Reflections from the President - Tale of Two Meals

Tom Hubbell w/Alicia Martorella (Outstanding Community Sailing Director Award)

by Tom Hubbell

Scene 1:  We had a record 340 people in New Orleans two weeks ago for the National Sailing Programs Symposium (NSPS) which is our premier training and community sailing event. A remarkable majority of the group grew up after the ‘60s; they are younger people engaged in teaching and sharing the sport.  Their enthusiasm spread throughout the symposium sessions and into the social functions some of which made New Orleans proud to host us along with our NSPS mascot, Marvin the Gator.

A Conversation with Chicago Yacht Club's Lynn Lynch

Lynn Lynch (Chicago, Ill.) was honored with Virginia Long Sail Training Service & Support Award earlier this month at the Sailing Leadership Forum Awards Dinner, sponsored by Old Pulteney and hosted by the San Diego Sports Hall of Fame.

Lynn has spent many years contributing to the art and science of sailing instruction as well as unparalleled support of her local program. She has been exceptional as the On-the-Water Director for Chicago Yacht Club, especially in her leadership of the junior sailing program’s activities and training, management of personnel, and operations of the race committee’s responsibilities for both one-design and offshore events.

Lynn has conducted and been the trainer in several local powerboat courses with outstanding success. She has also been a great contributor at the National Faculty meetings building curriculum, protocols and standards for Keelboat, Small Boat and Powerboat. She recently has become a Keelboat Program Instructor Trainer.

Read what Lynn had to say about her experiences and the advice she has for others in similar roles at their club:

Daily Lift - Ideas for Teaching the Rules

Ideas for Teaching the Rules by Dave Perry

On the Water
• Practice starts with “live coaching” (vary the favored end)
• Starting line too short for all boats to fit at same time
• Extremely short beat (upwind start) or run (downwind start) – or start upwind, then reverse fleet and have them race to a nearby leeward mark
• Videotape races or sessions and do debrief on shore
• Pull boats aside right after incident and debrief while still fresh (have small dry-erase board in coach boat)
• Race around tiny track, keeping boats compressed
• Have sailors raise hands as they enter the zone; give feedback
• Create drills for ducking / slam dunking / lee-bowing
• Simulate rules situations right off the dock (with good sailors in boats and class on dock watching with an instructor doing “play by play”)

Daily Lift - Community Sailing

Questions to consider when identifying the role of "community" in sailing?
1. What makes a facility a “community” sailing center?
2. Why aren't there more community sailing centers?
3. What are the 5+ key ingredients for a successful community sailing program?
4. Why aren't there more parks and recreation professionals advocating more community sailing centers in public parks?
5. How can community sailing attract and retain talented management professionals?
6. Community Sailing Center - how come few, if any, community sailing centers have franchised to support other locations?
7. What can the Community Sailing Council or US Sailing do or what resources can they provide to support community sailing centers?
8. What are most well established “Community Sailing Centers” in the country?
9. What are the best web sites to borrow from?

Daily Lift - Strength and Conditioning

Looking to start a strength and conditioning program? Include these fundamental components of physical training:

-Aerobic conditioning and speed endurance
-Muscular strength and endurance
-Flexibility
-Body composition

by Rob Slade

Daily Lift - US Sailing Race Administration

Did you know that a total of 73 US Sailing Race Administration seminars and workshops were held throughout the country in 2011? Find out more about how you can participate today! http://raceadmin.ussailing.org/

Daily Lift - Safety at Sea Seminars

Did you know that more than 1,000 sailors were certified through US Sailing’s Safety at Sea Seminar program in 2011? Go to the offshore page on the US Sailing website to learn more! http://offshore.ussailing.org/SAS/Seminars.htm

Daily Lift - US Sailing Courses

Looking to take a US Sailing course? Visit: http://training.ussailing.org/

Sailing Fitness with Bow Down Training

Developing Functional Hiking Skills
By Chris Herrera


After reading that title you might be saying… what is functional hiking? In terms of fitness, functional hiking is the ability to hike for power and strength, while effectively working the rails and shifting.

When most athletes train their hiking skills they work on leg extensions, lunges, squats, and some plyometric exercises. All of these are good and will help develop leg strength and power translating into stronger legs. But the question still remains, will that help your hiking while sailing?

A Fresh Perspective on Evaluating Your Programs

by Stu Gilfillen, Sailing Program Administrator at US Sailing

When I was a program director, one of the major questions that I always had was, “Where does my program compare to other programs nationwide?” While the question sounds like it was geared towards gauging what my achievements were, in reality it was more about seeing if I was on the right track in comparison to other programs that I viewed as the national standard for excellence.

Sailing Fitness with Bow Down Training

Testing your fitness to guide your program design
By Chris Herrera

Racers everywhere are looking for that competitive edge. During the offseason, sailors are turning to physical fitness training that specifically targets their needs, maximizes their abilities and improves their performances. As the official physical trainer of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, Bow Down Training has been developing innovative training techniques that suit sailors needs. Chris Herrera, President and Head Trainer of Bow Down Training has provided US Sailing with a guide on planning your program design.

Developing Youth Sailors: What parents can do to build a strong foundation

By Jessica M. Mohler, Psy.D., CC-AASP
Clinical and Sport Psychologist
United States Naval Academy

Jessica Mohler is a clinical and sports psychologist, and a sailing mom too. In this article, Mohler provides an interesting outlook on parenting youth athletes from a sailing perspective and makes recommendations that will help you build a strong foundation for your youth sailor.

I am a sailor. I started at sailing camp at the age of 10. I competed in Lasers during high school and as a varsity sailor in college. I went on to teach and coach the sport to children and adults. My current sailing endeavors include crewing on a J-22. Along the way I became a clinical and sport psychologist. I have now taken on my most challenging role, being a parent of a child who is interested in sport, including sailing.