State of the nation

Peter Bentley philosophises over the health of dinghy sailing today

With the 2002 edition of the Sailboat and Windsurf Show kicking off tomorrow, it seemed like a good time to contemplate the health of UK dinghy sailing and how we come to be where we are.

The fact that I can remember when it was quite simply the Dinghy Show probably says as much about my age as it does about the ancestry of the show. Way back when the Dinghy Show was invented, the UK small boat scene was populated by numerous classes each built by one of several small companies.

Class associations ruled the roost. The individual boat builders had little money to spend on marketing and promotion (even if they understood the need to) and the Class Associations were harder up still. Even in the halcyon days of the 1960s very few dinghies ever made it to the rarefied air of Earls Court.

Enter the RYA. Acceding to the wishes of a significant part of its membership they decided to try and revert the balance in a cost-effective way. And it is as well to remember that at this time the majority of serious racing was in International or National class, the latter all administered by the RYA. In its original guise, the Dinghy Show was a pure class association benefit. Ernest members of the Enterprise class worked hard to persuade you why it was better to buy into their fleet rather then the GP14. The 505 was set against the Flying Dutchman and so it went on.

Those who can remember back to the heady days of Crystal Palace will recall the debate as to whether 'commercial' exhibitors should be let in at all. And when they were, it was to a draughty and often rain-soaked stretch of footpath outside the main building.

How things have changed. Recreational racing and the sales of boats to support it have moved largely into the hands of two major manufacturers. One other major player has fallen by the wayside. Newer companies and classes (and in most cases the two are but one and the same thing) are universally modelled on the business practices of the two big players.

Of course many of the original classes survive. Some in their own way are thriving. Others have to all practical intents and purposes ceased to exist. As with the new classes, the secret of success seems to hinge on offering a total package to prospective owners. It's not enough just to have boats - a race circuit, social events and a good coaching programme are all essential.

And what of the hardware? All the latest boats are unashamed one-designs with the minimum of user-adjustable features. In place of the slow, steady progressive evolution of the development classes we now have incremental change with the introduction of each new design.

To be sure, classic development classes like the International 14 still have a vital role to play. Others once popular development class such as the National 12 and Merlin Rocket, while still attracting a dedicated following, have undoubtedly declined.

The impetus for this change in emphasis is complex, but the undoubted economies of manufacturing offered by the one-design concept, coupled with a reduction in leisure time have both played a major part. Few people are now inclined (or even have the time) to so much as paint their boats, still less contemplate building or modifying one.

It wasn't always so. The huge growth in dinghy sailing in the 1950s and 60s was fuelled by fleets of home-built dinghies. Mass production initially in the form of Fairy's hot moulded products and later in GRP only added to the numbers. New sailing clubs were built to support the new sailors and the countless thousand who learned to sail in nothing more than a T-shirt and jeans to this day swell the numbers of berth holders who have spawned a whole new industry - marinas.

And while few dinghies made it into the London Boat Show in the 1960s, there was promotion and publicity aplenty. The Daily Express and the Daily Mirror (as they then were) were in the vanguard with other national newspapers in a supporting role. A Mirror dinghy was even built (in the space of a single programme if memory serves, with plenty of "here's one I prepared earlier") on the childrens' TV show, Blue Peter. And what do we get on Blue Peter now? The opportunity to name a boat.

Which takes us almost full circle. The Sailboat and Windsurf show is an essentially introspective event. Attendees are mostly current dinghy sailors. Many are up in London just for a swift half and a yarn with their mates. Those buying new boats are in all probability simply moving from one class to another. Market share is goal for most manufacturers. Perversely, the commercial interests don't seem too worried about the market as a whole.

The boot it seems has swung onto the other foot. Now it is the turn of the RYA to get the sport restarted at ground level. Stung by research that showed more than 1000 young sailors were needed at the bottom of its Junior programme just to generate one senior squad member ten or more years down the line, the heat is on to get more youngsters out on the water. Champion Clubs, Junior squads, regional events are but the major initiative aimed at getting Britains' youth afloat.

Nothing has changed yet everything has changed. Where will it all end?

WIN FREE TICKETS TO THE SAILBOAT AND DINGHY SHOW - OFFER ENDS AT 1200 TODAY!!!