I figured we need to address this in a separate thread to the Square-top thread, even tho it is partially related it doesn't need to mess up that thread.



So what ideas can we come up with that will get the not-so active mozzie sailors a bit more active and encourage a few new people to the swarm ????


aside from the MOSQUITO wording down the sail as discussed already...


here's a few of mine.....


The '+65 class'
It sounds wrong to me for starters, is the boat 65 or is the sailor 65 or is the skipper and crews ages combined to make 65 or is it 65 kilos per hull or 65 for both or is it the 65kilos the missus has packed on since we met ..... what the hell does the +65 stand for ??

why cant we call something like the "classic class" or "original class", that would still leave it open for eldely sailors to run their boat as a veteran sailor, => no confusion.


The +65 class also needs to be far more encouraged to attend state or national titles.

Discounted entry fees for first timers ?

A handicapped start in front of the 'modern mozzies' say 2 legs worth of a head start !!! (I'd need all of that & then some )

Participation 'trophy', (we had our car clubs trophy night recently and EVERYONE got a glass with the club logo on it whether they won or ran dead last, it was a funny night as "trophies" were awarded for some of the most stupid things members did, these awards didn't overshadow the real winners of the night but everyone felt happy with going home with a trinket they deserved)
For the costs of an entry fee surely a mozzie glass cant eat up that much of the fee or budget !!!
Every participant should receive something for their hard earned cash in my opinion, we pay for the boat we pay the entry we pay for the fuel we pay for accomondation we pay and pay again and again and we get in return.....




Merchandise : the web-site's 'shop'.... shop link
where's the photos of what your looking to buy ???
what exactly is the "clothing items".... are we talking jocks or sox or jumpers ???

Where do I get a rashie with a mozzie logo on the back?
Where can I get a mozzie sail logo for my trap-jacket ?

At a recent regatta I was supprised on how many people wore a club hoody, is there a hoody forsale with the national or state associations lettering/logo on it or am I stuck with "clothing items" and taking the punt I get a green bra with an 11 on one 'boob' and an 82 on the other
a pictures worth a thousand words




Web-site:

Love Mick Floyd's (vmca) photoBucket picture albums and I'm sure we've all glanced through the many pics several times..... I was however supprised I haven't asked for the photos I and others took to be used on the associations website after the Vic state titles at Portarlington, seems the only place they exist is here on the forum (linked from my bucket account) and yet I belive they should be held onsite at the website for the future.
If I crack the shytes and simply move the pics then you guys have diddly squat to look at, the whole lot could be gone with a single click !!
SAVE THEM FOR THE FUTURE, I'm more than happy to have them stored for the future sailors of the mozzie.... do I offer them or does someone ask for them ??
who do I contact or who contacts me ???

anyone who has photos of their or others boats should be able to have them hosted on the site



Web-site: NOR attendance page:
why isn't there a section for any or all regattas at which mozzie sailors are attending listed on the website
I'd be more inclined to travel to a regatta that I know other mozzie sailors are going to..... who wouldn't !!!
other than a few of us posting up our local regattas here on the forum that we are going to why isn't there a home base list of what we are all up to ?




thoughts ??

Hi Kingy,

As we discussed at Stawell, I am a great fan of “65Kg plus mosquito class” sailing at titles, the best way is to have someone pushing the idea from within this group and getting the people they race against to attend regattas , which makes them more confidant to attend titles. if there are enough interest the Mosquito committee’s can make sure the winner and possibly the place getters can be recognised for their achievement. In turn some of these sailors will upgrade to newer boats which will keep the class strong for years to come. others will just enjoy seeing their sailing impove.

Ross
No Turbulence
1774

Matt,
Been looking at this reply for a couple of days now and I'm convinced it was intended as a reply to this thread and not the square-top thread as such....







so I'll answer it thusly....


