SNAKES!

know

   Two pence worth.
"Now if only we can get Easy AND Exciting developed and packaged instead of fixation with 'you need to get to know the boat and spend less time trying to undo the damage Messrs Bethwaite inflicted upon us there could still be a future."

This is recurring theme from you iGRF and one I mostly disagree with. I cannot see how easy can be exciting, surely it is a level of jeopardy which creates the excitement? Some do find speed exciting but I still contend easy speed pales quite quickly. Yes of course racing can be exciting an any level of jeopardy but that is a different theme and one removed from discussions about equipment (boats).

Much as I appreciate the articles and efforts researching both boats and sailing politics I think they focus on an inward looking blame game. To my mind any rise and fall in the popularity of sailing has much more to do with social circumstances and aspirations than anything else. Of course those of us into sailing quite naturally attribute much to our craft while we decry others and we are equally convinced that those "in charge" are doing it all wrong. I see this as a delusion of self importance.

Nothing stays the same forever and history is littered with skeletons of the next big thing.

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Do Different Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 26 Jan 12 Location: North Online Status: Offline Posts: 1312	Post Options Post Reply Quote Do Different Report Post Quote Reply Topic: SNAKES! Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 5:40pm
	Two pence worth. "Now if only we can get Easy AND Exciting developed and packaged instead of fixation with 'you need to get to know the boat and spend less time trying to undo the damage Messrs Bethwaite inflicted upon us there could still be a future." This is recurring theme from you iGRF and one I mostly disagree with. I cannot see how easy can be exciting, surely it is a level of jeopardy which creates the excitement? Some do find speed exciting but I still contend easy speed pales quite quickly. Yes of course racing can be exciting an any level of jeopardy but that is a different theme and one removed from discussions about equipment (boats). Much as I appreciate the articles and efforts researching both boats and sailing politics I think they focus on an inward looking blame game. To my mind any rise and fall in the popularity of sailing has much more to do with social circumstances and aspirations than anything else. Of course those of us into sailing quite naturally attribute much to our craft while we decry others and we are equally convinced that those "in charge" are doing it all wrong. I see this as a delusion of self importance. Nothing stays the same forever and history is littered with skeletons of the next big thing.

Sam.Spoons Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sam.Spoons Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 5:33pm
	Dinghy sailing is a fairly difficult sport to become good at (as is windsurfing) and getting to the point where you can access the 'excitement' takes considerably more effort than, say, mountain biking (and most people got over the initial hump on a bike as kids). There's not a lot we can do about that as it is the nature of the beast.
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iGRF Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499	Post Options Post Reply Quote iGRF Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 4:40pm
	It's always interesting reading something from an insiders perspective as to 'what went wrong' in this instance I think he jumps about in time a bit, you can't mix the seventies with now, it was such a totally different era, and you can't ignore that in this sports desperate protectionism it brings about it's own demise time and again. In my mind in recent times two things contributed to decline and they were the breakdown brought about by the Assym period of the nineties and the battle against it and the rush to roto mould of the early noughties. My view is that with having finally spotted the problem, the combination of boats like the Aero/Zero and the lipstick application to the turkey classes, finally that 'too difficult to bother with anyway' part of the three things that make the sport less accessible has been dealt with and 'they' who would supply us with the garbage we have to sail in, may have finally spotted we're in the twenty-first century and want instant access and excitement in order to selfie our pursuits to our friends and buddies.. Now if only we can get Easy AND Exciting developed and packaged instead of fixation with 'you need to get to know the boat and spend less time trying to undo the damage Messrs Bethwaite inflicted upon us there could still be a future.
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423zero Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 08 Jan 15 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 3420	Post Options Post Reply Quote 423zero Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 3:38pm
	I can't see a problem with some of the high performance classes turning professional, after seeing the way Star sailors league works, can't see how this will increase decline in sailing or indeed if it will reverse decline. I sail at a club approaching cliff edge, majority of members well past retirement, all committee members are from this group, what to do about it is the problem ? Reducing number of clubs will bring us closer to that demographic cliff edge, majority of our older members would not start again at another club.

JimC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662	Post Options Post Reply Quote JimC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 3:35pm
	I think the biggest thing that the article misses is the way not only the high performance, but also the low performance classes have collapsed and there is a much higher percentage of boats in the moderate performance bands.

craiggo Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 01 Apr 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1810	Post Options Post Reply Quote craiggo Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 22 Jan 18 at 2:33pm
	Following the first article which I found to be overly aggressive, harsh and somewhat one sided, this follow up seemed a lot more balanced and weighed up some of the genuine reasons for decline and also where the support has picked up. What is interesting, and I'm not sure if it will be captured in the next article is how some of these classes that have suffered what looked like non recoverable crashes have seemingly risen from the ashes, while those that this article hails as improving the recent situation are now struggling. I guess these are short term fluctuations and need to be considered carefully against the longer-term view.
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