SNAKES!

Originally posted by NickM99 "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."  Hell yes! Back in the fifties and sixties men were men. Life expectancy of Grand Prix drivers (no namby pamby seatbelts) was about the same as a Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain.  The had the RIGHT STUFF, no doubt like the dinghy sailors of that era, (who were nevertheless had a better survival rate.)

"Draycote and above", such as Rutland water, kids can be a long way from safety cover, not talking about organised sailing such as our saturday morning cygnets club.

I don't recall any of us having to be rescued back in the day outside of organised racing when the club 'rescue' boat was on hand.

I agree with the fun bit on a small lake, but anything like Draycote and larger or the sea, then no, why should the volunteer RNLI have to be called out from their sunday lunch or kids birthday party because some knobs kids have blown out to sea, no buoyancy, ordinary clothes, shoes, no radios etc.

But I don't want to know how many people died in sailing-related accidents in the 60s compared to now.