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iGRF 
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Joined: 07 Mar 11 Location: Hythe Online Status: Offline Posts: 6499 |
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 Topic: SNAKES!Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 12:32pm |
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There was an old movie reel on BBC4 the other day about folk and boats in the UK in the sixties and half of them were wearing ordinary clothes and some out on the wire. The difference from those days to these is chalk and cheese and we wonder why participation in regimented 'fun' is dropping off. Treating people like idiots, wrapping them in cotton wool, it's bloody embarrassing to watch never mind be a part of, I'm sure if I had to endure all that there is absolutely no way I'd have anything to do with it. All trussed up in Buoyancy vests and God knows what, to go out in the noon day sun, with he assumption that everyone has zero common sense and can't swim a stroke... What do we expect, when our own experiences were so much more adventurous, I don't think I even told my parents I was going to try the sailing dinghy attached to the back of our Broads cruiser, I just hoisted up the rig made my sister sit still and off we went...9 and 6 years old, imagine that today?
Edited by iGRF - 26 Jan 18 at 12:33pm |
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Sam.Spoons
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Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 12:16pm |
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I'm sure they do and the enthusiasm of the instructors is probably the key but our current 'health and safety' culture makes it difficult (or even impossible) for them to allow young sailors to experience the freedom I had as a kid. I was shown the basics and then shoved off in an Optimist to work it out for myself. Safety cover was probably my dad fiddling with his OK on the beach......
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Spice 346 "Flat Broke"
Blaze 671 "supersonic soap dish" |
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JimC
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Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 11:52am |
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I'd be fairly suprised if many clubs do the syllabus and only the syllabus without a reasonable mixture of less serious stuff.
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turnturtle
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Joined: 05 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2538 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 11:50am |
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I’m basing this next post on the very limited recent experience of observing L1&2 teaching at Draycote, so maybe not universal; but even though there is a formula being followed, there still seems to be a fair amount of messing about boats and laughing going on... I do wonder if those of us harbouring ill views towards the RYA system are
Maybe reading it all a little too literally from some website copy rather than experiencing it on the ground with relaxed and enthusiastic instructors? |
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fab100
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Joined: 15 Mar 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1005 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 11:09am |
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Agreed Show ‘em/teach ‘em it’s fun and you are most of the way there, the majority will work out the rest for themselves, because they then want to master it. this in contrast to the colour-by-numbers style official method
Edited by fab100 - 26 Jan 18 at 11:09am |
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Sam.Spoons
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Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 10:50am |
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Yup, that's it. The thing that seem to be lacking in modern training is the simply 'messing about in boats' element that was such a crucial part of my introduction to dinghy sailing. If it had been all formal training in my day I doubt I would be sailing boats now......... Edited by Sam.Spoons - 26 Jan 18 at 10:50am |
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Spice 346 "Flat Broke"
Blaze 671 "supersonic soap dish" |
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turnturtle
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Joined: 05 Dec 14 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2538 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 9:35am |
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Hi Matt, purpose for posting - dual reasons really. Firstly I doubt McKinsey would publish severely factually inaccurate information, so I think we can assume that the period before this report was commissioned, (2003), showed a marked decline in participation. This isn’t surprising - given the strength of anecdotal evidence that folk talk of with regards to ‘big fleets’ in the 70’s and 80’s.
However, it’s also worth noting that this discussion topic has been bubbling on for what must be nearly two decades- with obviously no sense of conclusion or plan of action. Therefore, like you I’m minded to think that it ain’t all that bad, and if anything, the worst of the decline is probably behind us. There are certainly no less active adult racers at clubs around my UK home, to my sea based home clubs in the late 80’s and 90’s as a kid. I’ve also seen my local Laser fleet swell from the 5-6 regulars with a couple of extras back in 2003, to pushing high teens and twenties with some level of consistency- and this is despite all the classes that have come and gone in an attempt to replace it. This is the case at two or three local-ish clubs to my UK base, and I understand Solos have been equally successful at other clubs around there. The Aero is gaining traction at another club nearby, and it won’t take long for Jeffers to cite the D-Zero at Grafham and Hunts - another ‘win’ for sensible boats that are still fun to sail and race with average skills or lack of time. The more of these types of boats actively racing, then the tighter the core PY banding for the ‘club fleet’- especially if supplemented with a programme of club owned boats for newbies etc. If club sailing is to suffer a future of handicap racing only, then I’m sure of one thing, the tighter the PY banding, the more meaningful the racing will actually be. So, I’m kind of with you and Jim on this.... SFW if the numbers have technically dropped from the 1970s. That was a lifetime ago, and societal pressures and economic conditions are so fundamentally different- and in broader terms, very much for the positive for all of us. If there’s one thing I could never abide, it was the blue blazer types that would proliferate the Gentlemen’s Club of the past... so frankly a more family friendly place, OR something semi-professionally run for those who participate without family members, seems a far better set of future options than those toss-pot places of last Century whose stereotype still pervades our collective reputation. I do agree with the general feeling that the RYA’s talent mining efforts does strip clubs of average ability kids who might otherwise go on to serve as club regulars. It’s easy to see that when you’ve been lucky enough to sail 29ers in Weymouth every other week, the prospect of the local pond on Supernova doesn’t do it for you. I think it would be far better alround if there were actually young adults in clubs willing to crew more exciting things like Fireballs and 400s than us ‘oldies’ defaulting to various singlehanded options. But outside of that, my critique of the RYA ends- I think they’re a relative slick operation for keeping Whitehall’s hands off the reigns and this for sure, is a bigger issue in today’s world than whether the odd bloke on a forum thinks the PYAG aren’t transparent enough. It’ll be interesting to see what comes in ‘Ladders’, because half the story only seemed like a trip down Nostalgia Avenue... relatively pointless in many ways, and frankly, doesn’t really add to the sense that there is solid future for dinghy sailing. As Peaky points out, you’d have to try a great number of other things to match ‘a good dinghy race’ for sense of self-worth and achievement. |
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sargesail
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Joined: 14 Jan 06 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1459 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 7:16am |
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Exactly Jim, And what worries me is the prescription of a medicine which might just worsen the patient. Because there appear to be quite a few 'doctors' out there.
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423zero
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Joined: 08 Jan 15 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 3420 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 7:12am |
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I didn't recognise many of the posters on early thread, have they become part of the alleged decline?
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JimC
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Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6662 |
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Posted: 26 Jan 18 at 12:06am |
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As far as I can make out every outdoor sport with the possible exception of the odd temporarily trendy fad is desperately worrying about numbers in this couch potato age. As its a sure bet that we cannot do anything about wider changes in society, then, if the decline in sailing numbers is no worse than other comparable sports, we should just learn to live with it and cut our cloth to suit the grave new world. If on the other hand we have a specific problem it would be good to know, but for sure we won't find out from ill informed rumour and chatter.
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