (and probably attending several existing regattas and talking to a lot of 505 sailors first) before you can be confident of getting out of town and out of area support at your event. You really want an ongoing commitment from the existing fleets nearest you to support your growth. You do want to show your local prospects and club that 505s are an active group with good turnouts at regattas, right? The flip side of this is that current 505 sailors should try to support those building new fleets, and if you make the commitment early on to support the event... you should be there for the event. When you get the event scheduled, you want it to be successful for the sailors and to generate lots of publicity and interest amongst the prospects in your local area. How to run a great 505 regatta is a separate discussion, but keep in mind that you want your prospects to know how much fun it is to do 505 regattas, so plan your social events, and consider regatta baby sitting if that is desirablee for the 505 sailors coming and your local prospects. Make sure mentoring is happening at the event (and in general) and that those at the middle and back of the fleet are being helped to get better. Try to get prospects down to the club to see this happening. Team them up with out of town sailors for the regatta if you can. By the way, having nearby fleets that will support your fleet is going to be one of your strongest selling points to prospects. Keep reminding prospects that there are other 505 fleets nearby and that you race with them, and they race with you (Its way easier to pack up and trail a 505 some distance than a J24...). Keep the 505s rigged at the club. This is basically advertising for the class. For some reason lots of 505 sailors keep their boats at home and just trail to practice sessions and regattas.. since both the practice sessions and regattas are typically 505-only, this makes us the stealth class. No one knows we're there. I very much believe in keeping the boats (all you can get) rigged at a club, where people see them. Create some brochures to hand out. While the web sites do draw in some people (I get e-mails from new prospects several times a week), I think the real key is to have some information to give to people you meet; perhaps someone who simply stops and asks you about your 505 one day while you are at the club. We copied a brochure the Canadians put together and modified it for our fleet. It saves having to exchange e-mail addresses on pieces of paper you then lose. You can see the Fleet 19 brochure on the fleet 19 web site (And you can download it and modify it). The key thing about the brochure is that it has web site URLs and contact e-mails on it. Get E-mail addresses. Try to get e-mail addresses for anyone you talk to about 505s. Set up a listserver or at least an e-mail list you maintain. Don't overuse it, but make sure everyone on that list hears something about 505s from time to time. I think what you want is for these people to realize that there is lots of 505 activity going on, all the time. Consider a fleet web site (though I think e-mail gives you more value for less effort, once you have people's e-mail address). Take everyone you can out sailing in a 505. Even if you know they won't actually get in... just take people for rides. They might like it, or they might tell a friend, or they might just talk to someone else about it. Organize a coaching session at your club. The American section offers subsidies for coaching/training sessions. Talk to other 505 fleets that are doing well at growth. Ask them what worked for them. For example, San Diego has done well by encouraging ordinary non-rockstar sailors to buy inexpensive used 505s and go sailing. Long Beach has focused on experienced top dinghy sailors and encourages them to buy really good boats. The Long Beach fleet has the teams that finished 1,2 and 12 at the last worlds, and is way faster than the San Diego fleet, but the San Diego fleet is probably growing faster and for all I know is having as much or more fun for way less $$ invested. Eventually fleets built with inexpensive "starter" boats can trade up, as is happening in the Austin TX fleet and is starting to happen in the Pacific Northwest. It does get frustrating racing older Classic 505s against top sailors in competitive 505s. Get more boats. Our local fleet is looking for an inexpensive fleet loaner/charter boat. The Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) fleet has done very well with a 68xx Parker (built about 1978) which is chartered out to a team each season. The boat is quite competitive at the club level and several of the teams who have charted it, have decided they LOVED 505s and gone out and bought better used 505s for the next season. We hope to do something similar in Annapolis. If you focus on inexpensive "classic" 505s at first, you can pick up boats for $0 to $1500, spend a little time and $$ getting them working (don't spend too much time and $$$ its not worth it on most "Classics") and have really fun racing... the only problem is that you are not going to be competitive at the regional and National levels with boats like that, but you can always trade up after a year or two. New Boats