The Problem with the RYA

Originally posted by Dougaldog

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I'm not sure what the issue is; YOz discourages local classes here too, but the Sharpies, Sabres, Tasars, 16s, Cherubs etc are still strong.

It is interesting (as a complete outsider) to look at what has happened in the Kiwi sailing media. Sea Spray, which did so much to launch boats like the Cherub, was a "superboat" mag for big powerboats last time I saw a copy. I recently got a copy of the NZ yachting history "Southern Breezes", though, and I noticed that Robyn Elliott's section, up to 1960, concentrates heavily on home-built dinghies as well as keelboats. The section on more modern history doesn't have a single pic of a dinghy (bar two of Olympic classes) and it only has a half a dozen paragraphs on local dinghies.

In a couple of those pars, the book mentions the collapse in local dinghies and puts the blame on outside economic factors and the lure of pro campaigns - but maybe the very fact that the book basically ignores small boats is an example of the real reason for the collapse.  When the sailing media and industry turn their backs on small boats, it's no wonder they can fall away. Luckily in Oz we seem to have a structure and population size that means that classes can maintain critical mass.

Funny thing is that the pro scene that is said to have lured Kiwis out of small boats mostly depends on marketing - but those who commentate on the pro scene say that marketing has had no part to play in the collapse of small boats.  Surely if marketing is important enough to make it worthwhile for companies to pay sponsorship fees, then lack of marketing must be important enough to be a cause for the fall off in dinghies? 