2010 Classic Snipe Rally Know Your Trophies Strategies for the ...

Russ Stamets
Laura (r), age 7, with sister Maggie on the family boat Ouija,
Carter Lake, Colorado.
with the Dallas Fleet, and then we went to the Southwestern
Championships, which was a lot of fun and we won that one,
which was really great!
Is Dan your college crew as well as your Snipe crew?
We were the last two on the team that did not have a steady
partner, so we decided that we would sail together. This is
before we dated. We’ve been sailing together for a year and a
half now, and it has just worked out really well. We have been
working together as a team and sailing together every day and
constantly improving. All my crews in the past have not been
as serious as me about sailing. He wants to train and practice.
His approach to the sport is as intense as mine. He’s also
stronger than me which helps out a lot on the racecourse. I am
getting spoiled.
Have you thought about what you might do after college as
far as sailing goes?
Dan and I plan to keep sailing the Snipe well into the
future. I want to go to law school, so I still have that ahead of
me. I want to keep sailing and be competitive for a very long
time. As soon as our finances get better, we can sail more.
We worked really hard all summer to save up for Nationals.
We’re driving out there by ourselves and doing everything on
our own which makes us feel really great. It was so exciting
writing the check for our entry fee. I would say, “Can’t we go
and do something fun? We’ve been working so hard,” but we
had to remind ourselves that we have this awesome vacation
coming up.
Our parents are so proud of us. Dan’s parents haven’t
sailed before and he didn’t grow up sailing. Despite that, he
picked it up very fast. He is by far the best crew I’ve ever had.
So his parents are really excited about us going to Nationals.
The parents have offered to help pay for things, but we’ve told
them that we have everything taken care of. Our parents are
going to meet us in Annapolis for the regatta.
When are you planning on leaving for the regatta?
We’ll get there the Friday or Saturday before. Both of our
parents fly in that Sunday. My parents are chartering a big boat
for us to stay on and watch the races on. We are borrowing
Dan’s dad’s truck for the trip out so we can have a reliable
vehicle. We’ll have to spend the week before going over the
toolbox and making sure we have everything.
That is going to be so much fun!
Yes, we are really looking forward to it!
As a younger member of the Snipe Class, how do you think
you can get younger people in the Class or keep them in
the Class?
I think introducing them early has been helpful for me.
Because once kids get to college, they start sailing 420s and
get hooked into that. A lot of times in college sailing, people
are not quite so friendly, and Snipe regattas are so fun. They
put up a table at some of the college regattas to try to promote
Snipe sailing. When I see juniors sailing the Snipe Nationals, I
really don’t see them leave the Class.
Yes, one great thing about the Snipe Class is seeing the
kids grow with it and seeing generations of families sailing
together as well as competing against each other.
I went to the Ida Lewis in a 420 and we didn’t do well and
the people weren’t very nice. It kind of scared me because I
was thinking that this is what college sailing would be like.
There was also a college sailing clinic that I got into. It was
a great learning experience but the people were catty. Some
people are only exposed to 420’s and that type of sailing and
are not exposed to other fleets. That is another reason why we
were so excited to get to go out to Nationals this year.
And it is such a helpful fleet. Everyone helps each other
out. I’ll be in the Snipe Class for a long time.
Laura and crew Sonya Ropek at the 2007 Nationals in
Dillon, Colorado.
US SNIPE SAILOR Fall 2010 1
Fried Elliott