Who We Are
Our mission to change the sport of sailing for kids stems from our long history running a sailing program in our small lakeside community.
A camper scores a goal in Sailball, a Kittihawk20 original game.
Where it all started
In our area, participation in sailing began to decline in the 70's and 80's, and by the late 1990's only one child was racing, and many of the sailing clubs in the area had collapsed. We asked ourselves, why are kids not interested in sailing anymore? Were the kids at the end of the fleet dropping out discouraged? Were they frustrated by low wind speeds? Low hull speed? Was there too much pressure on them in other parts of their lives? To get the answers to these questions and to reverse the decline in youth sailing in town, we started a sailing camp in 1997. We started with the traditional emphasis on racing, and the kids had to provide their own boats. As the years went on we began making changes:
We started focussing on the sailing games we invented. The games were designed to teach racing skills without pressure.
We bought boats.
Different formats were tried - changing days of camp, hours, calendar, etc..
Most of the kids really did not want to race, and overtime our program was refined so the racing skills were taught and perfected in a set of sophisticated games instead. The few kids who wanted to go to regattas did very, very well in spite of the few opportunities they had had for traditional competition. Always we listened to what the kids wanted in the program, and before we knew it our sailing program became a success. In 2013 we had 92 children in the program and 24 boats. In a town with grades sizes of 80-100 kids, it was remarkable how many youngsters attended sailing camp at one time or another. We had thirteen counselors - CIT's, Junior Counselors and Senior Counselors.
“The kids absolutely loved the games! I wholeheartedly agree that games should be a part of any sailing program once the kids have some basic skills. They had to use boathandling, right of way rules, communication skill and strategies”.
- Gary W., Head Sailing Coach SHS Sailing Team.
Games
Kittihawk20's family of games are not the usual "getting to know you" type games or simple games like tennis ball tag. The tactics used in some the games are so sophisticated that sometimes the younger children beg not to have to play them. But the teenagers love them.
Some games are best for heavy weather, some for light or no air.
The cheater's race is for a day with no wind.
Most games are double-handed - a skipper and a ball thrower, for instance.
Every game has a set of racing topics or skills it addresses - tactics, strategies, go-fast techniques, rules.
Each year we invent a new game or two, and sometimes the kids invent their own.
"All Sailors are Friends"
Our goal is to teach the sailing culture — camaraderie, honor code competition, self-reliance, resourcefulness, responsibility and leadership — based on the philosophy that "all sailors are friends." We encourage children to emerge from the rivalries formed at school or at home and become part of the world-wide community of sailors, which has been the foundation of the sailing culture for generations. Our summer sailing camp is for children between the ages of 8 and 18 of all genders, ages, skill levels and athletic abilities. Our instructional program is all summer long, non-competitive, and complete. Each child learns basic sailing, go-fast techniques, and racing strategies, tactics, rules. These skills are taught primarily through the use of the fifty or more games we have developed. Campers control the boat themselves starting with the first lesson. Instruction is provided at the highest possible level so that youngsters who choose to race at the local, national or international level will have the necessary skills. Campers with an interest in team sports can play sailball and sailing frisbee.
Jason Eveleth tests out an early hydrofoil concept for an early boat model, the Kittihawk14S. Wooden hydrofoils were built and fastened to a sunfish body.
Our Journey to Make the Best Boat
During his time running the sailing camp, the camper director, observed that the creative sailing races and games, which are the foundation of his program, would be more fun with much faster boats. Some people have opined that the boats available to kids do not satisfy their taste for speed and excitement. Children these days rocket down ski slopes on snow boards at frightening speeds. Many high school sports programs emphasize bursts of speed or power. In many communities, winds are mostly light and variable, which do not provide modern children with an exciting sailing experience. In our opinion an ideal boat for kids these days would have a hull which weighs almost nothing, and it would be designed to plane upwind at low wind speeds. The boat would be hugely oversailed so that it would accelerate rapidly in games but could still be raced either double or single-handed and would be stable. This is the inspiration for the Wow!!10 Sailboat.
He set out to design a boat which makes play faster, safer, higher scoring and more exciting. With a background in science and engineering, he used his hi-tech skills and experience to create the Wow!!10 technology that outperforms current single-handed, dinghy class sailboats.