Thanks to Sailgroove contributer Ken Legler for this blog.

Three items in my "morning paper" saddened me. Beginning with the least upsetting...470s dropped as Women's doublehanded equip for next games, replaced by 29erxx. This comes just days after listening to Isabel Kinsolving (Yale'02) recounting her (and Erin Maxwell's Dart.'01) win in the most recent women's 470 Worlds and how they had planned to continue with Olympic dreams. Perhaps this is not such a sad story as a class I was closely involved with (many years ago) goes the way of a new and perhaps more exciting platform.

The worst news was the tragic death of a fellow college sailor, Peter Wenner, in Hawaii. PCICSA sailors will be carrying the letters "PJ" on their sails this weekend. Although I did not know PJ personally, he was a close sailing buddy with Tufts sailor Francine Magasinn growing up and that brings it closer to home for me.

Then there is the news of the cancellation of the Vermont sailing season "pending investigation" into hazing when a freshmen sailor was detoxed. Since I do not know (and may never know) all the facts in this case, I cannot judge neither the alleged guilty team members, nor the reaction by school administrators. I do have my opinions on this important subject.

Clearly hazing, as it is most commonly defined, is a bad thing. No one should be humiliated, hurt or poisoned, accepting or not, in order to fit into a group. That said, I am greatly dismayed by the message being sent by college administrators. Where hazing was overlooked for centuries, in today's litigious society, hazing has become a sin punishable by the fullest extent possible. What's wrong with this?

What's wrong is that there is no positive message about what is the proper way to make new members feel included. When the s**t first hit the fan eight years ago with, ironically enough, UVM Hockey, colleges across America told their coaches, don't let this happen or else! At that time I researched college web sites to find out what was appropriate and I found one list of accepted activities via Adelphi U. I just renewed that research, including the Adelphi site on hazing, and after an hour of web searching came up with 100% negative messages and 0% positive messages. My cynical side will guess Adelphi's lawyers told them to remove their "acceptable" list.

MIT coach Matt Lindblad said something interesting last week on this subject. He said roughly: If so many teams, clubs, organizations, professional and otherwise, have some sort of inclusion ritual, for as long as anyone knows, there must be something good about them. What then are organizations supposed to do if the only message is don't?

Administrators need to tell their coaches, and coaches need to tell their students what to do far more often than what not to do. Here is a simple example of positive coaching from legendary football coach Jimmy Johnson: With seconds remaining in a one-point game, instead of telling your kicker "Don't miss," say "Make this kick." I continue to be pleasantly surprised by the results when using this method.

Ken Legler

From Scuttlebutt:
* The 29erXX was chosen by the Women's Committee at ISAF by 1 vote over the women's 470 as preferred equipment for the women's double handed boat for the 2012 Olympics. Also the ISAF Equipment Committee is reported to have selected the 29erXX as preferred equipment for the doublehanded women's event by an 11 to 2 vote over the 470. Although not a done deal, the support of these committees and others hopefully to come, is an indication of great changes for the world of sailing. -- Sail World, read on: http://tinyurl.com/6bc6b5

EIGHT BELLS
(Nov. 11, 2008) - Peter “PJ” Wenner, who had done his youth sailing out of California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, CA, passed away Tuesday morning as a result of a boating accident that occurred on Saturday, November 8th. Peter, who was a sophomore on the University of Hawaii sailing team, was on an 18-foot skiff sailing off Waikiki when the boat capsized, with his trapeze harness getting caught on the trampoline rack, holding him under water. A safety boat was onsite and once Peter was freed, he was rushed ashore and promptly received medical attention, but efforts to revive him were ultimately halted this morning when he was taken off life support. The University will be holding a mass for
Peter Wednesday at 5 p.m. on the campus. This Friday, the UH sailing team will be going out on a boat to spread flowers and celebrate his life.

* The University of Vermont suspended the sailing team's status as a club following a potential hazing incident within the team. The incident is currently under investigation after the University became aware after a student was detoxed, Pat Brown, the director of student life, said. Suspension arose after Oct. 21, when UVM learned of "some behaviors that were a concern for the University that involved alcohol and a new member," Pat Brown said. -- Read on: http://tinyurl.com/SButt111108f