Have RS lost their Faith in Hyde Sails?

   I think the Finns are ok, with over 300 boats at the masters worlds last year and over 200 boats at the worlds in 2015...

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Fatboi Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Posting king Joined: 09 Aug 16 Location: Hampshire Online Status: Offline Posts: 189	Post Options Post Reply Quote Fatboi Report Post Quote Reply Topic: Have RS lost their Faith in Hyde Sails? Posted: 25 Jan 17 at 4:48pm
	I think the Finns are ok, with over 300 boats at the masters worlds last year and over 200 boats at the worlds in 2015...

Sam.Spoons Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sam.Spoons Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 25 Jan 17 at 5:04pm
	And raceboards are experiencing a bit of a resurgence too (though they'll never achieve pre FW levels). I was pumping around courses on typical regional inland events into my mid 50's and didn't stop because of the pumping but due to personal circumstance changing. There are still pockets of 7.5 RB with reasonable club racing up here in the NW, (I would not be racing 9.5 RB, far too much like hard work). I'm definitely not advocating unlimited dynamics in dinghies though (but I'm now in my mid 60s and have lost some fitness in the intervening years......). I do agree that the UKBSA/IYRU shot the sport in the foot several times over the years and I was never a fan of the RYA when it came to their windsurfing policy. Edited by Sam.Spoons - 25 Jan 17 at 5:08pm

RS400atC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3011	Post Options Post Reply Quote RS400atC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 25 Jan 17 at 5:33pm
	Boardsailing also just plain old went out of fashion. It became something that 30-somethings did and the 20-somethings went and did other things instead. Most people I knew who were very keen to spend all their cash on boards in the late 80s and early 90s were not at all interested in racing or competitions. For most of the board buying public it never was anything like dinghy racing. The board racing club at Southsea were seen as a weird minority by most of the youngish single blokes with boards on the roof of their car at the place I worked. (Not far from Hayling.) A windy afternoon would cause half the blokes in the office to take a half day holiday, then come in the day after talking bollux about how monstrous it was. Fun times. It partly just burned itself out as people got competent, got bored of simply sailing around aimlessly and only wanted to go out in progressively more wind. At its peak, it was nothing like dinghy racing for 90% of the participants. More like skiing perhaps, except most people have their skiing rationed and never get enough to get bored of it?

Sam.Spoons Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 07 Mar 12 Location: Manchester UK Online Status: Offline Posts: 3401	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sam.Spoons Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 25 Jan 17 at 6:03pm
	That's probably right, fun times indeed. Only 10% of the windsurfing club I was a member of for best part of 25 years (and chairman of for 13 of those) raced. Despite that we did produce two olympic hopefuls (both training partners of the sailors who did go on to make it to the Olympics), one 'nearly pro' wave/freestyle sailor, a Raceboard World and multiple National Champion (and a kitesurfing Masters National Champion, though I'm not sure I should add that). Racing declined and stopped at that club as a consequence of FW becoming the new game in town.