Snipe Mom Wisdom: What Really Matters After 3.5 Decades

Halfway through a group dinner at my first regatta of 2025, I realized: I’ve been sailing Snipes on Miami’s Biscayne Bay for 34 years. 

Though on my best days I feel almost as fresh and eager as a 20-something newbie crew, I’m now seen by the younger generation as one of their many “Snipe moms.” We often make suggestions based on our own hard-earned wisdom, just as the previous generation did to us. And just like we did, “the kids” mostly ignore us. Which is actually fine, because a secondhand lesson will never stick as well as what they learn from their own mistakes. 

I have no idea if my stories will actually prove useful to the newbies—or if I’m just using knowledge-transfer as an excuse to reminisce. But how can I pass up the opportunity to share what it was like when Biscayne Bay had a seabreeze that filled almost every afternoon? When it was hard to locate the low-profile target of Coconut Grove skyline on that salt-caked thirsty sail back to the dock? When, on especially regatta-crazy Saturday nights, sailors outnumbered tourists up at the CocoWalk? (When the Midwinters were in Clearwater, not in Key Largo?)

After so many years of building up both hiking stamina and tactical smarts, I can now see far more clearly what really matters long-term. So here’s a list of what’s changed, and what hasn’t, since my very first Miami Snipe regatta in 1991.

Still the Same

• Driving to a regatta is far more exciting than driving home.
• There’s no substitute for proper preparation—both boat and body. 
• Most races are won long before anyone leaves the dock. 
• Competitive camaraderie is a wonderful path to friendship—with people from all over the world. 

What’s Changed

• I no longer do a 26-hour drive non-stop (especially solo). 
• Older boats and bodies need a little more luck to win.
• I am far less greedy for tossed scraps of Snipe-specific tuning trends.  
• In addition to those actually racing, I also spot the “ghosts” of sailors who (for one reason or another) are no longer with us.

After racing, I still try to soak up any shared lessons from the sailors who best figured out that day… but I now understand that more training will not necessarily transfer those winning skills to my own racing toolbox. I can also see that many so-called “hot tips” will eventually re-evolve back to what they were before, just like skirt lengths.

Whether or not they’re listening to their Snipe moms, I’m so glad the enduring attraction of this quirky 15 foot boat is making it possible for yet another generation to make their own mistakes. Yes, the communications and the skyline and the details are all different. But as one of those lucky enough to still be Snipe sailing after three and a half decades, I am more intrigued by the timelessness of my top priorities: what we can do better, how to best support each other, and where we should all go for dinner. 

For a more “middle aged” perspective, read My Family of Snipe