I'm seeing the same thing, the owners of the older girls seem happy to play in their own backyard and not too much further, as to how to encourage them to take the next step and go to other races is something we need to explore and change .



definitely needs a few photos




does anyone know why.......
A/ they stopped coming ???
B/ why the "+65 class" as such was waved ????

this needs to be reversed and an 'even-footing' handicap put in place & then maybe the old girls might come back
No-one wants to last but for me personally I'd hate to say gee that looked like close racing all you guys had while I chased everyone around a leg or 2 behind, some way of keeping it "even" would go a long way in encouraging more older boats to attend in my opinion.





Agreed..... its on my list of must do's
If we change our promotion side of it to more along the lines of a mozzie meet-up / rally / get-together and the emphasis is more on the social aspect & learning about boat setup than the racing side, could we use it as a once a year rally event and get more attending ????



I had every intention of going, sadly it all unravelled on the Friday, leaving me at home with the 2 young kids until lunchtime on the Saturday, it was easier to sail at Warrnambool in the afternoon than to rush to Portarlington and not get a race in, basically I had zip chance of getting off the bottom of the ladder from the get-go.
Sunday's decision to take the camera over the boat was based on the same theory, If I had any chance of NOT coming dead last I had to do every race and not stuff up and let others around me get a DNF or DNS .....

good theory in practise.... but....

In hind-sight it was a bad decision, I should have made the effort and although been a very late arrival on the Saturday I would have gained far more from the knowledge base that was there than the casual conversations that I did have, nothing like standing next to the boat and having the problem pointed out (most would have just waved an arch around TwiceShy's area)

In all honesty there was also a reasonable amount of fear of the unknown, it was probably the main reason I went for the camera and not the boat...... If the state tittle was this w/end ..... I'd be going come hell or high water...... preferably the high water





Having seen the actual performance of the more current Mozzie over the old girls, I can hardly wait to finish Jurassic Karp and get in the mix !!
I've had a ball so far with TwiceShy and she's been fantastic to re-learn all that I'd forgotten over the years away from the sport, my highlights since I've been back on the water has been beating 2 tiapans and 2 mozzies at local club races recently, I'm getting better every time I hit the water and hopefully the transition to Karp will be far easier when the time comes






Sweet, I'll get a PM off to him over the next few days and see what we can do about the Portarlington photos for starters



thanks for you input Matt

...my highlights since I've been back on the water has been beating 2 tiapans and 2 mozzies at local club races recently..

Very fine on detail, but I'll let it slide this time..

Firstly, as the other Matt has already stated, the +65 has been waved because....they weren't showing up, so really only one question there, that is why don't they show up?

My thoughts on this, are (as the owner of two Mosquitos) the +65 division was not always known as that, whether it correct or not, we referred to them as the Heavyweight division, I think I would prefer +65 Division. The first thing that springs to mind, is most of the older boats aren't just +65, they are 70 even 80. The original kit boats which are the most common in the Western District, were made from the heaviest Marine Ply I think they could find, one of mine is an original kit boat bought by my father in about 1973 or 74, I finished it using the original plans and materials, it was an 80kg platform, and not from builder error, thats the way they were..Leigh Hein sailed one at Waranga Basin for the states years ago and came I think 3rd overall mind you, and his was heavier than mine.

A big part of it is I believe, the 80kg boat at the back doesn't see the other 70 or 80kg boat in front, they see the quick one at the front, in a fleet a lap behind is a lap behind, and last is still last, I think that the older boats are possibly discouraged by this....again this is just an opinion.

As a sailor who is mostly down the back half, has a newish lightweight Mossie and who makes up for the lightweight boat by being a heavy weight (comparatively) sailor I have to say I struggle to agree with the logic being used on the +65 views. There is a group of us who enjoy racing each other down the back just as hard as those we envy at the front.

I have been to a few states now, Sauna Sail, Ice Breaker and also a spinnaker states and although I am generally towards the back I love the chance to race with the best (for a leg or two at least), enjoy the social side and learn a fair bit.

At the spinnaker states at Rye recently a miracle happened and I was in the middle of the fleet one race and I watched one of the top guys finish the race and then go and follow around a back marker and coach him. With a bit of confidence and newly aquired knowledge that person then beat me the next race......awesome job and attitude from the person who went around and coached. That typifies the Mossie class.

