Classes fading in popularity

Tony Hunt is our Technical Rep and has been instrumental in setting up the deal with Vandercraft. Won the Wilsonian GP (meduim handicap fleet, 30 boats) last weekend, ousting the Phantoms and Blazes. The new boat with a good lightweight helm and light-middleweight crew should be a real contender:

1st Laser 3000 3448 Tony Hunt & David Bourne WSC 6
2nd Phantom 1073 Neil Lamprell WSC 7
3rd Blaze 702 Ian Foxwell WSC 9
4th Blaze 675 Russ Hall Broxbourne SC 12
5th Phantom 1153 Malcolm Levey WSC 12

We're not competing for the same territory as the Vago, which is mass market. We are targetting lightweight and youth sailors who are serious about their class or club racing, we don't want to attract the masses. If Vandercraft sell 20 new boats a year we'll be more than happy. We don't see the Vago as a threat, and vice versa.

I'm sure there's plenty of people around that share that view. The class was on its last gasps when I became involved in late 2003, voted in as Class Rep at the same AGM that Laser announced they were ceasing production, and I'll admit that I had very mixed feelings initially on whether the boat warranted reviving.

Having taken on the job though, I felt I had a responsibility to members (not owners) to protect sources of spares and sails. Our insurance rate had been moved up a bracket to the same as a Laser 4000 due to uncertain spares availability even in the short term. The rate is back down now, and 3000 owners should benefit from considerably cheeper class approved sails, etc.

If you think about it, there are 530 boats out there which are holding value at around the £3,000 mark, thats a combined value of £1.5m. If they became unsupportable against the class rules they could easily have dropped to below the average Laser II value of £1,500, writing off £0.75m of owners money almost overnight. (That's a very good reason why all owners of reasonably modern boats should contribute to their class.)

I was concentrating on exploring new sailmakers, to get a single source of better value class legal sails, when Tony came onto the scene. Jeff Vander Borght was a friend of a friend of his, and Tony bought him into the picture. Jeff was very enthusiatic, and felt the 3000 slotted in nicely alongside the Phantom to smooth his troughs.

When we contacted Frank Bethwaite to sort out his share of design royalties he said the Laser 2 was the worst case he'd experienced of one of his designs "being dumbed down to mediocrity" by the Laser management at the time, a philosophy which carried through to the 3000. He sees real hidden potential which can be developed in the boat.

The 3000 does have a niche of it's own, below the 29er which requires more proficiency, and more suitable for lightweights than the Buzz, etc. The Vago is an unknown, but all the hype is likely to give the class a very different feel to the freindly, low key atmosphere that we're generating.

There's plenty of 'failed' small classes around which still have a following ... should they all be written off? Whether or not we sell new boats, as we hope to, we should seriously enhance the enjoyment many people get from their boat (myself included). That's reason enough for me.

I'll get down off my soap box again now!

Yellowhammer,

I think it's great you are motivated to keep the flag flying ...

But I also think it's a shame that our sport is so fragmented.

Bigger fleets in less classes would have to be good for the sport but I guess the British mentality is more towards being a big fish in a small pond.

regards,

Rick

So when are you getting your RS700 Rick?

Sorry the devil in me couldn't resist!

I am reluctant to get into this debate - but if you look at the subject of this thread then you will get your answer.

In the last 12 months there have been 50 Musto Skiffs sold - some to former owners of RS700's.

As far as I know there is not a single RS700 owner who has owned an MPS - it's one way traffic - enough said.

I think it is a great shame that there are two classes in this category that split and already small segment of the sport - but a free market cannot stop anyone launching any product they like but .... in the end the market decides.

Rick