Catalina Mainsheet Magazine is a quarterly publication averaging 100 pages in length. It features 64 pages of Features and Class News as well as a 32 page Technical Notes Supplement.

Volume 26, Number 1, February 2008

Editor’s Barque
by Jim Holder, Editor

Ripples
When you toss a stone in the water, ripples spread in all directions in a perfect circle. They can go on infinitely if nothing interrupts their momentum. What we do as sailors also has a ripple effect in our sailing circle. A few days ago I received a call from a long-time friend and fellow sailor. We had both moved years ago to different parts of the country and consequently lost track of each other. In the process of researching ideas for starting a junior program at his local yacht club, he came across my name listed as the junior coordinator for my club.

It was good to catch up and reminisce, and we learned we had each served as commodore for our club. As our conversation continued, I had several suggestions to help him along in his quest for a junior program. He was grateful for the ideas and anxious to put them into action. Knowing him from the past, I’m sure his club will soon have a first class junior program, which as we all know is the long-term life blood of any yacht club.

About 15 years ago I attended a US Sailing Championship Regatta. The event was a walk in the park for one skipper, who was a recognized world-class sailor (no names will be mentioned) and who clearly out sailed everyone. In the last race, not having sailed his throw out, he only needed to disrupt the finish of his closest competitor to win the regatta. This accomplished, the losing skipper, being visibly upset, received some advice in confidence of which few people were aware, but which is a principle we should all live and sail by. He was told, in effect, this was only one regatta and he would be sailing with these same people for the rest of his life. This young man went on to become one of the top skippers in the nation, winning countless national championships in several different classes.

As we continue our sailing careers, we create lots of ripples through our actions on the water and the helpful suggestions we pass on to fellow competitors. You never know how far your ripples will go or where they will end up. The cool thing is, they do exist. –Jim Holder

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