The only 15 % race fallicy:

I have to disagree to some extent with the notion that the fact that only 15 % race means that the other 85 % who don't race carry much more weight in whole sailing scene.

We have personally found that even small but active race groups keep sailing clubs alive. Loose even such a 10 to 15 % group of active racers and the club will see a significant downturn and with it growth and boat sails.

It is like motor bike or automobile racing. Only 0.5 % of the cars build actually race once or more in their life span, STILL it is a major consideration to car builders. Why because it is all about product placing and public perception. Every recreational sailor and weekend warrior likes to reflect his own endeavours against those of the racing hero's.

At our clubs (I've been personal involved with two of them) we have found that club race day attracts alot more clubmembers then the racers themselfves. Other members know that something will be happening that day and that therefor a good size group will hang around the clubs how creating buzz that they enjoy participating in or interacting with. In fact there are more spectators then races on such a day and often they don't actually watch the racing but engage in conversations with others while enjoying a drink and generally have a good time.

In one club we lost this racing scene to mismanagement and surprisingly enough the "good fun" days were almost immediately gone. And interestingly enough in a club with about 100 boats on its parking for 15 to 20 years and an active club racing fleet of ONLY 10 boats, it collapsed to 50 to 60 boats in parking and no racing fleet within some 2 to 3 years. In effect is lost 40 to 50 boats when only 10 boats quite club racing. It has not recovered yet and probably won't soon.

At the club I'm at now similar things had happened a few years earlier and when I switch clubs, because I was an active club racer at the time, they had just initiated a major effort to bring back their club racing. Since then the club has done all right again and a few crews from 2 neighbouring clubs sail over on race day to join us on race day. Again the group is not big in its entirety. about 10-15 boats.

So never ever underestimate the footprint of 10-15 % of the cataraman scene or any sport. This is the group that is pulling the other 85 % along, they are the back bone that keeps the whole 100% standing up. Strike that down, because indeed this group requires alot of investment for meager returns, and you'll risk bringing the whole scene down.

Why ? Because this group are the active sailors, they are the volunteers, they are the guys who are always around at the club and on the water and welcome new sailors, take people out for test rides and maintain the presence on the net and in the local newspapers, they organise the events and maintain the permits.

The other 85 % of the scene, whether they are sailing glass or rotomoulded boats, are one lazy group of free riders that are absolutely NOT interested in organising anything or even being present/sailing for more then 5 times a year. When this group is left to their own devices then they will totally collapse within 2 to 3 years. Which in turn requires them to trailer their boats back home after each sail, which is again too much for most of this group and so they quit. Thus bringing down the scene with them, incl. the roto stuff sales. Irrespectibally of what happens at the resorts.

I've seen this happen in various forms.

This is just the devils deal one has to make as a company when doing boat building in the small boat sailing scene. You have to maintain the core group of 10-15 % of active sailors (=racers) or risk losing the whole 100 % of the privately owned boats (excl. the resorts). Doing this cost money and effort and there is simply no way around it. That is why alot of builders like to enter formula classes as here the investment in maintaining the active portions is shared over more then one pair of shoulders.

Wouter