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More Following Sea

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• Following Sea: A race against time, with little wind for fuel

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If you haven't noticed, I have been on sabbatical for a month or so, which is why my column has not been in the paper recently. This has given me a chance to really look at the overall sailing situation and conditions in the Marco area. I wish I had much more positive things to report, but the facts are the facts. If you are looking for something sugar-coated and pleasing to the senses, flip the page now; if not, keep reading.

To begin with — the major problem at hand — is that there are much fewer people participating in organized sailing events in the local area than just a few years ago. I remember in the not-so-far past, Marco Island had 10 to 15 boats racing regularly with our local series races sponsored by the Sailing Association of Marco Island (SAMI), as well as regattas sponsored by neighboring sailing and yacht clubs. As of right now, I know of only two Marco Island boats participating on a regular basis.

I also know that the number of boats participating in local organized cruising is also down.

On top of that, participation in the Marco Island City Kids Youth Sailing (MICKYS), of which I am the instructor, was so low that I only had two classes all summer. In previous years, most of the classes were full and many students had to wait for a class that was not at capacity. This year, all but two of the classes were canceled because not enough students signed up.

So why is participation down?

I don't have all of the answers, but I can share a few things I have noticed and a few ideas.

As far as the big boats go, we need more people and more boats to actually sail. Be it cruising or racing, the boats and people need to get out there and mix it up.

One thing that I think we are having to deal with over time is how the island is changing.

Let's face it, it is getting more and more expensive to live and campaign a sailing vessel in this area. Real estate prices went through the roof a while ago (things appear to be leveling out now) and the cost of living on the island has gone up. If you cannot afford to be here, you cannot campaign a boat.

Another factor that I think is affecting the sailing community is that many of the founders and active members of the sailing organizations are more elderly now and not enough young people are stepping up to fill their shoes. As of right now, I am the youngest owner/ captain of a local boat that I know of who participates regularly in local events — and I am no spring chicken. We need to get young blood involved and build up the sailing community on Marco again.

As far as racing goes, I think another factor that is affecting local participation is the development of the modern sport boat sailing vessels. At least locally, it seems that many racers are moving to boats built totally for speed. For example, many of the racers from Naples who previously sailed on J-24s have replaced them with the more modern Melges 24s. Now I am not knocking the Melges — as a matter of fact I am throwing around the crazy idea of possibly getting one, but what this shift has done is depleted the conventional spinnaker class of racing. The days of the cruiser racer like my boat in this area are numbered.

You may feel that a boat's handicap rating would make it an even playing field, but the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet does not appear to be capable of making it where the crew that sailed the best wins. It seems like the faster boats have the advantage, especially when the spread is more than 20 seconds a mile.

Unfortunately, we do not have enough boats to fill each class, resulting in boats that should not be racing together winding up in the same class. It seems like in order to be competitive, you need a go-fast boat — unless we can build up the spinnaker fleet again.

In any case, the local sailing clubs need more participation. I think that if we can get more boats out there, the crew will come. I think the lack of recent participation is some kind of combination of some of the things I just talked about. I hope it rebounds because it sure would be a shame not to have a healthy sailing fleet in a beautiful area like the one that we live in.

Have a great week.

Billy Harris welcomes ideas, comments and information about sailing. If you would like to inquire about sailing on Marco Island, e-mail him at defcon1bh@earthlink.net.