are Good Too. On the other hand, if people have the $$ to spend, buying a really good boat allows a newcomer to focus on learning to sail/race 505s fast.. rather than spending some of that time getting the boat set up. Used superboats and the KISS Rondars are excellent options for this. Getting up the learning curve is enough of a challenge that if you can afford a good boat, you don't need the additional handicap of racing an older no-longer-competitive classic. Go sailing at your club. I recently moved to a more focused one design racing club. Unlike my old club, every time I am at the club, I see other one design racers. Most days I end up talking to at least one or two new people (prospects really) about 505s. I think my local fleet is going to have significant growth in the next 24 months as some of these people buy 505s (right now we have 3-4 people trying to buy the right used 505 so they can become active in our local fleet). Write Articles for Your Club Newsletter. Many clubs have a monthly newsletter. Write articles about the 505 and 505 activity. Again, you want people to know how much 505 activity there is available. Participate in Handicap and Multi-class Events. The 505 class frequently has 505-only events, as we normally don't like waiting between races at multi-class events, and don't get good courses. But for the 505 to be seen, its best to participate in these events, so others get to see 505s in action (ideally going past them at warp speed). Hold "Open House Events". Many 505 fleets hold "open house" events, and invited anyone and everyone to show up and sail a 505. These can be publicized as widely as possible ahead of time, including the local newspaper, radio, etc. You may get a lot of people who are not serious prospects, but out of every 100 people you talk to, some small number - on average - will become seriously interested in 505s. Getting Better at 505 Racing. Quite apart from working on fleet building... look for opportunities to sail with experienced 505 sailors. Go crew for someone, or get them to crew for you. Its amazing what you can learn in a few hours sailing with someone who has some good years in the boat. Ask questions. The 505 class is very open with information. The top guys all realize that if they can help make you fast enough to push them, they will get better too. Figure out why the top boats are rigged the way they are, and what they do for tuning. Learn how to setup a 505 so its really fast in light air.. and also really fast in big breeze and waves. I spent the first few years in 505s racing in a light air area, and never really learned 2 or 3 key tricks about medium and heavy air 505 sailing until I asked past World Champion Ethan Bixby to drive my boat at the midwinters with me crewing. I think I learned more in 3 days than I had in the previous seven years of 505 racing. I've also crewed in my boat for top West Coast 505 sailors like Dennis Surtees, Jeff Miller. I've sailed with Dave Shelton (I hope he's forgiven me for dumping us), and Larry Tuttle. I know I learned something useful each time, even if it was only for two races one afternoon. Also check Another posting on the SW fleet building bulletin board Cheers, Ali Meller Some Earlier Thoughts on Why We Need Strong 505 Fleets.. The Importance of FleetsMuch of the North American 505 scene operates without conventional fleets. The widespread use of e-mail allows us to communicate with people more easily, as it is easier to communicate with 505 sailors over a wider area. None-the-less, I believe we still very much need the fleet concept. If you look at our constitution, or for that matter other classes, you see that fleets are intended to be five or more boats and owners in one geographical area. It does not have to be the same club, but they should be close together. The fleet is much of the reason classes grow, as the key link in getting people into a class is the face to face contact and opportunities to go for a sail, that a local fleet and a local fleet captain provide. Those of use who have been racing 505s for awhile do not need all the support, and can operate easily without an active fleet, but growing our class is much easier if we have these fleets; the newcomers benefit a great deal. Some of our Regions really act like a fleet, communicating by mail, phone and e-mail, even though they are quite spread out. It works well for current members, who find out what is going on, show up at regattas, etc. It does not work for many newcomers, who expect to see a number of 505s rigged, at a sailing club, before they believe there is an active fleet. Fleets support the social activities that are the backbone of any class. If you are not close enough to party together, when are you going to see each other. When will you get a chance to check out a new rigging idea, or ask the fleet hotshot how to set up the boat for heavy air. While e-mail allows us to support people (who are on e-mail) anywhere in the world, it is not a substitute for hanging out in the dinghy park, checking out boats, and going for a sail. I keep my boat rigged at my sailing club most of the time, as do most members of fleet 19. Anyone who wanders out to the club can see 10-14 5o5s there, one