SNAKES!

My boats fit my "comfort zone" Minisprint hardest to sail, would have a go at foiling though, but nowhere close enough to use on a regular basis, so won't be buying one.

I don't get this reluctance to compete..

You won't get far turning up for Tennis Lessons, or Squash, or Golf, we should be less about Swallows and Amazons and more about sailing the sport, and our approach should be so geared.

Come on, how difficult is it? There that's the sail thing, there you wiggle that thing at the back to point it, and there see that buoy over there you've got to sail round it and get back here, 1st one back buys the teas, off you go.. (Day One).

Originally posted by Sam.Spoons And the whole RYA levels thing is geared towards sailing around a course........

Is it? I've no idea, when we set up the levels thing for windsurfing we tried to keep it triangle and about going round a course, then they buggered about and launched some new thing 'fast forward' without centreboards without racing and windsurfing stopped growing almost from that moment. That and the big school owners being used as inspectors to close all the small ones.

The RYA tend to set their 'modules' up in as time consuming and boring method possible, since their interest is in selling instructor time and 'the experience' rather than swelling the ranks of active sailors or conversion.

I've long held the belief, better to sell the product and build the course of lessons on how to use it as a far better method of getting converted sailors and boat users.

We have exactly the same issues these days with kitesurfing, which is now beyond the novelty surge and we now have centres that just churn the interest with no motivation to convert the numbers into actual kitesurfers.

We're not impeded by the RYA (for very good reason), but we have a similar body,(but even more corrupt) that facilitates schools and can undermine the shop/shool scenario that kicked the sport off. So the battle goes on between those that would purvey the hardware and those that impart the skill, but, we're nowhere near as separated as the dinghy world, it still happens that those that teach you also sell you the means with which to carry out the activity and that my friends is what essentially is missing from dinghydom

What I can say for certain is that the average club tennis player plays to a much higher standard than the average club sailor sails to. Most club sailors have had barely any coaching in their life, partly because it is time consuming, boring, expensive and difficult to communicate. Most club tennis players get many hours of coaching every week.

My inland club has the option of a delayed start for novices (tie a streamer on the end of the boom and hang back for a second start gun at +1min, times are corrected in the results). My holiday club sails simple triangle courses and runs beach starts (for two reasons, we have a large proportion of inexperienced racers and it means the starts can be run from the beach by non-sailors).