A couple of years ago some folks at Shoreline YC in Long Beach, Ca asked me to develop a program that would help beginner to intermediate sailors become familiar with all the positions on the boat. They wanted it to be like the "on the water" seminar I conduct on an individual boat. I agreed but had no idea of the response we would get or what I was getting myself into. They also wanted to open it up to some local clubs, which they did. I knew I was in for trouble when they told me they had 6 boats signed up with about 45 people - and more coming!! I had to stop them at 6, which was 4 more than I bargained for. The first thing I had to do was get all the skippers on board with the program. In others words, they had to follow my sai trim instructions whether they agred with them or not. Otherwise, it would have turned into a Chinese fire drill. They all agreed. I was to control the situation from a dingy with a bull horn and 2 way radio. The end result was it worked but not to the level I wanted. Everyone got something out of it but I wanted more for them. I would not recommend anyone try this program with 6 boats (I would not), but it could be done with maybe 2 to 3 boats. What I'm thinking about is outlinning the program here - if there is enough interest. There are a number of applications where a person could apply this program to fit into their YC program or even individual applications - let your imagination be your guide!! One could even ad stuff to if if they wanted. With 45 people I could not.
