Seeker wrote;

"We must first agree that everything is in a state of change, something is either growing or it is dieing. The whole one design premise is based on a false assumption...that something can be static and survive.

The world is moving in fast forward, it thrives on new technology and invention…why then assume cat sailing is declining because of too much innovation? It seems the opposite is true…Catamaran sailing must keep re-inventing itself or it will be quickly left behind, dieing... as sports with more marketing savvy cannibalize the ranks.

It's all ABOUT the marketing...It has always BEEN about the marketing...and it will always BE about the Marketing.

Marketing is the battle field where numbers are won and lost.

Regards,
Bob"


Sorry but it is just WRONG to say that "one design sailing is based on a false assumption.....that something can be static and survive".

The first two one designs EVER in small-boat sailing are both sailing happily today, and they were both created in 1884. The first International small-boat class is one of the most popular singlehanders afloat, and it was designed in 1912. The first International yacht class is still popular and still Olympic. The second one design cat class (Shearwater) has been around for over 50 years, I think. What is the most popular cat class? Hobie 16 - pretty much the same boat for 35+ years.

So the plain and simple FACT, however much you may dislike it, is that one designs classes DO survive, and some of them have survived much, much longer than many development classes. Seen many Cs, 18 squares, or Ds lately?

Not all of the world IS moving forward. Look at surfing; the old-style '60s vintage longboards are more popular than "modern" boards. Look at windsurfing - it dumped OD classes, went "progressive", and is now about 8% as big as it was when there were lots of OD boards. Look at yacht sailing - biggest events for years have been classic boat races like the 276 strong Dragon regatta. Even in dinghies, the classes that are growing fastest are the older, slow ODs like Lasers, Radials and Optis.

The facts are plain, the facts are simple. In a fast, high-tech world, many people are turning to their sport for relief from instant obsolescence. In the sport of sailing generally, the numbers do not lie - the ODs are surviving, the ODs are thriving, the slow boats are often growing.

Even in cats, what is the major growth class (arguably)? F18 - not an OD, but a class that has specifically outlawed "moving forward" too fast.