FOR THE YOUTH SAILOR
The Snipe is an excellent way for youth sailors (Opti, Sabot, 420, FJ) to supplement their racing activities and cross train. As a two team member boat you get involved in sailing as a team, you have another person to learn from, or with, you get to compete against another group of sailors and even get a chance to learn directly from adults and beat them! Getting involved in the Snipe early in your sailing experience also prepares you for college sailing in two person boats. It also introduces you to a Class and style of boat that you will want to sail in as a late teen or adult with your girl friend, wife, children, and grandchildren.
For parents of youth sailors the Snipe offers you the opportunity to participate directly in a competitive recreational sport with, or against, your children. Sailing Snipes is something you can do with your children for a long time. It is truely a unique atmosphere for raising and developing a family in a healthy and constructive atmosphere.
Nick Voss, past member of the USA Opti World team, sailing his Snipe at the 2005 Keane US Snipe Nationals. Nick qualified for the Championship Fleet and finished 17th.
TO READ WHY NICK SAILS A SNIPE AND HOW HIS TRANSITION FROM OPTI TO SNIPE HAS ENHANCED HIS SAILING TRAINING PROGRAM AND PERFORMANCE CLICK ON THE SNIPE
Nick Voss at 2005 Nationals shows Snipes can Fly!
Peter Commette with daughter Sheehan, who learned to sail in Optis and Snipes
The Snipe is an ideal one- design dingy for youth and their families. Its design, a rig that is easy to depower and its tolerance for variations in team weight, allows youth to participate very early in life crewing with their parents and other adults. Sailing in a moderate breeze with a crew of 60-80 lbs is not that difficult. This provides the youth with a very early introduction to sailing on a multiple team boat, enhances their boat time and provides an atmosphere where the youth can learn directly, on-the-water from other more experienced sailors. As a youth gets older, into the very early teens, you will see many taking the helm and having their parent, older brother or another adult crew for them. With a more experienced sailor up front to coach, a youth skipper can move up on the learning curve very fast and have an enjoyable experience participating in a competitive recreational activity with their parent. This is a very unique experience which really enhances the youth's growth as a sailor and a person. At many Snipe fleet races at the club and at regattas you will see youth skippers competing in races with adults and doing it well. Also many Snipe Regattas have a Youth regatta on Saturday morning before the main regatta.
As a youth skipper grows in size and experience they will evolve to competing with their peers in teams. In many cases this evolves into a lifetime lifestyle carrying thru college, sailing with significant others, your wife, children and grandchildren. It is not unusual to meet Snipe sailors who have been sailing Snipes with their 'family' for 50 years +
The Snipe Class in the USA conducts a Youth National Championship which is open to all youth who will not be 20 or older in the year of the competition. This allows you to participate in the youth activities one year longer than in most classes. USA also has a National Championship for the less experienced youth who are just entering sailing and the Snipe where they can skipper with an adult. Snipe USA sends 2 youth teams to the Snipe Class Youth World Championship which is held every other year (odd numbered years). In addition, a youth team from the USA can qualify to represent the North American territory at the Snipe Western Hemisphere & Orient Championship (every other even numbered year). Read more about the Snipe Junior World Championships.
THE SNIPE CLASS, 'SERIOUS SAILING, SERIOUS FUN'
TOGETHER AS A FAMILY FOR A LIFETIME
Read below how the Snipe Class has affected the Commette Family
2/19/2005
The Snipe 'Village'
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A VILLAGE, TRY THE SNIPE CLASS
When Hillary Clinton was First Lady, she wrote a book whose title was borrowed from an old African saying. The title? “It Takes a Village,” meaning that children are best raised when the entire community is involved. My wife Connie, my former wife Jay, her husband Stuart, Connie’s former husband Steve Suddath, his wife Danielle, and I have been fortunate to have the Snipe Class as our “village” for raising Morgan, Kelly and Sheehan. The girls now are 17, 16 and 15. Literally, the girls have been attending Snipe regattas since they were born. My old friend Alex Smigelski got me back into sailing after a seven year hiatus in 1987, the year Morgan was born. Since the girls never took to Optimist sailing, they really have grown up as exclusively part of our Snipe community, as did Connie and Steve from the age of 15.
What have they learned? They expect to be able to go anywhere in the Snipe world, and there will be trustworthy and good people to welcome them with open arms and take them in. They know they are expected to do the same, and they look forward to it! They love it when our Snipe friends come visit, and stay, and stay, and stay...
Their friends are their peers, as well as those much younger and very much older. They learn to feel comfortable with adults, look them in the eye, and have real conversations.
They expect that the keen competition on the water will stay on the water. Back at shore, hard feelings are repaired by an apology and/or a few drinks. Sometimes, the fleet has to go to work on someone to put things right in a positive way between competitors.
Champions are expected to strive to stay champions by improving, rather than by secreting their knowledge and holding the competition back. Winners share their knowledge.
They learn that winners help and encourage newcomers. Your value is not derived from the position in which you finish.
