Saving Sailing

Saving Sailing is an appealing blueprint for the revival of family sailing – and other quality uses of free time for rewarding lifelong pastimes.

Participation in sailing is declining in America, down more than 40% since 1997 and 70% since 1979. In this provocative 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 extremes 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 for quality experiences with families and friends through rewarding pastimes like sailing.

The main challenge, the author suggests, is to develop an active system of mentoring, especially between generations.

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.

Author Nick Hayes has been a keynote speaker at US Sailing, Sail America, and World Sailing events, at countless clubs and schools in the US, Canada, Europe, and Bermuda, and has helped raise millions of dollars for not-for-profit sailing organizations worldwide.

He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.