UPDATE: I have continued my quest to bring corporate interest into the Sport of sailing in New Orleans. So far I have 3 more spinnker projects with logos in development. These spinnakers will not be going to J/30s as the class does not allow sailing with a logo. They will be flown by Melges 32 sailors since the class allows advertisement on sails.

Here is a good story to tell. I assisted a local sailor who couldn't afford new sails and could not compete since the other boats in his class purchased a new set of sails each year. So a sponsor paid for a logo on the sail $770 plus the costs of the spinnaker $2300. We'll see if he becomes competative next year. A good story to tell.

David,

Playing devil's advocate for the contrary view, I just found a sponsor. Hypothetically speaking here of course.

He paid the best speed shop in the midwest to have my keel & rudder templated. After recoring the deck and hull, we removed the VC17 and faired the bottom. He will pick up the yard bills so I can now afford to sail the boat dry, so we installed a shiny epoxy bottom, wetsanded it to a mirror finish & teflon polished it over & over.

He bought me a new set of sails, halyards, we Harkenized everything possible. The sponsor is paying all regatta expenses to travel so we can finally take the boat out of the Midwest and race NA's with you guys. Key West too!

My sponsor is also helping me by, shall we say, eliminating any crew / staffing problems, if you get my drift.

I love this hypothetical!

I hope this is constructive and not out of line. I truly enjoy your enthusiasm for the J30 and we are lucky that you continue to like the boat so well, as do I. I wonder if there is way to accommodate progress in this way without opening a can of worms.

Respectfully Yours,
Dell Todd

Nice point.

Your sponsor has overpaid for its investment for advertisement. This makes sense for an Americas Cup program.

I think I have discovered my issue. Your analysis points to material things, while my focus has been all about connections with people.

Hypothetically I will continue your analysis. LOL. Say your sponsor did all of the above and Team Zephyr came up with a 30 year old loaner boat with a deplorable bottom. They sanded and scrubbed for 6-7 hours to get a somewhat smooth surface. Then raced against the sponsored boat. I would bet that we would be very competative with your hypothetical program.

Hurricane Katrina hits, multiple boats go to the salvage companies including many J/30s. Over a 4 year period, the fleet grows to 10 boats (better than Chicago today), but there is no crew to meet the demand as many have moved away.

Team Zephyr partners with a local eating establishment and agrees to fly the brand on a spinnaker. The partner pays $770 for a logo.



The next thing you know, many hear about the sail, most of which would never think about sailing. We do a local promotion, park a sail boat in front of the business. Several inquire about sailing. The local J/30 fleet now as plenty of crew.

Here are a few that sail with us today.



The NY Yankees are the best paid team in baseball. This does not make them the best team. Sailing is not about material things. It is all about people and the chemistry between them.

Back at ya!

Cheers,
dave@j30.us

[This message has been edited by David Erwin (edited 10-30-2008).]

Umm - nice response Dave (-: I do not quite have it maybe you can post more of your argument?

And what is your winter sailing schedule - need any crew?

[This message has been edited by dbows (edited 10-30-2008).]

[This message has been edited by dbows (edited 10-30-2008).]

David - didn't you mean to ask: Care to share any crew for the winter?