America’s Cup Endeavour Programme – Youth community sailing project

by RS Sailing on 16 Dec 2015 During the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup World Series in Bermuda, the America’s Cup Endeavour Programme officially launched, and RS Sailing has proudly supplied eight RS Feva dinghies for the youth community sailing project. Young Bermudians ages nine to 12 years old are learning to sail on the RS Fevas as part of the Endeavour Programme.

“The RS Feva is a perfect two-handed dinghy for young sailors to develop their skills as it is comprised of a three-sail setup, allowing younger sailors to establish their crew skills and asymmetric spinnaker mastery early on. This makes it a great feeder into other high-performance dinghies where the style of sailing is similar to what we see in the America’s Cup,” said Tom Herbert-Evans, the Community Sailing Programme manager for the America’s Cup. “We want to expose as many kids as possible in Bermuda to sailing while the spotlight of the America’s Cup raises the profile of the sport here. Having the support of industry partners like RS Sailing is critical in helping us reach that goal.”

The RS Fevas are used for training and racing on a weekly basis, seeing a number of schools and youth groups come through the program. The Endeavour Programme also provides tours of the ORACLE TEAM USA base, exposing the kids to the incredible technology and innovation at the heart of an America’s Cup team.

Sir Russell Coutts, CEO of America’s Cup Event Authority (ACEA) commented, 'Working with RS Sailing was a natural fit for the America’s Cup Endeavour Programme. The RS Feva is a great boat that is fun and well-suited for introducing kids to the sport, giving them the tools for growth and success.”

Riki Hooker, VP of RS Sailing commented, “RS Sailing are extremely proud to be involved in the Endeavour Programme as it’s exactly what we are about. We are confident that it will not only give the first-time sailors a great experience but also play a part in getting them hooked on the sport and provide the platform for those sailors to go on into other high-performance dinghies, maybe even America’s Cup sailing.”

Approximately 15-20 children participate in the school program each week. Following the completion of a second educational center in Bermuda, nearly 40 students will be part of the America’s Cup Endeavour Programme weekly, and nearly 700 will have participated in the first season.

“The Endeavour Programme uses the RS Feva as part of a weekly curriculum where our main focus is on teaching participants about Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math - also know as STEAM. Learning to sail is a bi-product,” said Herbert-Evans. “The children have recently been experimenting with measuring sail surface area compared to the amount of buoyancy and drag. One of the interesting items they discovered about the RS Feva was its ability to get on the plane, which waffled their findings. That type of experiential learning is exactly what we are trying to facilitate.

“Looking ahead we are hoping to get some of our participants working on using the full potential of the boat and getting used to asymmetric sailing at a young age.”

Endeavour is a youth-focused community sailing and educational program in connection with the 35th America’s Cup. The mission is to provide unique sporting and educational opportunities through sailing for youths across all socioeconomic backgrounds. It highlights three pillars, including a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) educational component, the youth sailing initiative, and an internship opportunity for US College sailors and coaches. The program operates from bases in the east and west ends of Bermuda.