SNAKES!

Originally posted by iGRF There is another thing.. It's the abuse, not sexual abuse or anything tawdry , it's what we subject our kids to at the hands of the bloody RYA and their squad 'training' the long hours on the water waiting for whatever, all the other ministrations of a school like system that inoculates those that don't make the 'grade' by whatever cut off age it is, against ever sailing again as soon as they become self aware and self determined. It's also the lack of educating and involving parents at the same time, it's they that the sport should be marketed to, parents have the disposable income, they could equally become a part rather than a taxi driver, the whole thing is screwed by the reliance on funding for kids and the Olympic pathway..

Two good posts 

Originally posted by 423zero iGRF, Do you have any evidence at all that established classes such as the three I own Mirror, Enterprise and Minisail, plus other similar classes have contributed to the decline in sailing ?

No, nor did I cite them as contributors to sailing decline .

My opinion for what it's worth remains exactly where it was when I first surfaced here having failed to learn to dinghy sail in a Musto Skiff and that was that the products that were then being promoted as the pinnacle of the sport were ridiculous in that nobody, not even the good guys could use them for what they were intended for any more than fifty per cent of the time and often less than that.

The ludicrous over powered straight rockered drivel from Bethwaite, coupled to the various offerings from RS, the 700, 600, the 300 and now I realise the 200, all disasters marketed 80's style if you weren't able to sail them it's your fault for being somehow not good enough....

What did you think was going to happen to the activity with that attitude?



Edited by iGRF - 23 Jan 18 at 11:19am

Originally posted by craiggo 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.

Interesting that the 3 boats you own could be said to have been major contributors to the boom in sailing. I can't really see that they contributed to the fall, as the class association for each of them actually only played a part in the story of the boats. With Mirrors and Minisails, far more boats were owned by people who never raced, and may have been totally unaware that there even was a CA.

That all 3 classes have faded in comparison to the glory days has far more to do with the way families live than internal pressures and politics, as Do Different says.

I suspect we should learn to live with sailing as a more niche sport, encouraging people to try it, and fit it into their lives in such a way that works for them, whether it be racing on the circuit or at a club, playing on an estuary or pond in the summer, hiring a Pico at a centre or going on a beach sailing holiday every couple of years. There should be fun, accessible boats that people can jump in and get a buzz from with only a modicum of skill - indeed, there are plenty out there already. Currently, making them a bit heavy is the most common way of taking them - or adding a hull, of course. There should also be boats out there for those who want to master something which will give equivalent thrills to sailors wth more experience, boats for those who want close, chess on the water style racing, boats for those who want to camp-cruise, and for every other wish. The diversity is what makes sailing, in all its forms, interesting.