Saving Sailing - The Story of Choices, Families, Time Commitments, and How We Can Create a Better Future [Paperback]

Nicholas D. Hayes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2009

Saving Sailing is an appealing blueprint for the revival of family sailing -- and other quality uses of free time for rewarding lifelong pastimes.

Participation in sailing is declining in America, down more than 40% since 1997 and 70% since 1979. In this provocative book, researcher and avid sailor Nicholas Hayes explains why. The book shows how pressures on free time have increased, and how, in response, many Americans have turned to extremes of spectator or highly structured activities . . . and away from lifelong, family-based, multi-generational recreation.

Saving Sailing builds a case for choosing how to spend free time better, using it for quality experiences with families and friends through rewarding pastimes like sailing.

The main challenge, the author suggests, is to develop an active system of mentoring, especially between generations.

The lessons are broader than sailing, with useful ideas for all parents, for anyone seeking to strengthen the social fabric of American communities, and for those involved in programming for youth and adult activities.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Why isn't sailing the most irresistible pastime in the world?

Participation in sailing in the United States has declined by about 40% in the last decade. Trying to make sense of that resulted in this book, a fast-moving intellectual voyage that takes readers to some unexpected stops along the way but ends in a place that is familiar and intuitively right.

Nick Hayes guides us to a conclusion that floats on a buoyant platform of instantly recognizable common sense and leaves us wanting to go sailing with friends . . . right now. --Bill Schanen, Editor & Publisher, Sailing Magazine

About the Author

Nick Hayes is a market researcher and partner at the consulting firm FiveTwelve Group, and is active in the Milwaukee sailing scene. He has studied sailing, sailors, and sailing clubs for years, and interviewed over 1,200 sailors worldwide since 2003 for this book.

He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Crickhollow Books; First American Edition edition (October 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933987073
• ISBN-13: 978-1933987071
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reading this will save much more than just sailing October 17, 2009

By John Arndt

Format:Paperback

I'm always impressed when a new author puts 'pen to paper'(fingers to keyboard) and puts their own ideas forth in such an engaging and thoughtful read. As a sailor, I've 'met' all the people and heard all the stories Nick discusses but could never have connected all the insights and lessons into such a cohesive argument for change in every individual's and family's approach to sailing and life. Nick connects us to the value of a 'life pastime' with solid data yet told with the open heart of a passionate sailor and story teller. Dedicated sailors will enjoy the read and recognize more about the values sailing offers. However, the lessons taught can be understood and utilized by every family regardless of their personal pastime - fishing, hunting and sailing or 'other'. Certainly an enjoyable and enlightening read.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling April 21, 2010

By Richard Stephens

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My wife, a non-sailor, read this book, and now she has a much better understanding of my passion for sailing. She is keen to sail with me and the kids this summer. Very well written, and a compelling argument. I'm going to read it again, then pass it round to anyone at my club.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended reading for anyone concerned about the future of sailing October 29, 2009

By Derek Stow

Format:Paperback

Nick Hayes is in love with sailing. He is one of those people who believes that sailing takes us as close to God as we think we might ever be.

But he is troubled. The numbers tell him that sailing in America is in decline. And he wants to understand why something as rich and rewarding as sailing should be losing popularity. More than that: he wants to work out how to save sailing.

So he has studied sailing and sailors and sailing clubs. He has interviewed more than 1,200 sailors worldwide. He has drawn some fascinating conclusions as to why sailing is decline and what we need to do about it, and he has written all about it in his new book, Saving Sailing.

Actually, in the process of pondering what is happening in sailing, Nick has developed some theories about how people choose to use their free time generally, and how to support any challenging but rewarding inter-generational life-long pursuit. His conclusions are as applicable to making music or hunting or knitting as they are to sailing.

Saving Sailing is a book which challenges you to examine many of your own assumptions about our sport. Time and time again as I read it, I found myself thinking, "Hmmm. That's a good point. How does that relate to my experience at that club or that sailing program? Do I agree with his argument or not?" My mind is still buzzing as I mull over the ideas in this book. I suspect I may revisit some of the issues in future blog posts.

A couple of examples...

Nick argues that one of the reasons that an activity like sailing, a "life pastime" as he calls it, is deep and rich and socially meaningful is that it requires more skill and more time commitment than some "time filler" such as watching TV or surfing the web.... Paradoxically fewer people are embracing a life pastime because other options are easier; but those of us who are drawn to a life pastime, like sailing, do so even though it is hard - or perhaps partly because it is hard. Nick concludes that, "If sailors hope that sailing will survive and grow, they won't try and convince others that it is easy. They will rightly call sailing what it is: difficult, time-consuming, evolving, sometimes risky and always worth it."

