-
03 Nov 2009 08:10
Odd Couple
11/03/09Even with the growing number of 'modern' traditional boats, we still get a chuckle out of seeing the somewhat odd coupling of various components. Take this Hull and keel combo on the new Scandinavian 20. Add a rotating semi un-stayed tapered carbon fiber wing mast to this 'cruiser' and it is quite a combo. We think these are actually great developments, but still...................saving sailing
Saving Racing11/03/09From the book Saving Sailing, by Nicholas Hayes
Of the approximately 1.2M registered sailboats in the Unites States, only about 20% are actively raced. Sailboat racing, like all sailing in the U.S., is in decline, with a meager 3/10ths of 1% of the population, including kids, doing it today (compared with about 3% of the population just 30 years ago). Racing is down almost 88% (you read that right) since 1979, shedding almost 6 million participants.
Let’s look at the facts.
A few races (less than 2% of all starts) are major media events, hosted by professional managers who provide services like entertainment, provisioning, coaching and photography, who rally spectators and sponsors and publishers, and promise branding on a large scale. These are the exception, not the norm. But these are also the events that most will see in a late-night mention on cable TV and that shape the public’s view of sailing in general.
The vast majority, more than 98% of all starts, are far more modest. Most races began with a few sailors saying, “Let’s go here to there and see who gets there first” followed by a gradual evolution to something more complex and socially interesting. Since racing often involves an assortment of buoys to define a course and timekeepers to set starts and finishes, most events are the product of systematic volunteerism, coalescence and cooperation on par with that found in a large church or temple. Many yacht and sailing clubs can trace their roots to basic race organization, often provided by member-racers who took turns setting buoys and time to make racing possible for their competitor-friends.
Once the racing begins, favorite flavors emerge. Most sailboat racers fall into one of two categories: 68% who sail on a boat designed for dual, triple or more purposes and 32% who prefer racing identical boats.
If you visit any of the online discussion boards regarding sailboat racing, you will inevitably confront a heated debate of the merits of handicapping verses sailing one-design. There, sailors will often insist that their favored design is the solution to waning participation. As you might guess, one-design sailors want their design to be the popular standard, and handicap sailors do not see how a one-design fleet will meet their needs. It is notable that only 7% of all the sailboats in the U.S. meet a one-design criteria.
But the argument is mostly wasted breathe, at least as suggested by the data:
Among 164 U.S. sailing clubs surveyed (by US Sailing) in 2007, there are 215 different, active one-design fleets, and another 3 or 4 fleets each of handicap racers of various pedigree. This means that sailboat racing as a whole has the burden of attempting to appease, or at least juggle, about 500 tiny special-interest groups, each with only a few dozen (or less) members but with very definite opinions about what is right and wrong in their sport. It also means that fleets must, by this market design, constantly shrink, rather than grow, to adjust to the latest fad.
Mathematicians have names to describe trends in group dynamics like these. Fragmentation is when the group is breaking apart, and in doing so, becoming weaker. Coalescence is when a group is coming together and as a result, becoming stronger.
When groups coalesce they gain buying power, competition increases and prices fall, creating access. That is precisely why sailing clubs formed originally; by tapping the buying power of a group, access to lakes and oceans and boats became a reality for the group.
Conversely, when groups fragment, entry barriers like financial or time costs rise. Without a club, an individual has to bear all costs of access, training or coordination. As cost and access barriers climb, popularity must eventually and inevitably drop, although it may not seem so at first.
Since about 1980, Americans have assumed that we would have unlimited discretionary income and the ability to buy into whatever personal entertainment we wish, without need to share access. A strange period of cheap money and ample toys created a false sense of unlimited buying power. It hasn’t felt as if there was much need to coalesce, so many clubs witnessed major shortfalls in member recruitment — even as marinas expanded and prices for basic services increased. The average cost to dock a sailboat rose 8 times faster than inflation in the last 10 years, even as overall demand measured in usage dropped. Now, fewer people sail on bigger and bigger boats that consume more and more lake frontage.
More important perhaps, during this time, many clubs became sellers of support services, including those required for racing, as opposed to self-sustaining groups of volunteers. So in some places, only those that can afford to buy the time of others can afford to race, and those with time to spare and some interest can’t. More people inside and outside of sailing think that sailing is a professional sport of sponsors and celebrities, when, according to the numbers, it isn’t and will never be.
Basic supply and demand theory tells us that this had to end.
Now that the economic bubble has popped we can see that coalescence is healthy for a community in both good times and bad, but fragmentation is especially visible and threatening in the bad. What can be done?It’s pretty simple:
- Join a club, and if there isn’t one within reach, form one
- Share boats if necessary
- Set a race course
- Enter whatever boat you have access to
- Take your turn doing race committee
- Take your kids and their friends
Like this stuff? Then get the book!
