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Dave raises a very good point; we may be suffering a bit from our own success. But why are we successful? From my pov, it is because of the "Potter Attitude," which is hard to define. We are a loose-knit group of individuals who enjoy being on the water. Sailing a small sailboat is an individual endeavor where each can sail to his own drummer. To get us all headed the same way the same day is no small accomplishment that takes a lot of good will and humor. Further, each skipper is truly the captain of his boat. I sail my boat the way I want and make the decisions. And I respect that right in others.
So what should we do? Here are my thoughts, open to discussion, of course. As we get larger, we need to interact more. We don't need more structure, we need more communication before we launch. We need to make sure the captain who is still learning is identified and offered help. On long or difficult sails, we need to adopt more of a pack mentality. "Okay, folks, keep an eyeball out for the Commodore because he's slower than us." Or, "The winds are kicking up. Reef early, wear a PFD and lifeline, and keep together in case someone gets in trouble."
We need to be as inclusive as possible, but at the same time, allow for the skipper who is out there on his own sail plan. If we schedule a launch at ten a.m. and a skipper pulls into the parking lot at ten, what should we do? Keep it simple and ask him what his plans are. We'll watch for him, and would appreciate a radio call as appropriate.
If someone capsizes or gets in trouble, yell like hell! That is why we have radios, flares, whistles, horns, and obscene vocabularies. As to wearing a PFD. On my boat, we wear PFDs. What you do on your boat is your business.
Finally, being aware of the problem is half of the solution. The trick is staying aware.
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