As someone who was once involved in teaching junior sailing classes, I have always seen the large number of kids involved in junior sailing programs as a healthy sign for the future of our sport. Nick, however, is skeptical about this view. He sees that the vast majority of kids, even those who go on to college sailing, eventually drop sailing from their lives after they graduate college and find more important things to take sailing's place, things like a career and wife and kids. He also sees that, for many families, sailing is just another one of those activities like baseball and ballet and soccer where the parents drop off their kid for some lessons, Mum and Dad are not involved themselves in their kid's sailing, and indeed they often don't even understand what the kid's sport is all about.

After ranging far and wide (and deep) and analyzing the decline in sailing from all angles, Nick develops a set of recommendations for attacking the problem based on a model of mentoring across generations, preferably within the family. He is a strong believer in parents investing in skills so as to be able to transfer skills, in parents doing things with their children not just for them, in parents making difficult time choices in order to share time with their kids in their chosen life pastime.

His vision is compelling. I have seen at least one sailing club where it is working superbly well. I am not totally convinced that Nick's vision is the only way to save sailing, but his book certainly stimulates the reader to think through all these issues.

I would recommend the book to anyone concerned about the future of sailing. If you are a parent who would like your kids to sail you should read the book; it could change your whole approach to sailing as a family. If you are in any kind of leadership position in a sailing club or a community sailing organization, then you should buy some copies of this book for all the officers of your group, read it, and then discuss as a group how you are going to use the ideas presented to improve your program. If, like me, you are just some old dude who loves sailing as much as Nick does, then you should read the book to rouse yourself to work out what you can do to make sure that our sport doesn't decline any more. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Sailing Club Officers October 20, 2009

By Dave Lochner VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Around yacht club bars the lament is common, the number of sailors continues to decline. There is little doubt that Nick Hayes was part of those conversations. In Saving Sailing, Hayes explores the causes of sailing's decline. It is apparent that Hayes is passionate sailor, one who has, in his own terms, adopted sailing as a life pastime.

Central to Hayes's thesis is the notion that apart from the pleasures gained from sailing, the real cause of sailing's decline is the absence of mentors and the social relations developed while acquiring sailing skills. He argues that a passion for sailing develops through the family and mentor relations one has while learning to sail. Sailing competes for scarce time in a fragmented and structured world of family and child recreation, a social structure that obstructs the kind of personal relationships that sailing needs in order to attract and keep new sailors.

Hayes makes some compelling arguments based upon his own survey "research" and observations of turn of the century middle class American culture. Ones with which I mostly agree. However, this book falls short on a couple of points, therefore, four not five stars.

First, while Hayes cites his own research and survey he does not provide adequate documentation on how he obtained his data. If one is going to make a data based argument, one ought to provide sufficient information on how the data was obtained. Hayes fails on this point. An appendix to the book or even a page on his website detailing his survey methodology would go a long way towards bolstering his position. (This comment refers to the first printing. The author has provided a link to his blog that describes his research methods. See his comments in the comment section.... Review edited on 10/21/09)

A second issue are his composite stories. Throughout the book Hayes presents fictional stories based on composites of real people. Perhaps the person who failed to enlist his family's support of his sailing passion might want to remain anonymous, however, successful sailors might enjoy hearing their story told. Sailing club officers should certainly hear these stories. Fictionalized stories, however many elements might be true, serve to undermine his argument more than support it. A stronger approach would have been to highlight how well known and lesser known sailors became lifelong passionate sailors.

These limitations aside, Saving Sailing is a must read for sailing club officers, especially for those clubs facing declining membership. Although my club is growing, this suggestion will be made to the officers.

Dave Lochner
Nauticalreads Read more ›

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Preaches the value of leisure and family, highly recommended December 11, 2009

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

Recreational sailing has been on a down turn in recent years...why? "Saving Sailing: The Story of Choices, Families, Time Commitments, and How we Can Create a Better Future" uses Sailing as a model to discuss the fall of free time in America as a whole, Nicholas D. Hayes encourages readers to value free time as a source of family time and how more involved activities as a family lead to a greater unity. "Saving Sailing" is preaches the value of leisure and family, highly recommended.