Respect the Leeboard

Photo by Bronny Daniels

Harken Blockheads took to Junior Sabot Nationals to give sailors the tools, skills, and confidence to take charge of their own sailing. We learned all about the leeboard lifestyle and the Southern California phenomenon that is the Naples Sabot Class.

When you look at the trophies, it’s impossible to overlook the names of famous sailors who came from the Sabot Class and have gone on to do amazing things in our sport. We ran into foiling guru, Olympian and America’s Cup sailor Riley Gibbs on the first day. He grew up sailing Sabots and speaks with pride when he says it’s “totally a cult.”

There’s one thing that’s very clear: Every sabot sailor adores the sabot. When we walked the docks, we asked sailors what they love most. Some say they like the leeboard, some enjoy sailing alone, but overwhelmingly, everyone loves the community. They recognize it’s a special thing to race a regional boat; most of these sailors live only an hour away from each other. When there are 150+ Sabot sailors spilled across the docks for a week, everyone’s making lifelong friends. That means they’ll be sticking with the sport for life.

While we were there, we welcomed 80+ new Blockheads to our community of young sailors obsessed with rigging, tuning, and boat maintenance. They tell us sailing is just more fun when you don’t have to rely on a coach or parent to help you rig or supervise your every minute ⤑ Tell a friend: Join 1,700 Blockheads from 23 countries who have signed up and gotten faster at HarkenBlockheads.com. Join here.

Want more Sabot content from the event?

· Where can I find Harken’s photo gallery and download photos?

· I want to watch the Instagram Story from Nationals! Tap in.

· Tour a Sabot! Watch the video.

· Why is Riley Gibbs obsessed with the Sabot? Read the story.

· What gear goes where? See the infographic.