Just because you are possibly going to be down the back, for whatever reason (old boat, crap sailor(me), heavy body(me), not enough practice(me)) doesn't mean you don't go......if you have the time, have a crack at it. You won't be disappointed!!

So.....hopefully we will see a great turn out for the sloop states at Rye in a few weeks (cat rigs welcome too!!!)......let's see a heap of timber boats there......that's the best way to promote the class!!!

I will be driving down from Newcastle to be competing up the back with you Nic.

I enjoy competing and the social aspect of the mozzie class, and am in a similar position where I have a new boat but I am never going to be ideal crew weight. I aim for a single digit position mostly, but enjoying improving my boat and close races.

To me the mozzie class is about competing against someones skill rather than their back pocket, but I lost most of my sheep stations years ago. I will be sailing Cat at Rye and look forward to as many competitors, even for 1, 2, or all of the races.

Luke

Hey guy's whats all this stuff about body weight being a problem .

Thats one of the things we need to promote about Cat Rig Mossies, they are competitive with a large variety of body weights certainly from 70kg to under 100kg (in the last 10 years National Titles have been won by sailors at either end of this weight range) and there are some examples of weights outside of that range being competitive as well. This is something we should be promoting as a positive for the class .

And while we are at it, its not that far back in Mossie history (2002) that a "old" 78kg timber Mossie sail number 1111, won the Sloop Rig Vic title, ahead of minimum weight boats .

Just get out there and sail what you have, as often as you can and have fun, others will follow .

Many classes would be jealous of our 26 Cat Rigs at the Nats this year and where jealous of our 20 plus Mossies at the Sauna Sail 4 years ago .

To quote a great "Old timber" but still racing at the front Mossie boat name, Just Do It!

Hi all,

I hope you don't mind me chiming in. I sail a Cobra but I have just bought a very old Mosquito (194) to use for parts for the Cobra and the Arafura Cadet I am buying and refurbishing for my kids. I may one day attempt a ‘reno’ of 194 myself. It seems to have pretty good hulls.

I really like this forum and read it often. I have learned heaps from the generous sailors who share information here.
I am definitely committed to encouraging people (esp kids) to sail catamarans. I don't care what type of boat they sail ... I am just interested in and understand cats more than monohulls. But any cat is fine with me.

I am a big fan of the idea of multiple classes sailing together.

The Viper and Taipan associations are setting up (have set up?) the Collaborative Catamaran Association (page 4 here: http://taipan.asn.au/newsletters/Snake%20Tales%20Edition%201.pdf). Why not join that? The boat numbers would be much higher if we all got together and the organisation of events would be easier if we pooled our resources.
I am encouraging the Cobra association to join the Collaborative Catamaran Association too.
Each class would have the opportunity to identify their ‘market segment’ and promote the class accordingly. Vipers suit some, Mosquitos suit others, Dolphins suit others – potential sailors can make their choices between the classes. Rather than trying to be everything to everyone, each class can try to ‘be the best’ at something that sets them apart. The mosquito is a really light boat (I was surprised about how light Mosquito 194 feels compared to Cobra 570) that seems to be pretty easy for the DIY sailor to build and maintain. The Taipan is a different beast and the Viper/F16 different again.

I think people might initially be attracted to these ‘collaborative association’ events because of the boats with the higher profiles, and then see some really ‘nippy’ mozzies tearing it up around the courses and be surprised at the low entry costs to get into sailing on a Mosquito/Cobra etc. Perhaps someone who enjoys crewing on a Viper but wants their own boat will be attracted to a Mosquito after seeing one at such an event? They still might always aspire to sailing newer, faster boat, but they may just end up in a Mosquito (or Cobra, etc) for life!

Perhaps some of the older designs can be promoted as being so retro they are cool again!! We might get a bunch of hipsters out on the water!!

I enjoy sailing at mixed regattas – I muck about at the end of the Cobra fleet getting overtaken quickly by the Mosquitos who started after me, but I have fun.

If we sailed together more often we would probably get some good/reliable data to influence calculation of yardsticks, so competition between classes would be meaningful when there are not enough boats in individual classes to create a division.

