Sailing in decline

[matt1]

No wonder my local chandleries are closing; further evidence of the decline in sailing from the RYA.

Although, new boat orders are very high and there are few boats available on brokerage - so maybe this data is about to change with the pandemic effect?

 

[dom]

Where‘s that data from? How was the survey(s) undertaken?

Edit: I'm just mindful of the RYA's sometimes troubled relationship with the objective data. In this case such a collapse in participation seems at odds with the anecdotal evidence: marina occupancy rates, the used boat market, new boat sales, visitor berth availability, charter hire rates, and so on.

 

[Sandy]

As @dom says where is the data from and I will add what are they measuring? Membership or miles sailed.

 

[matt1]

Cruising association tweeted it from an RYA training seminar - no idea where the original data comes from

 

[ctva]

No wonder my local chandleries are closing; further evidence of the decline in sailing from the RYA.

Although, new boat orders are very high and there are few boats available on brokerage - so maybe this data is about to change with the pandemic effect?

Chandlers are suffering from lockdown. Also a trend for owners to subcontract all maintenance to pros who will use trade accounts. Come spring and we are allowed out, the chandleries that are left will do well

 

[ctva]

Cruising association tweeted it from an RYA training seminar - no idea where the original data comes from

Possibly the RYA Training conference which I’m listening to this weekend.

 

[Caraway]

Was that your own computer? A screen grab would have been more readable.

 

[dom]

Chandlers are suffering from lockdown. Also a trend for owners to subcontract all maintenance to pros who will use trade accounts. Come spring and we are allowed out, the chandleries that are left will do well

Indeed, there is also the question that chandlers are suffering from the on-line race which has hurt both their margins and turnover.

That is why, we need to be so careful in introducing suspect data -- as is the RYA's wont -- and then inferring from it a causality where the correlation is even unclear.

JD has some great pics on the 'correlation doesn't imply causality' point!

 

[PhillM]

I have to say that is doesn't 'feel' like sailing is in decline. I am basing that on how full all the marinas were post the last lockdown. You couldn't get into most for a short stay without booking weeks in advance. I don't seem to recall many (if any) spare moorings on the Hamble and most marinas seems pretty full. Nobody is offering discounts, on the contrary, prices seem to still be going up in some places. Crane usage is high (try getting a life and time ashore booked if you are not a marina berth holder) and as previous posters have said, boat sales are on the up.

 

[mjcoon]

I thought this was going to be yet another thread about how to do sailing in declining years...

 

[capnsensible]

I can reveal that online training has gone bonkers. Mebbe it's something to do during bat bug restrictions.,there are gonna be a raft of people ready to go practical after working very hard on theory. Yay.,?

 

[Daydream believer]

I can reveal that online training has gone bonkers. Mebbe it's something to do during bat bug restrictions.,there are gonna be a raft of people ready to go practical after working very hard on theory. Yay.,?

Be interesting to see if they have a clue what they are doing & how difficult the instructors find it is getting them up to standard

 

[capnsensible]

Be interesting to see if they have a clue what they are doing & how difficult the instructors find it is getting them up to standard

Obviously they will. Having completed an online training course and having been tested in their ability, the students will be able to convert their knowledge to practical sailing with ease. All they need is a good skipper who will help them along the rolling road to success.

 

[dom]

Be interesting to see if they have a clue what they are doing & how difficult the instructors find it is getting them up to standard

Of course they will !!

I'm doing an online Matador class and practicing everyday in my bedroom. The washing basket is the bull and I've got all the gear.

It's really not so hard

 

[Resolution]

Of course they will !!

I'm doing an online Matador class and practicing everyday in my bedroom. The washing basket is the bull and I've got all the gear.

It's really not so hard


View attachment 108265

Is the picture one from your younger days handling sails on the foredeck? I do like the pink Dubarrys.

 

[Bobc]

Of course they will !!

I'm doing an online Matador class and practicing everyday in my bedroom. The washing basket is the bull and I've got all the gear.

It's really not so hard


View attachment 108265

My bad. Wrote a reply before reading.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Online theory courses are getting popular and they are here to stay; gone the days where one would have to attend a course in person face-to-face. However, the problem as always is to convert theory into practice; then again, we all have to start from somewhere, one way or the other.
There are all kind of online courses at the moment. My wife is doing a language course where the teacher is in another country, and the students are from a number of countries, all using Zoom; truly multinational.

 

[fien397]

No wonder my local chandleries are closing; further evidence of the decline in sailing from the RYA.

Although, new boat orders are very high and there are few boats available on brokerage - so maybe this data is about to change with the pandemic effect?

No wonder my local chandleries are closing; further evidence of the decline in sailing from the RYA.

Although, new boat orders are very high and there are few boats available on brokerage - so maybe this data is about to change with the pandemic effect?

I started to watch that, but after the first minute or so of doom and gloom and then saying most of the people watching this will be old (not exact words) I lost interest.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Vocational training in my industry has change beyond all recognition over my career with just about everything being offered virtually. My assumptions are that the younger generation just don't bat an eye lid at being offered courses on line. Even invigilated exams are now on line where the student can only sit an exam with a separate feed from a device showing the candidate working on the exam (recent Well Control certification). So, if my experience of the uptake of on online courses is anything to go by, as others have said, that could turn into increased numbers of sailors.

From an RYA perspective where the scheme is based around entry level sailing wets the appetite, winter course, practical courses, own skill development (own boat or charter), repeat, I think the on line tuition model works really well, allowing students to develop theory skills at a pace and in the manner that suits them best. The instructors at the practical schools have always had the knowledge gap issue to deal with, hence online training is no different from that perspective. I actually think it would make the student better prepared for the practical courses.

Up my way, marina south of Oban and her sister marina on the Clyde, berths are still available, although both marinas have been full up in the last decade. Does that represent an anecdotal decrease in Scottish sailing, don't know? Again, from associates, anecdotally, Sailing Schools appear to be doing well with some new schools being added to the numbers. This summer, when we briefly had access to go sailing, I met two boats on the Clyde, both recent second hand purchases with their owners new to sailing. I would add that they sounded like 'ordinary joes' as opposed to some stereotypical perception of middle class sailors (whatever that means). Both the boats would likely have been affordable and easy entry points to boat ownership. Again, what does that mean for sailing numbers in Scotland and UK if being repeated? Will UK stay at home vacations surge demand for sea school berths?

A friend who owns a sailing school appears to be busy (pre Covid) and other associates appear to be busy as well based on my limited interactions with them i.e. every time I am at the marina I notice the school boat preparing to go out sailing. I don't hear of woe and doom, in general. I think the two boats I have come across could be very typical of a new surge in sailing, affordable second hand boats being used to access sailing at an all in price that is less than chartering if used just a few times a year. Of course, what Covid does to our economy and jobs has still to be seen. But even through the Maggie's Millions years and every other recession since, sailing has continued to be enjoyed without whole scale collapse.

 

[st599]

The main problem is that most young people don't really want formal courses, in a volatile working life, they want experiences that are easy to organise last minute.

I think the RYA are finally realising this and may move away from formal structured learning for the lower levels.