Sailing Snobbery

[demonboy]

Having recently purchased a 15 year old "******" (fill in name of a very well respected boat manufacturer) I went to the London boat show and was invited into the members lounge of the above-(not)mentioned manufacturer. This was after a very snotty ****** receptionist was extremely difficult with me until I could prove who I was.

When I went aboard the new yachts made by ****** I was given a wide berth by the reps. I should point out I was wearing jeans, trainers, tshirt and was unshaven (my usual appearance) and the reps aboard the new boats didn't know I was a ****** owner.

I tried asking the reps questions about ****** but they were uninterested and very off with me. One of them was sarcastic in his answers to my questions, whilst others offered no help whatsoever to my queries. So I told them I myself owned a ******.............

You should have seen the change in their behaviour! All of a sudden I was treated like royalty, with business cards and cups of coffee being offered by the bucket load. The rep who had been sarcastic was clearly embarrassed and tripped over himself to be accomadating to me, trying to make up for his earlier rudeness.

I had to laugh at this incident but it also made me sad. Until I started sailing a couple of years ago I always thought sailing was for the rich and idle. Then when I started pursuing the sport myself I realised that the sailing fraternity was made up of 'every-day' people. Now I'm not so sure. Snobbery in sailing is still very much in existance.

Anyone else have any similar experiences of sailing snobbery?

 

[iangrant]

I'm convinced most of the people sailing/boating are 'every-day' people, certainly the lot I've met from here are. I think the snobby ones are in the minority.

BTW what IS your boat?

Ian

 

[DJE]

Spectacular use af asterisks but your bio sort of gives the game away.

Not something I have experienced myself. We have been welcomed on many builders stands even though we have started with "Out of the question at the moment but maybe one day" Member's lounge though, that sounds like a different league. I would have thought their staff would have more sophisticated methods of spotting the genuine punters. Any fool can buy a blazer.

 

[Guest]

I wouldn't call that snobbery. Snobbery is the high loooking down on the low. This is rather the opposite. If the sales reps are only interested in money and are willing to do anything to suck up to it, then you should feel pity for them that they are so lowly that they have to prostitute and demean themselves in that way.

On the other hand, why did you care, and why did you visit the stand if you've already bought one? Were you wanting to buy a boat, or just wanting to experience a little bottom licking? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Sybarite]

A few salons ago I visited the Locwind stand where they were showing their 56 footer. I like to dream now and then - but was in fact disappointed by the boat. To get on it, I had to leave a business card giving contact details.

A few months later I received a follow-up telephone call. Very affable and then he asked me what I owned at present. Feeling 9m20. The line simply went blank at the other end!

John

 

[iangrant]

No, snobbery is snobbery - I've met a few brokn down rich that are awful snobs and more than a few snobby reps at boat shows. That's why I crossed a Moody off my list!

Ian

 

[jimi]

My experience is that most water users are OK except the odd one who its good fun to wind up. However with a few exceptions the marine industry partic brokers are full of arrogant ignorant tossers. Apologies to the minority who are not!

 

[Lakesailor]

Would you expect car salesmen to be genuine and friendly? Add water and that's what you get.

 

[Sans Bateau]

I wouldnt waste my time looking at any boat that was beyond my means. If I were looking to buy a new boat I would want a little more time to look it over than one gets at the boat show, having to share time with 'just looking'.

There is an element of snobbery amongst boat owners, their success as a yachtsman, in their eyes, being determined by the size of the wallet. These are the prey of the salesman.

Fortunatly I don't believe there are any on this forum. Their presence though is often discussed, they are those who have a total dissregard for the Col Regs or courtousy, only interseted in themselves.

They are are not 'one of us'.

 

[Talulah]

Northshore were crossed off my list. Had same snobbery experience with them 3 boat shows running. Did me a favour in the long run as I ended up with a Najad.

 

[demonboy]

Hehe. The bottom-licking was quite good fun in the end, I got plenty of free coffee, AND they took my coat (!) but the real reason for checking out the new ****** was to see what improvements they had made to their galley fittings! Of all things!

 

[Gunfleet]

Must be luck of the draw because I had exactly the opposite experience with Northshore at the Southampton Boat Show, who were polite and patient even though they knew we weren't buying (we told them).

 

[Guest]

Absolutely, nothing wrong at all with a good bottom licking by lowly minions, I wasn't meaning to criticise! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[romany123]

Nice website demon like the pic of the ******
lol

 

[demonboy]

Thanks Romany. Yes, we love our ****** /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Mirelle]

I would rather say - Snobbery and Sailing

I don't think there is any sailing snobbery - if there were, it would involve people who have won the Fastnet or the OSTAR or circled the globe putting down those of us who do well to get round the bay.

But I find that whenever you meet someone who has really done a lot of sailing they are very kind and helpful.

Snobbery raises its ugly head in sailing as in so much else; there are people who are so socially inadequate that they feel a need to display their worldly wealth even when messing about in boats.

Being far too poor to bother with such nonsense, and owning a boat that is far too old to count, I really cannot care and it no longer bothers me.

Having always owned secondhand wooden boats, I have never bothered a salesman at a Boat Show on my own account.

 

[tome]

I made the mistake of showing my dearest around a ******, now she wants one. Has to be sloop or cutter though.

 

[demonboy]

Believe it or not we never intended to go for a ******. We did have an offer accepted on a Feeling until the seller decided not to sell his baby, but when we found this one in Turkey for such a rediculous bargain (and I really mean bargain) it seemed stupid not to buy it, especially as it ticked all our boxes for a blue-water live-aboard.

But on the subject of snobbery we did come across some reverse-snobbery when discussing our possible purchase of the ******. Comments included:

"******isn't a boat manufacturer, it's just a marketing company"
"i wouldn't bother with ******, they're not as great as people make out"
or simply
"what do you want one of those for?"

and so on.

All I can say is we are very happy with our purchase (see our website for the latest logs for proof) and being in Turkey means we are oblivious to any snobbery that may exist because we don't yet speak their language! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Sans Bateau]

By any chance did your ****** ever belong to Fee and Edi Young?

 

[demonboy]

Not as far as I know. In the past it was called Bona Verba and Dersu Uzala, if that's of any help.