of the larger fleets at the club. If it happens to be a decent weekend, two to five 505s will be out practicing. It is much easier to bring people into the class and get them up to speed in this environment. It is also easier for me, as though I live one hour from the club, I can be in the water very quickly, as all I have to do is put my sails up and launch the boat, while someone keeping their boat at home de-rigged spends close to an hour rigging and than another hour derigging after sailing. I would not sail anywhere near as much if I had to do that. Not all of us can be part of an active fleet due to our location and poor choices in sailing clubs, but we should make an effort to organize fleets and keep out boats together. We are stronger together and will have an easier time growing our fleet and our class. From Bill Green, Denver Colorado fleet captain The Colorado fleet has undergone tremendous growth since 1995. The reasons are (in no particular order) the internet, friendliness of the sailors and the speed of the boat. The 505 is an incredible boat and the best marketing tool the fleet has. Using the boat to excite and entice new people, and using coaching and practice sessions to get people up to speed has been the key to our fleet growth and how we keep new people involved. The internet is a vast resource able to provide nearly endless information on the boat, and connect new or potential sailors to class champions. I first discovered the 505 on rec.boats.racing when at Merrit 25 sailor known as Fishmeal and I-14 sailor Chris Hanke both recommended the 505 as an excellent boat. Ali Meller jumped on the thread and finished the deal. A local Merrit sailor emailed that he had a 505 he would be willing to sell (5169), and two weeks later it showed up in my driveway. After about a year the local fleet champion told me he was buying a newer boat and I upgraded to his boat and posted 5169 for sale on 505world. Chad Price, who had been interested in the 505 class for some time emailed me back and bought the boat. The internet sites (NA 505 site and Colorado site) are responsible for bringing four individuals, one team and several boats into our fleet. Everyone who joins the class sites friendly, helpful people as a deciding factor. Philip Ryan, one of the top FJ helms in the area was looking to get into a more active class, and was split between the Hobie 16 and the 505. He called the local Hobie contact and was told to join the class and fleet (meaning pay dues for each) and at that point he would be willing to talk to him and maybe give him a ride. Philip then called Kem King, the 505 rocky mountain region coordinator about possibly being interested in the 505 class. Kem said "Great, when can you go for a ride"? After Philip reminded Kem it was December and the water was a bit stiff, they agreed to go out in the spring. They did and Philip was hooked. Since then Philip has brought three other FJ sailors into the local 505 fleet. Our last recruiting tool, and the one that always seals the deal is the boat itself. People see our growing fleet lined up on the start line and then motor away from other lesser boats. The other sailors begin to drool and after a while they have to ask for a ride. Off the top of my head five people have been intrigued enough about the 505 at regattas to ask for a ride after the race. Most recently a very fast Snipe husband/wife team inquired about the 505 after our last regatta. Apparently this guy was a friend of Tyler Moore in college. Getting people involved is only half the battle, you have to keep them involved. This year my fleet has been working hard to get everyone at the same level and get faster together. We started with a coaching weekend led by Ethan Bixby and have continued with twice weekly practice sessions. These sessions often include crew and boat switches and taking new people out for rides. We have also been watching good sailors in other classes and enticing them to join us. After their first three-sail reach in good wind they're hooked. Bill Green Access to the H20! We have organized the ability to have a permanent floating ramp and the ability to store over 14 505's right next to the ramp. We have filled that yard and we can't even start using it until December!!! I think this will heavily promote weekday sailing next spring and a much stronger local fleet. Bruce Edwards From Pete Epstein in Toronto The addition of the 2 5o5's at J-Town have been instrumental in growing the Toronto Fleet. Additionally, the emphasis on getting all of the 5o5 sailors in one location and the inexpensive memberships have also been instrumental. As you experienced in West River and Annapolis, the enthusiasm surrounding dinghy sailing has increased dramatically and with a number of one-design fleets in a concentrated area such as the Outer Harbour has given the dinghy sailor a great opportunity to try out different classes. This and the enthusiasm of the 5o5 sailors, for their class and dinghy racing/sailing, has created an atmosphere of success for fleet building. I feel that the biggest drawback to getting more people sailing better boats is the current cost of a new boat. The fact that no Canadian builder is available means that we have to find good value in US used boats. Even that can prove to be a barrier as the Canadian dollar is so weak it adds approximately 50% to the cost of the boat. OHCC now has approximately 10 5o5's which is amazing! 