Sail Try-out.
A new marketing tool for small boat sailing.
A Sail Try-out is a 3 hour session to transform a landlubber into a water rat.
The Sail Try-out has had amazing results. With this Turbo Teaching Tool
they really sail and have a lot of fun. And they sail not only up and down
across the wind. No, they can sail to a windward mark, tack, gibe and have
their sail on the right angle to the wind. The innovative Escape opened our
eyes after more then twenty years of sailing school experience. And the
impact on our instruction program is great.
Fun and easy
Fun and easy are the keywords of the Sail Try-out that has had an
astonishing result. At the start of the session, there are always some
landlubbers with doubts: “Me in such a small sailboat ? I don’t think so”. I
don’t try to convince them, but I always say: “You are not the first with that
opinion. And you don’t have to. But give it a try by joining the 1 st hour with
preparation ashore. When we finally start sailing, you decide if you continue
alone in an Escape or in a keelboat with an instructor”. This choice relaxes
them and gives them confidence. The 1st hour we teach them to sit on their
knees while making a turn, to eliminate bad timing while switching from
tack to tack. We teach them how to handle tiller and sheet and how to furl
and unfurl the sail. At the end we launch the boats and teach them sculling,
steering and scull-steering. Scull-steering is a great help for beginners to
make the ( stable but wide) Escape turn if they have not enough speed. Then
we have a short break before we start sailing. It’s interesting to know this
preparation hour did grow from 10 minutes in 1998 to 1 hour now. It’s one
of the secrets of it’s success. We don’t only show them something. - we
really teach them. We put some simple basic things on their “hard drive” and
it is amazing how easily they pick it up. And how they handle the boat,
having their mind and attention free for things like angle of the sail.
By the way, most landlubbers who had doubts discover that it is fun and
easy and that the Escape is really stable, so, no keelboat-switch for 90% of
this type of landlubbers during the Sail Try-out.
Be aware of what happens in most landlubber-minds!
If you are involved with the marketing and introduction of sailing, step into
the landlubbers mind. Then you see how most people think about sailing.
Renting a motorboat, a rowing boat, maybe even a canoe. But sailing? No,
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that’s difficult, has many secrets, is controlling you and you can be hit by
this heavy pipe at the bottom of the sail. After these landlubbers have done
the Sail Try-out, they act if they have seen ‘the light.’
A little help will help
We have many individuals from new target groups, people with the opinion
that sailing is something from a different world, not their world. But our
marketing make them curious. “Escape now! Just sail away after our famous
Sail Try-out. After three hours you’re free to go. The lake is yours!”
The Escape is a big step forward in bringing sailing to the people. The
stability in combination with the simple and easy to handle furling system is
a great innovation. But it is still a big step for a landlubber to go out sailing.
A little help can make this step easier. That’s why we created our Sail Tryout. You can compare it with windsurfing in the 70’s. You could teach
yourself, but it was much easier to take an introduction lesson first.
Teamspirit
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Teambuilding
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Sailparty
In the middle of Rotterdam we have our “Zeilcentrum” at a small lake (1
km²). Over the last two years we have more and more group activities.
Groups who want to do something other than paintball, karting, laser games
etc. We offer them our Sail Try-out and/or keelboat sailing with or without
skippers. The Escape program is very successfull for groups, especially
because at the end of the session people can choose to go free sailing or join
in a simple regatta. We have management teams, employers, families,
children birthday parties, students, bachelor parties etc.
Less instructors needed
If you have well trained instructors, you can do groups of 15 with two
instructors and 25 with three instructors. A good preparation of material is
necessary of course. We found it very easy to teach a non sailor to become
an instructor after he did the Sail Try-out himself.
Turnkey Escape Project
After our 3 year experience we are ready to export our success formula to
other places all over the world. To set up Escape sailing in F.I. holidayparks, we created a turnkey program. We provide boats, floating keys, smart
buoys etc. And, of course, we teach and train the instructors for their own
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Escape Easy Learning Instructor Certificate. And we help to kick off the
operation on the spot.
Escape: no threat but a great tool for sailing schools!
We found Escape scares sailing schools. “Sailing free after only one lesson
will damage my profitability.”
It’s the opposite: - Escape brings sailing closer to potential clients,
especially the “non conventional” target groups.
- A good Sail Try-out and “guided” rentals, or some follow
up group lessons will create a good relationship with the
new client.
- If you can provide more challenging dinghy’s, like Escape
Rumba and “switch over lessons” to keelboats and cabin
yachts, you will have new clients for your core business
products. But trough a new tool: Escape. And let’s see
what is your core business after 5 years!
- Clients who don’t continue with lessons because they
want to be free, will tell their friends that your sailing
school have this amazing Sail Try-out that opens the door
to the world of sailing in only three hours.
- If you build up a fleet of 10-15 Escape Captiva’s, you can
handle groups for sailparty’s etc.
Since we started with Escape in 1998 we conceptualized Escape from just a
perfect boat to a new concept in our company. With easy access programs,
follow up and switchover programs from Escape group lessons to classic
private keelboat lessons. Big children don’t quit after Optimist; Escape is ok
for 2 pupils, which some children like more than sailing alone. And of
course new target groups; group-activity’s etc. etc. etc.
We can recommend Escape as a concept to sailing clubs, sailing schools,
rental companies, holiday parks and of course governments and local
councils to set up popular community sailing centers.
But….don’t just put some Escapes on the beach. Make it a concept with Sail
Try-outs, follow up lessons, some cozy events and tours. And start some
match-racing, team racing or fleet racing.
Good luck!!!
For more information you can visit our website www.henkvangent.nl. We
are busy translating, but we hope all our pictures will tell you enough.
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Sail Try-out is conceptualized by Henk van Gent, promoter of sailing for
more then 25 years.
-City Sailing at Sail center Henk van Gent in Rotterdam since 1975
-Clinics in Dutch Caribbean since 1992
-Teacher Physical Education- Regatta coach
-Youth Committee Member of the Royal Dutch Yachting Association 19701985
-Youth trainer at IYRU Youth World Championships in Auckland 1983
and San Diego in 1984.
-Event management:
 European Championship Laser Teamracing 1982
 Windsurfing Teamracing Worlds Sardinia 1978
 Windsurfing Worlds Greece 1979
 Holland-England Laser Teamracing 1976
-Member of the sailing school Board of HISWA 1991-1994
Racing Results:
-3x Dutch Championship (‘Vrijheid’ 1977; Olympic ‘470’ 1980+1981)
-2nd in European Championship Laser 1975
-4th in Olympic Games (470) 1980
-6th in One Ton Cup (Big Boat World Championship) 1985
-Since eye opener Escape appeared in Rotterdam (1998) :
 Conceptualizer and Promoter of the Turbo Teaching Tool
The Sail Try-out
More information:
Start Sailing Solutions, another fine project of Henk van Gent, promoter of sailing.
Email info@henkvangent.nl Fax: +31 (0)10 4527170 Tel: +31 (0) 10 2122533
Mobile: 0651985313
Mail: Plaszoom 350 3062 CL Rotterdam Netherlands.
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