Harness creativity of American sailors

Hall of Fameer Dawn Riley is never short of ideas, or the energy to execute them. Her latest mission is the Oakcliff Celebration and Collaboration Tour which brings sailors, organizers and funders of all ages and skills within a region together for a high-energy day to improve as many parts of the sport as possible. Here’s an update from Riley:

Some highlights from the Tour:
We have reconfirmed that all successful sailing has some social side to it. Also, the key to finding good solutions is clearly defining the problem. Note, this is better done before the social begins. Creativity and breaking the rules often reveals the best path forward, and when you involve new people from new backgrounds you get to great ideas more quickly.

Detroit, being my hometown and the first stop, was very well attended with people driving from over 100 miles away. The focus here ended up being more on the organizers side with lots of discussion on creative collaboration.

Lake St. Clair is unique as there are clubs sprinkled all around the shoreline and for decades, they have collaborated with the Detroit Regional Yacht-racing Association (DRYA) Saturday racing where everyone meets in the middle. It is a big (3-hour motor) commitment for the boats from the North end of the Lake so they are looking at a ‘travel regatta’ to head North. The tradition there is that each weekend, a different club runs the racing – and the party. There is competition all around.

In Chicago, the Jackson Park Yacht Club which does a tremendous amount of outreach, showed up strong. Our host, John Baxter of North Sails, was so impressed with these young sailors that he gifted them a paddleboard for the inevitable no-wind days. So evidently, North is good for all conditions!

The Norfolk Stop, due in large part to the boots on the ground team of Greg Cutter, Max Plarr, and Merritt Keffer, was a true cross section of their sailing community. Racers, cruisers, athletes, coaches, and club leaders all showed up. The youngest was a 9-year-old, and the oldest declined to disclose his age.

The juniors came in early from practice and we covered career paths, fitness, nutrition, networking and a bit on fundraising and sponsorship and then moved into doing individual mind-maps. We found one 12-year-old who wants to race the ILCA for LA 2028 so we’re on it!

Early that day, I spoke at Old Dominion University’s Women’s Team Racing Regatta. We pointed out that Team and Match Racing are great training for life and business. You get knocked down and you have five minutes before you start another race.

I also was quite surprised that many of the teams didn’t know each other and were all huddled with their coaches, so I started introducing them to each other. The network these sailors build is more important in the long run than any race or regatta that they may win. I also lobbied for group debriefs and joked that beer helps the debriefs. Wisconsin got the concept.

What’s next?

The 2024-25 Oakcliff Collaboration Tour will wrap up at the Annapolis Spring Boat Show April 26-27. Tour attendees will also gain free entrance to the Show. This is an opportunity for those who didn’t or can’t make it to their home region Tour Stop to catch up. There are two more remining stops before Annapolis.

New Orleans, March 22 will be the very first event at the brand-new Community Sailing Center and Stephen Murray and Bob Kottler are hosting a fundraising party that night. Marblehead has been pushed back to April 13 at Boston Yacht Club.

Each stop has three sessions designed for different, but overlapping audiences: Athletes, Organizers and Funders (providing or seeking). Along the way, Oakcliff Sailing is collecting best practices and more importantly creative solutions. At the stops we share the information so sailors, staff and volunteers can add their input and leave ready to jump into the summer season, inspired and refreshed.

To Register:
• New Orleans – Saturday March 25, 12:30 -5:30, celebration follows immediately.
Details: https://secure.oakcliffsailing.org/np/clients/oakcliffsailing/event.jsp?event=28954

• Annapolis will be split into: Athletes and Funding Saturday 4-6pm and Organizers and Funding Sunday 9-11am. More sessions may be added if interest exceeds capacity, but will not overlap with the Spinsheet Crew Party to be held Sunday 4-6pm.
Details: https://secure.oakcliffsailing.org/np/clients/oakcliffsailing/event.jsp?event=30949