The recent 14’ regatta at Mannering Park looks like it was a great success. http://www.catsailor.net/index.php?/topic/5756-results-for-mannering-pk-regatta/

Cats I can think of that could compete in a 16’ cat regatta (but why limit it to 16’?):
Cobra, Dolphin, F16, Hobie 16, Hydra, Mosquito, Taipan, Viper

Anyway, that’s a pretty long post from a newbie like me …

Hopefully I will see some of you out on the water some time soon.

Regards

Matthew

After sailing at Speers point for a season Matt, I was also having to get used to being a rare class in a fleet.

Mozzies to me mean good fun, social, exciting racing. I think the differences in experiences and skill more than make up for crew weight differences. I look at Gordon Hyde on his boat sailing with someone else's old sail and his 1500 sail number and he is still competitive (for an old guy).

The social side is one of the mozzies big strengths, and as much as there is a competitive side to our racing, I think the way to get more people involved is to capitalise on the social side of the association. There can only be one winner, so I think it is important to provide other interests to the rest of us.

Social events, training clinics, novelty races, scull beer before races, mixed crew races and maintenance days/tips strengthen the association. This is illustrated by the amount of followers on this forum and the interest in fellow boat maintenance.

I think if you want people to become part of the Mosquito community then we should capitalise on the creating a strong community. Only my thoughts of course.

Luke.

Hi all,

I believe many of the points Luke and Matthew made make sense, also that many of them are what Mossies have been doing, which has made them so succesful in recent years (particularly travelling to mixed class regattas), but never hurts to be reminded. Last seasons good idea in Vic I think, was seperate sloop states which meant about 6 new crews introduced to mossies.

Matthew thanks for that link to Taipan Newsletter, hopefully the Taipans will be able to maintain the fervour. Like you as long as people are getting out sailing and enjoying it, its all good, doesn't matter what they are sailing.

As for the Collabrative Cat Association, Victorian Mosquito Catamaran Asociation has been inviting other classes to join them at State Titles for years, some of the classes that have been involved are, Windrush, Dolphin and Arrows, with Arrows still joining Mossies last March. Also National Titles have been held in States with low Mossie numbers combined with classes like Maricats.

2 years ago the Taipans asked the Mossies if they could join them at Nationals, but it was considered the numbers would be too large as with Vipers etc. Fleet would have been over 70 cats, too many for a lot of clubs. So as you can see a lot of this has been going on, but a name hasn't been put to it.

A little off topic but still very related...

I was at the hardware shop the other day and had a interesting conversation with the manager, he casually asked me what I sailed after he spotted the Ronstan and sailing stickers on the back of the cruiser, at first I thought it was just polite conversation but he blew me away when he admitted to also being a sailor and to top it off a mozzie sailor !!!

the conversation then got very interesting as to the amount he sails..... and I thought I was on the water a lot !!
the really odd thing was he sails at my local lake (only minutes from my home) and I'd not seen him coming or going to the lake let along on the water at all !!!
Strangely enough he only sails for pleasure, not one ounce of racing has ever entered that need, he simply likes to go when and where he wants to and enjoy the boat as it is.

Wind didn't seem to be a consideration in his pleasure, it was all about going out for a sail.


now I can honestly say we wont convert this guy to come and race with us, but on the other hand how often do we have a simple social day where its all about the enjoyment of going for a sail and not about the race or a course ???

I have been enjoying reading the information over on the Paper Tiger web sites. They seem to be doing a great job and their fleet seems to be increasing in numbers. A few things I noticed:

* an excellent newsletter
* lots and lots of technical tips - about sailing, boat repair, boat design, construction, fittings, system design, etc
* a 'shop' for parts that you can't get off the shelf - members make parts and sell them via the association (rudder boxes, goosenecks, mast stiffeners, halyard hooks, etc
* lots of info about regattas

International site
Australian site
Newsletters
Shop

Very impressive!

Promotion for the class.. http://sydneysailboatexpo.com.au/mosquito/

Matt Stone and I are organising to get our boats up to the Sydney sailboat expo next year. If anyone else is keen to join in, let us know!

Tash