The Formula
It is obvious that F18 catamarans are damn sexy. With a growing fleet of boats that are great bang-for-the-buck, top level sailors, a 12-event regatta schedule, and a free keg of beer at every event, you have the recipe that helped make the Eastern area F18 summer series a huge success as other classes and events struggled to maintain numbers. 31 teams competed in a mix of distance, and buoy course races throughout New England, NY, and NJ between May and October. Each event averaged around 12 boats, which provided plenty of tight racing for all involved. Teams that regularly attended regattas saw a tremendous increase in performance throughout the season, culminating when 6 New England teams traveled to Toronto and all placed in the top 13 in the 37 boat Canadian National Championship. 
Team Microwind (Anarchists Mike Easton and Tripp Burd) demonstrated total dominance coming off a strong finish in the Tybee 500 to win each event in the series as well as take a top 5 finish at North Americans and plundered the Canadian Championship trophy. Having a team of this caliber in the series raised the level of competition as a whole as other teams fought hard to stay in the mix. Behind them in the standings were teams comprised of father/son, coed, and a wide range of ages, but all with one thing in common, the need for speed. Narragansett Brewery signed on as the beer sponsor for the series, providing lots of swag and the fuel to perpetuate the reputation for partying as hard as we sail. Series results and information can be found at www.nensa.org-wildtsail
11/03/09
I Quit!
When I signed on to work with Sailing Anarchy to cover the Melges 24 Worlds, I CLEARLY had no idea what I was getting into. See, I'm a simple pen-and-paper kind of person - I've never worked with video production equipment, unless my Blackberry counts. So when I found myself surrounded by video cameras, computers, lenses, microphones, cables, antennas, modems, hard drives, and professional photography equipment, I literally geeked out. Can we talk about sensory overload? By the way, "On the Water Anarchy" is the biggest misnomer I've ever heard. The Anarchy isn't just on the water; it's on the dock, at the house, at the parties, in the car, in the kitchen, at the store...it's shopping, cleaning, changing fuel filters, fueling up, organizing and hooking up equipment, loading gear, taping lashing, networking, editing, programming, drinking, smoking, and dancing. And there I was, completely clueless, just trying to get a grasp on a job I was responsible for, and one that that changed with every new challenge and condition. Was I a good fit for OTWA? Well, I definitely know that following the Melges 24 Worlds so closely gave me a new determination to become a better competitive racer, and that's pretty much the idea behind the concept; to get people more exciting about racing. And based on the feedback I've received, we did just that.
It was definitely not easy for a minute, but was working with the OTWA crew fun? Well, any week-long event that culminates with my waking up Sunday morning on a 63' luxury yacht still dressed in a pumpkin costume must have been a lot of fun, whether remembered or not! I have no idea how I found the energy to go sailing on the R/P 45 Sjambok that same day, but I bet it had something to do with being amped after watching the Melges fleet battle it out all week long. It felt great to step on a sailboat after watching some of the top sailors in the world battle it out on the Chesapeake Bay, only 120 miles north from my hometown. I only wish there could have been more wind - I feel kind of embarrassed for my home waters. It never blew more than 15 knots all week, and even that only happened for one race on the last day. Truly disheartening, especially since just a couple weeks ago, when I sailed on Stephen Murray, Sr.'s TP-52 "Decision IV" it blew 25+ knots. Where did that damned breeze go during the M24 Worlds? I'm at a loss, and I feel like apologizing for my Bay to everyone that traveled so far to race Worlds.
I know that Clean is working on his Worlds report right now, so check back tomorrow for a story that includes all the links to each day's coverage. While the live coverage was certainly groundbreaking and a huge hit, since I was there it's not as exciting to me as the insanely good highlight videos from Petey Crawford and the gorgeous shots captured by Meredith Block.
Congratulations to Chris Larson, the 2009 Melges 24 World Champion, and to Bruce Ayres, the 2009 Melges 24 Corinthian World Champion. Thank you to all of our sponsors, especially Point Loma Outfitting and Atlantis Weather Gear for my pimp-ass jacket that everyone is totally jealous of.
Anyways, it's been ultra-real and very fun, and I hope you guys liked my part in OTW Anarchy from the M24 Worlds. Thanks for all the nice emails and PMs, and stay tuned for my next crazy story, whatever it is. Hopefully it doesn't involve Afghanistan, but right now, you never know. If I can stay out of that, I'll be looking for another new adventure, if anyone knows of one...
Much love,
Katie Burns11/03/09race report
Small Worlds11/03/09
The 2009 2.4mR World Championships began today in the Caloosahatchee River at Fort Myers, Florida. An early morning fog prompted an onshore postponement, but racing began when the shifty sea breeze rolled in. With two races completed today, the top three sailors are:
1 CAN99 Tingley,Paul
2 USA8 Horrocks,Carl
3 USA88 Ruf,John
Racing is hosted by the Edison Sailing Center and is scheduled to continue through Friday.
Search the Site
