A Q&A with Shawn Macking about the StPYC’s Sailing Center and OD fleet

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 13 Feb 2017 Some of us are fortunate to be born into sailing-obsessed families, while others find their way to the windward rail on their own, maybe in college sailing or through a proactive community-focused program. While numerous fantastic community-based sailing organizations exist across Canada and the USA, I recently learned about the St. Petersburg Yacht Club’s (StPYC) newly renovated Sailing Center, as well as their brand-new (as of summer 2016) fleet of ten J/70s, which were purchased with the goal of getting sailors of all stripes out on the water.

To be clear, the StPYC, which is situated in St. Petersburg, Florida, is a private club that funds the Sailing Center, which in turn opens its doors to the community through classes, membership opportunities, youth summer camps and adult sailing classes.

I caught up with Shawn Macking, waterfront director of the StPYC, via email to learn more about the Sailing Center, the club’s hefty investment in a new One Design fleet, and how the StPYC is using this infrastructure to expose more people to the sport we love.

If this sounds like an inclusive and progressive way of rolling out the red carpet to new sailors, raise a glass to the StPYC’s brain trust and consider how you might be able to implement some of these ideas and outreach opportunities at your club or local sailing center. After all, the skinny kid out learning to right an Opti on a windy day could become a future member of your crew, given the right mentorship and opportunity.

Can you tell me about the StPYC’s new Sailing Center? Absolutely. Even though it feels new after some recent interior renovations, the Sailing Center has actually been managed by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club since the 1940s.

We are staffed and completely funded by the [StPYC], though the facility is still owned by the City of St. Petersburg. Through this partnership, we offer low-cost access to sailing for area residents while also hosting 30-plus yearly regattas and a very accomplished youth sailing team.

What is the plan for the ten new J/70s that the StPYC has ordered?
Ah, my favorite topic! We took delivery of the fleet of ten J/70’s this past August and haven’t looked back since. We’ve had over 200 of our members take the J/70 Orientation Course since September and the excitement surrounding the fleet continues to grow.

We host a club-racing series on various Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, and the boats are available to members to use in local class events such as the [Davis Island Yacht Club] Winter Series, NOOD Regatta, and J/70 Midwinters.

Where did the funding come from to make these big investments? A private donation or through a club fund-raiser?
We are extremely fortunate that [the StPYC] has been able to purchase the fleet outright without a fundraiser. The keelboat fleet is treated very much like an amenity of the club, similar to our marina or pool. Our mission is to encourage and support yachting, and our membership continues to take this commitment very seriously!

Is the program’s goal to turn out polished racing sailors, or is it more orientated towards teaching people the fundamentals of sailing? Or, if the goal is to create something else, can you please explain?
Ideally, we’d really like to do it all. We cast a very wide net with our community sailing programs, which turn out a lot of people interested in giving our sport a try for the first time. Our youth summer camps teach over 400 kids to sail each year, and our adult learn to sail classes teach another 300.

From there, we offer a multitude of educational and social opportunities to keep people engaged as they polish their skills and advance to all levels of the sport. It’s fairly common to see an America’s Cup legend or Olympic medalist doling-out advice to our novices as everyone heads out to the Bay together.

Does someone have to be a StPYC member to use the sailing facilities, or do you have community outreach programs to try and get locals involved?
Great question! Almost all of our classes are open to anyone who wants to participate. StPYC members have access to all the boats in our sailing fleet, and we have a separate “Sailing Center” membership for locals wishing to take advantage of our fleet of Ideal 18s and Sonars. Unlimited sailing on the Ideal 18s is included in this community membership.

Five years from now, where do you hope the StPYC will be, and how will the new Sailing Center, website, J/70 fleet and other improvements help get the club there?
Wow… Five years seems like a lifetime away around here. We have so much momentum built up right now that I see this growth and excitement continuing long into the future.

This year, we are hosting the St. Pete NOODs, the J/70 Midwinters, the Optimist Spring Team Qualifier, ISSA Singlehanded Nationals, ICSA Singlehanded Nationals, and US Adult Sailing Championship (Mallory Cup).

We’ve put an emphasis on training new [Race Committee] personnel, revamped our staffing to include a Race Director, Fleet Maintenance Supervisor, Programs Manager, and we are in the process of hiring a new rock-star Opti coach, as well.

Everything seems to be falling into place, and if we keep firing on all cylinders, I can’t wait to see what the next five years brings!

Anything else that you’d like to add, for the record?
I just wanted to extend a huge thank you to our members, staff, and volunteers who have pushed so hard to make this one of the best sailing facilities in the country. Check us out at www.sailstpete.org and www.spyc.org.