How to get money sailing

Helps to be a professional, and or be sponsored. What do you define as being a good sailor?
 
get to know the right people. the sailmakers, the big program guys, the BN's from the big program's who can get you on a boat to get your foot in the door. have a back up plan there are a lot of really good sailors out there, to make money you need to be great.
 
Unless your some sort of prodigy pro sailing is just not an option, there are too many canditates for to few slots. In this case id say instructing or delivery crew are 2 good options.
 
one way would be to stop sailing and sell all your stuff and marvel over the money you got and just thing about the money you saved. but if thats not an option then you could do what i do and coach but in all reality sailing really isnt a sport where you break the bank unless you are one of a select few. sailing at a high level is alot more likely to send you into debt
 
go to a reputible sailing college and see where you shake out, more importantly get your degree more than likely you will need it.
 
are you making fun of me? high school sailing is some of the most hardest sailing the whole usa, we young adults are the future of sailing

I guess I am, a little, yeah.

"Most hardest"

I know this isn't a grammar test or anything, but I find it hard to take people seriously who make such glaring errors. I will assume English is your first language, so there's no excuse. Periods are your friend.

Anyway, I digress.

Your listen message says: "Amazing"

I hope that is not what you think of yourself. I hope you carry yourself in a manner that outwardly displays that attitude. Please don't tell me you're another young sailor in need of a slice of humble pie.

What about collegiate sailing? What about world championships? Even ISAF Grade 1 events. Establish yourself as a top dog on the national stage, develop an international resume, then maybe you can start to think about the things you mentioned in your opening posts.

Oh, I am a young adult, so that one doesn't work on me.
 
First of all, were you even racing when your high school got sixth? I can say Severn School, my old high school, won fleet race nationals last year, but I only watched it happen from the break-wall of the Naval Academy because I was an alternate. Anyways, at team race nationals we finished 6th. This was a team I was an integral part of and we were actually disappointed with the way we finished. At no point in time did i ever think about monetizing my team's results from either national event.

If you want fast cash, get your US Sailing Level 1 Instructor certification and coach over the summer. The better of a sailor you are, the more you can potentially get paid and the more your students will like and trust you. This could mean private lessons, which can be as good as $50 an hour for someone like you. But beware, make sure you are still sailing big events and not getting caught up teaching opti kids; NAs would be a good one, Youth Champs if you have qualified, also Smythe.

Ultimately, you can get good results and show them to a college coach and perhaps they could get you some pull into a school you would otherwise not be able to go to with academics alone. Then you get a good degree.... blah blah blah
 
Also, if that is you in your avatar, you don't look too high performance.

You should try a clew tie-down.

And a real Laser sail. (With numbers too!)

And a sound/newer hull.

And new rigging.

That'll help you boost that sixth up to like a fifth, but I think you have other sailing related goals that you should focus on. The same applies to trying to make financial gains form sailing. You are not even close to being a "really god sailor".

Sorry, but someone had to say it.

With the "amazing" under your name, it would seem as if you need to be brought back into the real world a bit.
 
yes that is me in my avatar, but it is old I have all brand new boat now, and for the person who asked if I sailed in the nationals, yes the whole time and we crushed Severn, in fact they were not even there hahaha we beat them in the qualifiers
 
yes that is me in my avatar, but it is old I have all brand new boat now, and for the person who asked if I sailed in the nationals, yes the whole time and we crushed Severn, in fact they were not even there hahaha we beat them in the qualifiers

What high school?

Some how, I'm just not believing you right now.

A brand new boat won't do much for not realising you need a clew tie down to sail.
 
What high school?

Some how, I'm just not believing you right now.

A brand new boat won't do much for not realising you need a clew tie down to sail.
once again that photo was taken when I FIRST started to sail and if you really want to know Christchurch School
 
So, you're "amazing" now?

And are you on the Christchurch team?

What Laser regattas have you done?
I never said I was that was just something that came to mind when I signed up for this forums and yes Christchurch and what reggattas have I done. the biggest one would be orange bowl
 
I never said I was that was just something that came to mind when I signed up for this forums and yes Christchurch and what reggattas have I done. the biggest one would be orange bowl

You can edit it, unless I'm mistaken.

The Orange Bowl is a decent regatta, but you have a long way to go before ever worrying about financial gains.

It'll be quite the opposite.
 
You can edit it, unless I'm mistaken.

The Orange Bowl is a decent regatta, but you have a long way to go before ever worrying about financial gains.

It'll be quite the opposite.
ya I know what you mean I am sailing in bigger reggatta this summer and I am a sailing instructor
 
something I've found out in my 1/4 century of life experiences... both sailing and non-sailing. Modesty goes a long way. No one likes someone who is a self proclaimed amazing sailor. it's been my experience that everyone who tells me they're amazing has little to no respect for the sport and usually can't compete at the level they brag about. You can be the best high school sailor out there and you still havn't begun to tap the knowledge base of sailing that is out there. Come frostbite in Newport... the top guys will show you what's up.

some advice..... go to your local grocery store.... buy a nice big piece of humble pie... eat it.... and keep sailing
 
well the school I go to we are 6th in the nation for high school sailing

Go find the high school that is first in the nation in football. How many of those kids do you think are going to have an NFL career? I bet maybe one or two. And that's for a sport that has real public interest and revenue.

