At the risk of sounding like Chicken Little, I thought I would post some information concerning the future of sailing. Recently both magazines, Cruising World and Sailing have had articles concerning this topic, so I don’t think I am completely off my gourd. Maybe I am, so what is your take on this? Sailing that is, not the status of my gourd.
The following is excerpted from the book Saving Sailing by Nicholas D. Hayes.
Click to buy.
“Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, Americans have abruptly stopped sailing. Participation is down more than 40 percent since 1997 and 70 percent since 1979. Less than one percent of Americans remain self-described sailors. We are doing less of it and are enlisting fewer newcomers. Current economics are not helping.”
He goes on to say:
“There is a meager bubble (13 percent) of young sailors between 15 and 24 years old, both girls and boys. However, when today’s sailors reach 25 they generally quit. So proportionately, almost nobody between 25 and 44 is sailing.
A crucial fact: key age groups that might sustain the activity—kids under 13, women and early parents—are essentially not sailing at all. It is easy to conclude that unless sailing can soon attract newcomers in all age groups under about 40, from all genders and a wider range of income levels— something that it is not doing well today—the future of the activity is bleak.
When asked if and how they would help to improve sailing:
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85 percent of sailors said they would take a kid sailing
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72 percent said that they would teach an acquaintance or a stranger to sail
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55 percent said they would volunteer to organize and teach a sailing class
- 42 percent said that they would volunteer to run races.”
End of excerpt.
Back to me again.
I did a Google search for the term “Take a Kid Sailing” and was extremely disappointed in the results. In Minnesota there is a “Take of Kid Fishing” weekend, which our Dept. of Natural Resources promotes annually. Perhaps given the dismal numbers of self-described sailors and the encouraging numbers of people who would be willing to get involved, some sort of similar program could be created to attempt a reversal of this trend.
Another program I’ve heard about, is the Aldo Leopold Project. A similar program could be modeled for sailing. Any sailing educators out there?
Here is short synopsis in there own words:
The Leopold Education Project (LEP) is an environmental education program based on the classic writings of the renowned conservationist, Aldo Leopold. The LEP curriculum aligns with the essays in A Sand County Almanac as a springboard for observing the natural world, to instill a love and respect for the land and all that inhabit the land and to protect the earth’s natural resources.
LEP has developed a proven curriculum (Lessons in a Land Ethic) that “fosters a positive relationship between our younger generations and the soil, water, plants and animals” – or what Leopold simply called – the land. His objective was to “teach the students to see the land, understand what he sees and enjoy what he understands”.
The seed for LEP was planted in 1971 when Gary Laib, a conservation and biology teacher at Poynette High School in Wisconsin, integrated Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac with his science classes. In 1980, he developed 100+ starter lessons to coincide with the essays from the ASCA. Seven years later, Laib was contacted by two conservation-conscious men from Woodstock, IL, who felt Leopold’s writings would serve as an excellent tool for developing an improved land ethic.
In 1988, 10,000 copies of A Sand County Almanac were purchased and distributed to various organizations and individuals. The following year, LEP training workshops were conducted in Wisconsin. With support from the Leopold family, the workshop was made available for the 1990 Earth Day celebration.
In August of 2005, LEP celebrated a decade of teaching Lessons in a Land Ethic at the 10th Annual National Workshop in Wisconsin, organized in cooperation with the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Leopold family.
Education for Environmental Values
Developed mainly for use by teachers, the curriculum materials are equally useful for informal educators, naturalists, resource managers, scout and 4-H program leaders, as well as private citizens. One major premise was that Leopold’s writings are both sound science and excellent literature, making them an outstanding tool for meaningful environmental education.
Providing Direct Experiences
Another major principal underlying the LEP is that educators should provide students with direct experiences to the natural and cultural worlds outside the school. One way to accomplish this is to make greater use of the outdoors as a learning laboratory. The LEP recommends place-based situations where students are learning first-hand about the world around them. Modern learning theory supports an experiential approach that allows students to construct meanings from their activities and to develop concepts and skills based on their previous knowledge. In order to promote critical thinking, teachers need to provide students with opportunities to explore the world directly, including urban, rural and suburban environments. LEP encourages flexibility, creativity, and experimentation in using the lessons in a variety of subject matter areas. LEP’s adaptable curriculum allows instructors to integrate the materials with their existing curriculums.
Me again.
