Winter Speaker Series - Nick Hayes

For those of you who were unable to attend last night (Feb 8), you missed an excellent presentation by Nick Hayes. And for those of you able to make it, we are sure we speak for everyone when we say - that was great! Nick provided great insight in a small setting; an opportunity not usually given as his talks usually take place in large meeting centers. We hope you had a great evening and enjoyed a cookie or three!

Nick's passion for the sport of sailing and his call for families to spend more of their time together interacting are inspiring. His thorough dissection of the challenges a modern family faces with today's huge amounts of media bombarded at them and the distractions each individual faces is excellent. An example Nick presents is how individuals currently average between 12 and 60 hours  of media consumption per week, not to mention the additional commuting time they take on by moving further away form their jobs to suburban settings, resulting in consuming 8 to 20 hours traveling per week. These are just two of the examples he sites about barriers created since his landmark year of 1979. These are other obstacles and pulls on an individual's times are preventing families from spending quality time together. The numbers are staggering and it is no wonder when people are asked why they don't spend time sailing or learning how to sail, approximately 17 out of 20 people respond that they do not have the time. 

If you want to find out more about Nick Hayes and his book, Saving Sailing,  to follow him, or to get in touch visit the following sites:

Saving Sailing Facebook Page 

Nick Hayes' Blog 

www.SavingSailing.com

To watch Nick's entire presentation click the following link:

WaterFront Center's WSS - Nick Hayes, Saving Sailing

Below is an brief summary of his book. You can stop by the WFC to pick up a copy for $20 during the next speaker series next Tuesday evening or anytime from Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm. To find out mo

'Participation in sailing is declining in America, down more than 40% since 1997 and 70% since 1979. In this wide-ranging 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 less rewarding forms 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 to seek quality experiences with families and friends through lifelong pastimes like sailing.

The main challenge, he suggests, is to develop an active system of mentoring, especially between generations. The book offers helpful suggestions for how we might rethink our own priorities.

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.'