Take your sailing skills, and get a scholarship to a university with a strong sailing program. Working your way up through the college sailing system is a necessity. You'd probably want to get a degree in something like marketing or communications. It would help you sell yourself to sponsors.

And study hard and finish your degree. Four or five years from now, you may decide you want to do something else with your life.
 
First of all you are as cocky as it gets, second of all high school sailing is a joke, third of all you werent skippering at that regatta stop kidding yourself, and lastly people would probably pay you not to sail with them.
 
You east coast kids got swept by three west coast teams.... and those west coast kids aren't even that good relative to the few generations before them. So 1st- you are not that good 2nd- HS nationals is pretty irrelevant in the grand scheme of things 3rd- Also, the A div. skipper at HS Nats didn't sail in the 2008 OB in the laser....
 
OK, guys. You've schooled er111a justly and adequately on humility, but the point has been made and this is turning into a mob attack.

Go back to his original question, How to get money from sailing.
 
As a reality check, does anyone know approximately how many professional sailors there are in the US? I know that many of them work for sail companies. A useful model would be someone like Greg Fisher of North Sails, who has been a champion in multiple classes -- Flying Scot, Thistle, Lightning. He has a great career, sailing in lots of major regattas, helping ordinary sailors improve, and all the while selling sails. He makes his money not by sailing directly, but by being a hero to the sailors in the classes he races in and thus getting people to buy North sails. Paul Elvstrom, one of the greatest ever, also made his money by designing and selling sails.
 
Paul Cayard is one that comes to mind.

I don't think the TS is quite at that level yet, though I could be mistaken...
 
I like your enthusiasm. If you want to keep sailing and make a living from it, first understand that you will likely be scraping by. That is ok, because if it is something you love to do, the trade off is worth it.

First, go to a good sailing college and make sure you also excel in your studies and get a degree, as this will undoubtedly help you with both a back up plan and the tools needed to land a good job in a sailing vocation.

Second, keep instructing during the summer, taking seminars, and asking questions of those that are giving the seminars or coaching in how they got to where they are.

Third, talk to the sailing pros. These are generally a good group of people who are open to discussing their choice and what it takes to succeed with the younger generation. People like Al Terhune, Jeff Linton, Greg Fisher, Bill Fastiggi, etc. are not only world class sailors, but accessible and from my experience willing to share their knowledge.

Keep sailing and never lose your passion for the game.
 
Right now we are in a recession. Sailing suffers along with the rest of the USA/World. But once the economy improves, you can try to find a sponsor. In the meantime, you can try to become a better sailor.
What do I mean with 'better sailor'? Practice, practice, practice. Get selected to one of the US Sailing teams. Finish among the top ten in a National (Jr) Championship. These are just examples.

Several people have emphasized that going to a good sailing college may help. Agreed, but I want to emphasize that going to a good college may even be better. The Ivy League schools don't hand out sailing scholarships. Yet, the Yale ladies just won the National Championship. Harvard didn't do badly either. MIT has a nice sailing program. These are some examples from the East Coast, but there are stellar colleges in the Mid-West and the West as well with fine sailing programs.

Therefore, hit the books, get your SAT scores up and take the AP exams. Do community service. Spread your wings, if at all possible. And don't loose your enthusiasm for sailing. I do like that, and some entrepreneurial thinking is good :D.
 
Did you ever think that the reason for that can be linked back to the fact that sailing is generally a sport for the wealthy? Many, if not most good/top sailors come from wealthy families.

What kind of people go to Ivy League schools? Really smart people and really rich people.

There's bound to be overlap.
 
You can make money in sailing and you don't have to be "amazing" to do it. Of course being amazing helps. You will need to promote yourself (some of your mistakes in this area have already been discussed) . Approach your reggattas and even your casual trips to sailing venues as professional engagements. Everyone you sail with or against is a potential customer or employer. At some point you need to decide whether you want to design, build, maintain, train, promote, report, or?? There are lots of different ways to work "make money" in the sailing industry. At this stage in you life I would encourage you to continue your education and build a good reputation for yourself. People like to work with people they respect.

good luck!
 
just go sailing and work hard. if making money is a factor you got no chance. the olympic guys i have talked to have worked themselves into debt pretty well. the people that make money would be doing the same thing if the money was not there.

on another note just be happy this did not go down on sailing anarchy
 
just go sailing and work hard. if making money is a factor you got no chance. the olympic guys i have talked to have worked themselves into debt pretty well. the people that make money would be doing the same thing if the money was not there.

on another note just be happy this did not go down on sailing anarchy



Well put Gordo... this woulda gotten way out of hand on Sailing Anarchy
 
Hey im a really shit middle aged sailor who tries really hard but still sucks. How can I make money from it??;)
 

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