An area of for significant improvement in the Day sailer Association is in the area of participation from the non racers/cruisers. I have never seen non racers except perhaps as members of the host club present while a NACR has been held.
This has not always been the case. From my reading of Day Sailer Quarterlies, back in the old days some non racers would come out to the NACR, and from what I can tell it was mostly because they had good friends in the class association.
I would like to bring some of that back, but I am not certain what interest there is in the people out there. So, let me ask:
If there were activities for the non-racer concurrent with the North American Championship Regatta, would you come?
What kinds of activities would interest you?
This year in Houston, I want to have a "Day Sailer National Rendezvous" concurrent with the NACR.
The possible activities I see are:
-Meeting other Day Sailer owners from across the country, and making new friends.
-Swapping rigging ideas, learning more about the boat.
-Sailing around the local area.
Here, there is Clear Lake, where Lakewood Yacht Club is located, and
Galveston Bay where we are having the races.
In Galveston Bay, you can sail south along the coast toward Eagle point
and go to Redfish Island, a recently rebuilt breakwater that is along the
Houston ship channel. It is a popular destination for boaters in the
Houston area, and I have sailed there a few times. It is fairly simple to
sail up to the shore, jump off the boat and tie off to some of the
boulders there.
- Watch the races as a spectator from your boat.
Those are my ideas at this time. If there is serious interest people who would come to this, I will work on making it happen. Please let me know what you think and your ideas.
Thanks,