The girls have learned the value of education, because they have been exposed to so many of the Snipe sailors who have done quite amazing things with their education. At the same time, some of them are quite exceptional sailors.
This year’s Halloween Regatta probably best sums it up for me. Here’s how the regatta “happened” for two of our girls.
Because Morgan and Sheehan have only been racing for a little over two years, and because they missed quite a bit of “tiller time” in the Optimist, Barb Evans knew that Morgan was really working hard on learning more about the good information crews can provide skippers. Years of skippering an Opti might have given her that knowledge, but it’s a little late for that option. Barb knew that I was not planning on sailing in the Halloween Regatta and my desire to have her crew for Morgan, so she could teach her the type of input I like a skipper to receive. Barb also knew that Morgan and Sheehan really would love to sail Halloween, if they had the chance. Thus, the following chain of events took place:
When Hillary Clinton was First Lady, she wrote a book whose title was borrowed from an old African saying. The title? “It Takes a Village,” meaning that children are best raised when the entire community is involved. My wife Connie, my former wife Jay, her husband Stuart, Connie’s former husband Steve Suddath, his wife Danielle, and I have been fortunate to have the Snipe Class as our “village” for raising Morgan, Kelly and Sheehan. The girls now are 17, 16 and 15. Literally, the girls have been attending Snipe regattas since they were born. My old friend Alex Smigelski got me back into sailing after a seven year hiatus in 1987, the year Morgan was born. Since the girls never took to Optimist sailing, they really have grown up as exclusively part of our Snipe community, as did Connie and Steve from the age of 15.
What have they learned? They expect to be able to go anywhere in the Snipe world, and there will be trustworthy and good people to welcome them with open arms and take them in. They know they are expected to do the same, and they look forward to it! They love it when our Snipe friends come visit, and stay, and stay, and stay...
Their friends are their peers, as well as those much younger and very much older. They learn to feel comfortable with adults, look them in the eye, and have real conversations.
They expect that the keen competition on the water will stay on the water. Back at shore, hard feelings are repaired by an apology and/or a few drinks. Sometimes, the fleet has to go to work on someone to put things right in a positive way between competitors.
Champions are expected to strive to stay champions by improving, rather than by secreting their knowledge and holding the competition back. Winners share their knowledge.
They learn that winners help and encourage newcomers. Your value is not derived from the position in which you finish.
The girls have learned the value of education, because they have been exposed to so many of the Snipe sailors who have done quite amazing things with their education. At the same time, some of them are quite exceptional sailors.
This year’s Halloween Regatta probably best sums it up for me. Here’s how the regatta “happened” for two of our girls.
Because Morgan and Sheehan have only been racing for a little over two years, and because they missed quite a bit of “tiller time” in the Optimist, Barb Evans knew that Morgan was really working hard on learning more about the good information crews can provide skippers. Years of skippering an Opti might have given her that knowledge, but it’s a little late for that option. Barb knew that I was not planning on sailing in the Halloween Regatta and my desire to have her crew for Morgan, so she could teach her the type of input I like a skipper to receive. Barb also knew that Morgan and Sheehan really would love to sail Halloween, if they had the chance. Thus, the following chain of events took place:
1. Barb offered to crew for Morg if Sheehan would take her place crewing for Michael Lenkeit. Mike agreed to the move. Barb then took our double trailer and two boats from the Jacksonville North Americans to her home in Charleston.
2. The next week, Barb drove the boats to Atlanta.
3. Jay brought Sheehan from Naples to Ft. Meyers Airport, and Sheehan flew from there into Atlanta. Morgan flew into Atlanta from Ft. Lauderdale. Their planes were late Friday evening, but Don Hackbarth waited for them, picked them up and brought them to AYC.
4. Michael Lenkeit and Maryann Hackbarth had arranged for the girls to stay in a cabin with Barb. T
5. The next morning, a whole slew of people helped the girls unpack the double trailer. The girls rigged their boat on their own, as per Barb’s instructions.
6. The girls sailed together and won Juniors. Then, Barb crewed for Morgan, and they were 5th out of over 40 boats after the first day, with Michael and Sheehan in 11th.
7. Barb and the entire adult fleet chaperoned the girls on Saturday evening. They had a great time. Morgan and Sheehan had been working on their costumes all week.
8. The elements did not cooperate the next day. No racing. Morg and Barb were 5th overall! Barb dropped the girls off at the airport, and they flew home. Two words come to mind about my girls’ weekend, “supervised independence.” Just what teenagers need.
9. But wait, what about the boats? Alan Capelin sailed the other boat that was on our double trailer. After, Alan brought the boats home to Tampa and later delivered them to SPYC. We picked them up a few weeks later when Sheehan and I came over for the Florida State Championships. Morg had other events scheduled, so Krysia Pohl and Kathleen Tock flew in and borrowed her boat for the regatta.
Hillary had it wrong. It takes a Snipe fleet.
To get a great feel for the spirit behind the Snipe Class motto 'Serious Sailing, Serious Fun' click on the Snipe logo here 
Read about Snipe sailors in the Olympics. CLICK HERE
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