Dinghy Show

Due to the incompetence of 'Openreach' who cannot be reached I have been without internet or landline for 3 weeks, consequently I have been unable to comment on the show as yet.

I noticed that grey Byte as well, same colour as the Supernova they were showing at Southampton, I liked it, they're really charging now, Hartleys, seem to have a right feather up the bum, good to see.

I went for the first time in years, and it didn't look much different to how I remembered it. For me, the best looking boats at the show were on the Merlin stand, but then of course I would say that. I 'hovered' at a few other stands but it was only on the Hornet stand that someone came over and engaged me in conversation; on the others the people 'manning' and sometimes 'womanning' the stand seemed much too engrossed in their own internal conversations to pay any attention to new faces closely inspecting their boat. More than a few missed opportunities there, guys...

The other boat that really caught my eye was that beautiful white OK with the inset wooden deck - what a spectacular piece of work that is. And once I asked questions there was some engagement there too.

Years ago I was on the Dinghy Show Committee - that was when Alice was still alive and the 'Exhibition' was at Crystal Palace - I was still on it when we moved to Ally Pally but left the following year. Back in those days there was a clear purpose for the show - it attempted to attract non-sailors into the sport. Whether it actually succeeded of not might be a moot point, but that was the reason for its existence. That raison d'etre seems to have died a long time ago, and the £15 entrance fee isn't going to breathe any new life into it. I'm not sure there is any real focus for the show any more, and this lack of purpose seems to communicate itself to most of the classes; yes they're there but not sure why - hence the internal socializing on the stands and general lack of interest in anybody not wearing their particular class t-shirt.

But Dougal's book is awesome, and well worth the journey on its own!

When on the stand, it is a slightly difficult balance. Do you do an Ancient Mariner and engage everyone,and have the situation where people can't escape as you extoll the virtues of a boat they were just glancing it, or do you smile and say Hi, but assume that those with real interest will approach you? I'm more in the latter camp, as you can probably tell.

As for why classes go, I suspect it is mainly because if you don't, people assume you are a dead class.

Who is the show for? No idea.

Originally posted by Sheetpuller More than a few missed opportunities there, guys..

Did they really miss any opportunities? Are you seriously considering changing class? Or did they correctly evaluate you as someone who just wanted to look at the boat?

But you know, at a show where most stands are manned by amateurs, one must appreciate that most stands will be manned by amateurs, and they will lack the slickness of the pros on the stands where the CA takes a back seat. In many ways its a part of the charm, at least for us old hippies who resent the man getting his fingers in everything...

As for what the show is for, it could be
social event
source of ideas for boat setup
chance to see classes that you might not see round your club
chance to take a look at what's fashionable and seems good
and there are plenty more.

And of course the show was never just about attracting non sailors - after all the vast majority of classes aren't geared to attracting non sailors. I vaguely remember that being a theme one year, and puzzling over what role classes like the 505 or Contender, or even we in the Cherubs had to play in that...