I know there are possibilities here to help keep sailing around for a long time for the masses. I’m attending a lecture by Nicholas D. Hayes on Saturday which I’m looking forward to. Hopefully I will have good news to report. Would like to hear your take on any of this as well.
Your post is quite thought provoking and something I hadn’t considered before. Since our family is very new to sailing (as of last June), we never considered that sailing may be on the “outs” as a preferred life activity.
Sailing seemed like the next logical experience for us to have. It brings us closer as family, puts us closer to nature, and provides an excellent physical activity for all of us. Plus, it is good fun. There is something about having the wind propel us at 6 knots, quietly, with the spray of water all around.
Maybe it is the societal trends at the moment compared to all the reasons we sail that highlights why it is waning. Many families are apart, many people insulate themselves from nature, and there are lots of people who don’t want to do the physical things. Plus, most people cannot handle the quiet anymore.
I suspect, like all things, sailing will come back into favor. There will be a backlash against the insular life. As people return to the sailing lifestyle, those of us who’ve been enjoying will will simply welcome them aboard … and ask, “what took you so long?” But for now, it is a pleasure only a relative few of us get to enjoy.
I learned after attending Nicholas D. Hayes’ seminar on Saving Sailing, that one of the take away messages is just what your family is doing with SailboatFamily. In that, one of the missing ingredients, is the fact that today’s youth sailing programs do not involve the whole family. So later when our children graduate from college they do not have the nostalgic memories to keep them involved. I look forward to following your adventure.
SailboatFamily, you’re where our family was 10 years ago. We got into sailing as a family activity; we were sailing as an activity to do together. So our son was never in one of those “youth sailing” programs (there aren’t any in New Mexico anyway).
Now our son is a sophomore in college and one of the officers of the college sailing club, and his enthusiasm for the activity may actually be higher than that of kids whose parents enrolled them in organized competitive programs. I suspect that there’s some backlash of the same sort as with kids whose parents propel them into other sports.
Meanwhile, we have a very active Leopold program in New Mexico — I hadn’t thought of applying the principles to sailing, but it might work.
Sailing is in decline in Australia too.Some of the reasons are lack of time as both parents are working,and the concept of sailing being a sport which rich people only can play, emphasised by media coverage of the Americas Cup farce, and super maxis predominantly in handicap races, ignoring the smaller yachts racing for “fun”. I am a N.A who has been sailing since 1945 and still race my trailable yacht and have enjoyed every minute of it. At our small Carrum Sailing Club on the sandy shores of Port Philip we have tried to arrest the decline by running sailing classes for the community at a nominal fee. We attract a small number of new to sailing families every year. Many teenagers leave the Club, and sailing —and family activities too — when at 18 they get a car and a driving license.
In an attempt to arrest the decline and attract teenagers and their parents I have designed a 14footer plywood ( YES PLYWOOD!) dinghy with an asymmetric spinnaker. The prototype is about to be commenced. Class rules will be such that expensive fittings are banned. The concept is that Mum can help the kids to build her and Dad can keep up the scones and drinks to them when they need it — or visa versa, if the husband is liberated. Once the prototype is built the building jig will be installed in the Club and a cooperative working bee established until the hull can go home to be finished. I hope this works and gets more people to stay in sailing after a bonding period building and sailing a dinghy which can provide fun for all the family at minimal cost with the important side effect of a family being bonded by the process.
Ray, I commend you for your initiative, I think that is a great idea. I believe that kids will be more likely to stay with sailing if they have the type of family memories you and your club are helping the families create. Great work. I took a look at your website too. Here is the link to Small Craft Design and Services. You are on the right track in my opinion. When I was young I built a small pirogue out of plywood from some plans I sent away for. I learned I am no boat builder, but it did float, as long as my trusty bailer was at hand. I had good times on that little boat that I still look back on fondly.
Carol Anne, Sounds like your son will be a lifetime sailor. Glad to hear you have an active Leopold program in New Mexico – I am not super familiar with the program, but from what I’ve heard I though it might be an idea.
Aldo Leopold spent a huge portion of his life in New Mexico, and he’s responsible for a lot of the conservation efforts that have been going on here for roughly a century. He has a wilderness area named after him, and an outdoor education center, and a bunch of other stuff. His ideas on conservation and nature strike me as being amazingly sensible — and very forward-thinking for the time he lived in.