YouthSailing, the RYA and Catamarans

Perhaps the thing that should have got us most excited is the continued support for windsurfing.

Seems to me that most windsurfing is free sailing, wave sailing & freestyle. Course racing seems to be almost dead as a sport yet it continues to demand 2 medal slots ...

If it were not there then their would be plenty of space for multihulls ...

I think you're getting the wrong end of the stick, Rick.

The course racing numbers are about 180 entrants in the UK Junior/Youth nationals;
About 360 Open/Masters in the UKWA national series;
About 86 clubs doing T15; with say 12 boards per club that's about 1000 although some also did the Youth Nats.

All up, 540 Youth/Open/Masters boards PLUS all the T15 sailors. That holds up pretty well against other disciplines, and it's far from dead. There are similar numbers in other countries. From memory, course racing in boards is the biggest category in France. The Kona class has 500+ sailors in the ranking list after just 2 years.

In addition, three hundred did Fat Face which could be called course. Le Defi in France gets 500+.

In other words, course racing is alive and well.

Interestingly, in competitive terms the wave/freestyle guys just don't attract the numbers in the UK or Germany nor (IIRC) in France.

And of course, slalom or wave just won't work in an Olympic setting because of the need for strong winds. Freestyle can work in light winds but frankly I think it can be in danger of disappearing up its own fundament in terms of a spectator sport (as the World Cup champ has cautioned) because you can end up winning  by doing tricks the average watcher cannot understand. I say that as a competitive and successful freestyler.

Many countries have strong board fleets with few potential Olympic multis.

Sure, most windsurfers just reach back and forth - but in most countries most sailors just cruise around on yachts with a beer in their hand......the Olympics are not a straight copy of what most sailors do.

The discipline that really has very small numbers is the heavyweight singlehander. The potential slot that has very small numbers is the high-performance singlehander.




Edited by Chris 249

Ploughing through the 29 pages of debate, the thing that really hits you is that it is a debate! The thing that really gets me is that the RYA have not tried to stimulate a debate and then taken a decision but have simply taken a decision without consultation.

Incidentally, I suspect that the vast bulk of the RYA'a income comes from club and class association fees not from individual. I would expect to have made my voice heard through my club being consulted. I know the class association wasn't consulted!

Edited by Shadowman

Originally posted by Guest#260 Perhaps the thing that should have got us most excited is the continued support for windsurfing. Seems to me that most windsurfing is free sailing, wave sailing & freestyle. Course racing seems to be almost dead as a sport yet it continues to demand 2 medal slots ... If it were not there then their would be plenty of space for multihulls ...

Originally posted by scottish_tornad Chris Many valid points but its is not just mono sailors that train the kids up. I sail and race cats and have done for a few years now but I also train the kids up at the club in monos as a qualified instructor (still to do my multihull endorsement) and I know of at least 3 other instructors that race cats but teach monos. I wonder how many others are doing the same around the country? The reason I don't have my multihull ticket is because it is so hard to find a centre to do it at locally and the courses are few and far between -  another sign the RYA are not cat friendly IMHO (in Scotland anyway)

 

well said, we currently have 7 instructors at my club (me included) 6 race cats but are happy to teach to the rya method in dinghies.

I feel I could encourage more to take up the sport if I could start them in cats.At entry level they are easier, faster and therefore more exciting.I dont mind what boat they buy as long as they consider joining my club and thereby help the club to prosper. 

Because of this debate,I will now be taking my multihull endorsement.well it might help a little.

Oh in answer to an earlier question, windsurfers welcome at my club too, but they have to take a turn at duties

Gary ( 30+ years in dinghies, 6 years in cats, is it possible to see the light but sail on the dark side?)