3 years ago there were 0. Pete Epstein Andy Zinn Howard and Mike have basically subsidized our fleet [Long Beach] with their own program. They needed "World Level" tuning partners to further develop their own speed. They accomplished this by finding some "post college" recruits (like me) and keeping our "after-guard" out on the water. On Tuesday nights we get together and work on speed and transition sailing. This keeps our fleet communicating about not only what we think is fast or slow, but also what we like and don't like about our fleet. I feel that this has rubbed off on people who want to get into the 505 as they perceive us as a club rather than a group of people sailing similar boats. We have so far been able to keep the majority of our "high performance" boats in our fleet and we try to sell boats to one another at reduced cost with the caveat that the boat must stay in our fleet. As fleet members purchase new boats this tends to "trickle down" to other fleet members first and works to keep all of our boats rigged relatively similar. Again I think that this "feed on yourself" method has worked for our small fleet and may work for others as well. -Andy Zinn Paul von Grey Just a few thought on building a fleet. I think our Pacific NW fleet has been built due to persistence. People told us the fleet was dead and don't even try to get them to a regatta. We called and called and begged and pleaded with folks to just show good or bad we just wanted to have a good time. The fleet has really keyed on the have a good time part. A social as well as racing centered event was very important. It seems our fleet is broke. Every boat owner is struggling to come up with the gas money to make it to an event. So for now, we are passing around our used gear and letting everyone know, if you need something ask. Yes we do have primarily an old boat fleet, but we are still out having a good time. Things that would help? Having our boats in one place would be great. The NW is a great place to sail if you go to the right areas. Seattle has some great places to sail but little wind where the YC's are located. Again lots of people but little wind. Move to the south and the Gorge has AWESOME wind but not the population and it also scares many due to such wind. Go north and Whidbey Island generally has 7-8kts higher than Seattle on any given day, yet there are few established sailing programs in the area. Whidbey's Oak Harbor YC just dissolved its sail fleet, they decided it was more profitable and marketable if the were just powerboat folks. BLAH. The sailors in town have organised with the help of the Navy and have a meeting place once a month and thats about it. No place to leave boats,yet. WA is desperately in need of marinas, if one is near, it is usually for the 20-60ft boats. Our other 2 factors are the current/tide and the water temp. We have an average tide swing of 8-16ft with our normal in the marina current running at 1-3kts (makes for interesting racing). Then the water temp doesn't get above 55 in the summer. People look at us when the wind blows and they think we need a head evaluation for being in a boat that could tip. To each his own. We have called, emailed and sat next to every boat we have seen to find out who owns it and why are they not sailing with us. Much credit goes out to Sue Athmann, who we have dubbed "mother of the 5o5". She has never had a real crew, always taking out new people and introducing them to the boat. Each regatta she is able to attend is something she looks forward to and plans to be there with or without crew. I don't know how many times she has gone to a regatta, set up the boat, and then was introduced to her crew for the day. We often have know idea what they even look like until they say "I think I am sailing with you today, I'm ...nice to meet you." The other credit goes to Paul Shipley. He has been a great advocate for the 5o5's at the U of Wa. He has been lucky enough to be in a position where he could teach a class on the boat and to be able to sail a lot during the week. Many have been introduced to 5o5 sailing due to Paul. Also he is our regional champ, sailing 4019!! Practice and smart sailing has brought Paul to the top of the fleet. He is moving to Arizona soon and will be sorely missed. I think the benifit of having a new boat in our fleet is you have less to fix at the end of the day, and [you have] rigging ideas for the older boats. I have been buying and selling old boats that have been neglected just to find them a home, on some I make a few bucks others I break even on. I am like you and currently own 3 (my wife calls this a sickness) 2 need rigging and 1 to sail. We have found quite a few that folks have been willing to donate their boats to the sea scout program. They are trying to get a few of their kids interested. At the same time we have access to the boat for anyone else interested. In my opinion they are horribly underused. Paul VonGrey |
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