Declining numbers of Sailors

jac said:
Too true Andy, too true.

I think too many rested on their laurels for too long, ignoring the steadily aging membership. They then wonder why younger people ( say in 40's or 50's) are perhaps reluctant to join as they will be the age of the existing members children. They then fail to refresh what they offer to members and become even further stuck in the past. I wonder how many of those will fail.
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Young does not mean 40 to 50.. It means 20 to 30. But you don't see those in many sailing clubs.
 
GrahamM376 said:
Can't agree. We used to do French west coast for several years which was brilliant and then brought the boat down to the Algarve. All year sailing if you want, much cheaper marinas and moorings (if you can find a mooring), cheaper food and drink, air fares often <£25, much more relaxed and no-one's afraid to walk around dark streets at night.
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Glad it was good for you. When was that? On my recent flying visits down to the Med to conduct exams, not only was every airport experience a real pain; but also marina costs for candidates were perceived by them as major problem. Weather is usually nice though! CBT
 
ctelfer38 said:
Glad it was good for you. When was that? On my recent flying visits down to the Med to conduct exams, not only was every airport experience a real pain; but also marina costs for candidates were perceived by them as major problem. Weather is usually nice though! CBT
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I'm talking about the present time but Algarve, not Med. Our mooring has cost on average €180 p.a. We rarely use marinas as there are plenty of anchorages but, when we do, Andalucia is quite cheap and Gib and LaLinea even better around £18/night. Algarve marinas dearer at around €48/night high season up to 12m. Faro airport well organised and not too long to get through except at peak times when the early morning flights all arrive together.
 
mjcoon said:
Not any more (at least not everywhere). Croatia wants at least one ICC and at least one VHF certificate per yacht and flotilla companies have to pass the demand on.

Mike.
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Still a bit more relaxed in Greece as flotillas are assumed to be under the control of a qualified person In some areas they are a big part of the tourist landscape so the authorities are tolerant. Many of the operators do, however offer training alongside the flotilla so the number of totally inexperienced is probably low.
 
eddystone said:
But the title of this thread is "Declining numbers of sailors", not "yacht sailors"; most people who sail do so in dinghies and the majority of that is club racing at countless sailing clubs, many hidden away in the most unlikely places as far from the sea as is possible.
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+1
 
An, admittedly given to shocking statements, CA member reckons it's all down to the extinction of the cruising sailor.
He reckons they've all been replaced by marina-based boats, used as weekend cottages with the family or for all-boy club racing.
That means that all those people with a blue-water cruising boat are shortly going to find their pride and joy a credit consuming hole in the water, with little if any book value.

At my age I really couldn't care less - my executors will have the problem of selling my boat!
 
I continue to be surprised at the number of boats that never leave the harbour, some never even have the sails bent on, and one didn't even put his mast up this year. Yet they pay for a berth, crane in and our, and winter storage. Part of that I am sure is a health thing as one such unused boat, just a few years ago was getting regular use and travelling far and wise.

I was chatting to the harbour master and remarked I have only managed to get out on the boat 9 days this year. "That's 9 days more than many of them" was his reply.

There always seem to be 1 or 2 for sale at any one time so perhaps some are looking for a way out?

And at age 54, I do seem to be one of the younger (cruiser) sailors I meet. Most of the real young ones sail dinghies, but I don't see dinghy sailors "moving up" to cruisers in any great number. They are such different aspects of sailing, and dinghy sailing has never interested me.

Another discussion SWMBO and me had on the way back from Friday's sail as the wind was dying and we were ghosting along at 2 knots in 4 knots of wind in a mill pond sea, drinking our coffee and eating our lunch. "Is sailing a hobby, or a sport?"
 
We've been out twice this year, which is by some way the worst ever since we started sailing around ten years ago.
Back then I had the school holidays off, we had no kids, and we were able to put far more time into it. E.g. in 2010 I logged 95 days sailing.

If our circumstances back then were what they are now, I don't see how we could have justified buying a boat. But we have one (erm, three actually) now, and there's absolutely no way we would sell up. We always promise ourselves that next year will be better, we will make more time, etc, etc. I'm sure we're not alone.
 
prv said:
Can be either, depending on how you do it.

I'd happily count my sailing a hobby, but for plenty of others (mostly racers) it's genuinely a sport. Pete
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For many of us it isn't either, it's a way of life. We spend more time living on the boat than at home but only day sail if we have visitors on board. Rest of the time, boat only moves when we're going somewhere.
 
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GrahamM376 said:
What's the average age of your pupils, I see plenty of 20 - 30 years old on school boats but maybe they're just qualifying for charter rather than purchasing?
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I would say mid forties is the average. Most of those want to charter, generally in Summer sun. Day Skipper is by far the most popular course.

The twenty to thirty age group usually are training for a career in the yachting business.

Sixties to seventies often wish they had started earlier and are much fitter than similar ages of a generation ago.
 
Flica said:
Ah! but think of the effect on 2nd hand boat prices, when you come to sell.
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I think the rational way to approach boating is the same as the rational way to approach recreational gambling. How much is the enjoyment of an evening playing baccarat or poker worth? Well that's how much you should stake and you'll not be unhappy if you walk away without a penny.

I'd rather have a decade of deserted anchorages and have to give the boat away at the end of it than the same period of rafting 10 deep in every harbour but the ability to sell it for what I paid.

Besides, I see incapacitation through age or illness as the only reason I'll ever be without a boat more than temporarily so what I lose on a cheap sale I'll gain on the next purchase
 
Kelpie said:
If our circumstances back then were what they are now, I don't see how we could have justified buying a boat. But we have one (erm, three actually) now, and there's absolutely no way we would sell up. We always promise ourselves that next year will be better, we will make more time, etc, etc. I'm sure we're not alone.
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When we finish building the damn house.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
I wonder if other EU countries follow this trend.

I would say that the Dutch cruising sailors are much younger than the UK equivalent .
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As far as I can see it is a universal trend. When we sailed with young kids, 20-25 years ago, we used to meet plenty of boats with kids aboard. The UK was a notable exception already in these days.
Now we hardly ever see kids on cruising boats, and even in our late fifties we often feel that we are among the younger yachtspeople we meet.
The Netherlands and to a lesser extent France do indeed seem to attract people at a relatively younger age into boat ownership. In the case of the Netherlands that may be thanks in part to the fact that they have a lot of sheltered, inland water, which enables them to start with smaller and less expensive boats and move up the ladder as they can afford it.
 
westhinder said:
The Netherlands and to a lesser extent France do indeed seem to attract people at a relatively younger age into boat ownership. In the case of the Netherlands that may be thanks in part to the fact that they have a lot of sheltered, inland water, which enables them to start with smaller and less expensive boats and move up the ladder as they can afford it.
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There are plenty of inland waterways in the UK. I used to live about as far as you could get from the sea in the UK. Having a boat on the Thames or the canals would have been a possibility, but could never afford one.

It was only after moving close to the sea, that we realised how cheap it was to keep a sea boat, and how cheap you could buy an old small sailing cruiser.
 
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