is dinghy sailing on the decline?

i feel that it is quite healthy because your body needs excersise

If you take a look at the national attendance table produced by Y&Y you'll see that in the last 7 years attendance at nationals has gone up by over a thousand. I think the decline in windsurfing has been a factor. My first love is windsurfing but my 14 year old son has aspirations to an MPS rather than the latest formula board. When I was his age, windsurfing was the most exciting thing to happen on the water but now, with the advent of skiffs, the dinghy is getting a new lease of life. Although the skiffs have quite a resticted audience when it comes to places to sail and ability of sailor, the images in Y&Y and on sky sports have attracted the youngsters and, I think, this is why there is a huge interest in the junior classes. I've also noticed quite a few of ex windsurfers now sailing skiffs.   

yeah i agree with hannah, at my club there is a waiting list to join of 6months-1year. And there is a huge demand for kids to learn. Many people though can be put off by the price of sailing ( a couple of grand for a boat) but when you take them out in something exciting they are all up for saving up and the sport can be very addictive if given the right opportunity. So in conclusion, sailing is on the increase!

I wasnt alive 20 years ago! I'm only 16!

There was a waiting list to join Chew when I was a member there, around the time jpbuzz was in nappies. So I don't think that you can conclude that dinghy sailing is growing because Chew has a waiting list today. The number learning is not much of an indicator either. It is the number sticking around the sport for several years or more that matters. For what it is worth, my impression is that participation in sailing has been pretty constant over the 25 years I've been involved. The main difference has been that more people are doing opens, fewer doing club racing, and clubs struggle more every year to find the volunteers to keep running.