Little League Sailing


There have been a few posts out there in the cyber sailing world about coaching from the sidelines as it were... When kids race solo (or single handed), they're sometimes followed around the course (at various distances...) by a parent. Such support boats shall now be referred to as Mommy Boats. The thoughtful parents follow at a distance. There's no yelling or obnoxious coaching. They're there in case of an emergency (meaning the boat is swamped and the kid has trouble righting the boat type of thing... not a "YOU NEED MORE VANG" emergency). Not all Mommy Boats are as courteous and thoughtful of others... Imagine all of the little league parents being able to following their son or daughter around the field giving direction and "encouragement". Sometimes it's bad enough when they're relegated to the sidelines.

My approach is to be in the same boat... racing together as a team. I'm sure this causes some problems too. There are just some people that should not race together... or hang wall paper together... or ... you get the idea. (For the record, J2 and I make a great wall paper hanging team but I know that's one task that has great potential to strain a relationship. Sailing on the other hand... Let's just say we didn't get off to a good start and save it for another post.)

Nope, I'm looking forward to racing and learning with Trev. I hope we have fun and learn about sailing and racing our Lido and see signs of improvement... That's it.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I have just returned from serving as a judge at the Snipe Nationals where thgere were a bunch of parent - child teams. That's one of the reasons that I love the class

Hugh Elliot
Tillerman said…
Thanks for the mention of the Mommy Boat post. I don't think I'd do well sailing in a tw-man boat with my son. Nor do I want to follow him around in a Mommy Boat. (He is almost 30). The solution that works best for us to sail Lasers in regattas together. we did that when he was a teenager and have started doing it again this year.
smittynewpt said…
Major League Luxury Box...
When you put together a Campaign for a twelve year-old like for the Sabot Nationals held in Newport Beach, and the SI's say No parent on the water... or else the kid gets DSQ'd, thats pretty tough, especially when the coachs are on the water talking to each other about the nights party.... Hey I'm all for that but when it's out -of-pocket, I want a better seat than at the dock, outside the race courst just like the America's Cup, Gov. Cup, Congress. Cup are for spectating and to prompt the sport. The Sabot Nationals are so "OLDE" school, they even mention that it's been done this way for years.... WAKE UP.

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