For the past fifteen years, there has been a trend in which initial sailing participation and retention, following basic sail training, is declining across the country! The Pacific Seafaring Foundation (PSF) believes this is happening due to not building broader sailing interests for those completing their basic sail training. It is time to expand our sailing experiences beyond racing dinghies to cruising and competing as teams on larger boats, becoming lifelong sailors!
We have launched a new model that would involve participation in more aspects of the sailing sport. Not only would such a new program keep young sailors interested in continuing to develop their basic sailing skills but expand their skills into racing as a team and cruising. In short, we believe that to develop lifelong sailors, we need to expand the breadth of sailing experiences in training programs, involving more than sailing and racing dinghies.
However, the availability of larger boats has proven a roadblock to operating such a training program. Pacific Seafaring Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 2023 in the Bay Area, plans to loan larger training boats, in the 40/60-foot range, to organizations to complete this training. These programs will be conducted on San Francisco Bay and in classrooms with three, donated, sailboats from April to December time period, while being used for cruising, team building and the comradery of sailing together when not engaged in sailing programs. Operating costs will be covered by donations from individuals and organizations to Pacific Seafaring Foundation, founded in 2023 by Bay Area sailors.
