Is inflation impacting Nationals Attendance?

.........maybe not so much fun for a week David. 

So, according to the "Something so right" article on the front page, the answer is simple, we just need everyone to spend £25k on a Merlin and do events like Salcombe Week. Come to that, Cowes Week is doing ok too. Sailing coming across as elitist and out of touch? Surely not!

Originally posted by Do Different .........maybe not so much fun for a week David.

Originally posted by RB. So, according to the "Something so right" article on the front page, the answer is simple, we just need everyone to spend £25k on a Merlin and do events like Salcombe Week. Come to that, Cowes Week is doing ok too. Sailing coming across as elitist and out of touch? Surely not! There is a good reason why families are spending a few hundred quid on Paddleboards to use on their local piece of water (for less than the the cost of just getting to Salcombe) rather than buying dinghies, joining Clubs, buying sailing gear, paying for insurance etc. So, so many are struggling to keep up with the cost of living and its all about to get a lot, lot worse (apart for many in their 50's, 60's and 70's who we know make up the vast majority of  dinghy sailors). I'm afraid that 'fiddling whilst Rome burns' springs to mind when reading what may appear to be a rather tone deaf article like this about how we can 'save' dinghy sailing.

I did merlin week. Crewed in a borrowed boat, which was actually pretty decent, but also reasonably old. Not sure how much it would have cost, but nowhere near £25k. 

Got lucky with accommodation, which was relatively cheap too and the whole family, including dog came for the week...plus some of the in laws for a few days.

Salcombe can be expensive, but no more so than other UK seaside villages. And the beaches are free. 

Unfortunately the dates don't work for me next year, but I am seriously considering getting an older merlin just to do this event for the next few years whilst the family is young. 

I think saying merlin week is popular because it appeals to posh people with money is maybe stereotyping and neglects some lessons that the article tries to bring out and would be applicable to many classes, no matter how much people are spending on the boats.