Yotty Snobbery

[Robin]

Snooty Yotties

Fall into a number of categories:-

1) Wooden Yot owners, anything not wood cannot be considered a proper yot.

2) Traditional Yot owners, anything that is not long keeled and un-manageable in a confined space cannot be considered a proper yot.

3) Modern Traditional Yot owners, anything that is not a Contessa 32, Rustler 36, Nich 32, Nich 35, Bowman 40, Twister cannot be considered a proper yot and certainly is not safe to take to sea in bad weather.

4) Racing Yot owners (and crews), anything that sails a straight line route from A to B with sprayhoods, dodgers, only 2 on board and no wellies on the rail cannot be a proper yot.

5) Quality Yot owners, anything not a Swan cannot be a proper yot. Halberg Rassy, Malo & Najad think they belong here too, not according to Mr Swann though.


All sources of information old and new are quoted in order to support, justify or create an aura which pertains to their chosen category, plus of course a few old wives tales.

Anything not falling into categories 1-3 above are given patronising nicknames :-

AWBs

Plastic fantastics

Tupperware boats

Bennys

Jennys

Benjenbavs


We were once in L’Aberwrac’h, a few years back, when there were are number of Woodies returning from one of their Woodie gatherings. We were in the HM’s taxi launch with a bunch of Woodies, a White Ensigned RYS member (Tupperware man), and us (then lowly Westerly Tupperware owners, we know our place). Woodies would talk other Woodies and also to Mr RYS, Mr RYS was actually quite pleasant and would talk to Woodies or Westerlies, Woodies though would not acknowledge Westerlies, though Westerlies tried to pass the time of day with all.

My SWMBO is from the other side of the pond where they have a saying ‘what goes round comes round’. Well next day whilst all the above are motoring home, in close proximity in no wind, Woodie # 1 is asking Woodie # 2 over the VHF for a spare alternator belt, having now chewed several, but Woodie # 1 is out of luck. Now Westerly Tupperwares have several spare belts on board, including ones that can be made to fit any size. Shame is that Woodies, not talking to Tupperwares means they couldn’t and therefore didn’t ask for help from said Tupperwares (who might have decided to help if grovelled to nicely). Wonderful thing snobbery isn’t it!


Is there a moral to all this? I can think of several but I think I’ll keep them to myself. That way when it is time for ‘what goes round comes round’ it will be even more fun.



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[Aja]

If you were listening in to their conversation on the VHF, why didn't you offer them an alternator belt?

That's real snobbery IMO.

Donald

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[Evadne]

Don't confuse the man with the boat. A snob will find something to be snobbish about regardless of what he or she sails, or motors, whereas a normal person will be friendly to the same degree. The trouble with snobbery is it brings out an equal and opposite reaction in us non-snobs, which can easily turn into something just as offensive and repugnant if you're not careful. I used to have a thing about the old wooden boat owners' form of snobbery, having a grp boat that is rather older than some of the wooden boats you will see at a classic boat rally, but many of the corresponents on this forum have helped dispel that myth for me. Some of them are almost human.

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[Midget]

I wonder if the Westerlies would have tried to pass the time of day with Motor boaties?

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[Robin]

They didn't ask even though we were very close, had they asked I would have obliged gladly. I was still p....d off from being totally snubbed the day before, not snobbery just (petty I know) revenge, had another day passed I might have mellowed.

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[Robin]

Wonder no more, we have lots of Mobo friends. Some Mobos might recall us chatting away in the Yarmouth Taxi last Saturday pm too.

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[tcm]

UNfortunately, perhaps not. Realising that we were dreadful stinkies, a westerly-ish yottie skipper began to blank us in a pub in Alderney, although his crew were quite jolly. We all got back into the taxi boat, and he climbed on to his boat - dropping his wallet as he did so. I just managed to lean over and pick it out before it sank below reach, 2-3 feet down, soaked myself. No, he didn't say thankyou.

Peculiar behaviour though - as if the boat upon which one sails accrues so much to one's personality or worth. I have always thought of this the other way around - maintenance-wise at least as something of a slave to the boat, and i think this applies to many. Comparing boats therefore become a comparison of the size of the ball and chain attached to your legs and wallet.

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[Midget]

I had to ask - that is possibly the biggest ever yotty snobbery!

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[steve_cronin]

Very Funny.....

...and so very very true!

Steve Cronin

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<hr width=100% size=1>The above is, like any other post here, only a personal opinion

 

[Robin]

I'm actually a big fan of wooden boats, I started sailing on a Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter, I like most of the 'classics' too, and I have raced. I will confess to never having owned a Swan though I do like them.

This post resulted from reading some of the current and many of the earlier posts where anything other than a 'conforming' yacht is slated, ie not safe at sea, not comfortable at sea, not for crossing oceans in, etc etc. There are plenty of examples out there that prove the lie, look at the Hunter 19 that crossed the Atlantic single handed (name forgotten), Shrimpy the bilge keel plywood Caprice that went round the world, the French one similar style that did the same a few years back. Look at Helen's Kingfisher, hardly a conforming design but look at her go in the Southern Ocean, single handed too, yes some of the RTW boats had problems but these are formula 1 boats in conditions most of the people posting (including me) would never consider deliberately going in whatever the type of boat.

All I'm trying to do is to say take each on it's merits. This should not be a forum just for the conforming cliques but for ALL, (though I would draw the line at PWCs), let's not make it so that you daren't admit to owning a plastic fantastic in case of ridicule.


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[Robin]

Doesn't mean I wouldn't yell at one for excessive wash though! :0)

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[Magic_Sailor]

Yes, we've noticed this tribalism.

I think you're right. We found most yachties tended to keep themselves to themselves - just this side of unfriendly sometimes. Except Westerly owners who seemed a decent bunch.

The friendliest people by a long way were Motor Cruisers - often extending an invite for a drink on board and accepting our own invitations in return and were never patronising.

Which led me to start thinking of collective nouns for some of these groups.

Can anyone think of a collective noun for Vancouver owners? These are definitely a sub division of your tribal groups 2 and/or 3.

Magic

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://hometown.aol.co.uk/geoffwestgarth/myhomepage/travelwriting.html>Click for website!</A>

 

[ccscott49]

I suppose my boat is one and two, but the owner is anything but a snob! Have you come to this conclusion from that one arsewipe treating you badly? Ignorant people are ignorant people, doesn't matter what kind of boat they have. But this should cause another furour on the forum!

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[jimi]

Achtung .. U vill be good

Stupid sod . can you not spell properly? Furour is spelt fuhrer

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[Robin]

No not that one on his own, but more so from some of the comments on some recent and current posts which are downright biased. There are also some notable exceptions thankfully. To me anyone who loves the sea & boats is my kind of person, but it seems that some others are much more selective and I think that is a big pity. One-upmanship is like office politics, not for me, I go sailing for sheer pleasure not to be made to feel inferior.

Times have changed, time was when passing people waved, especially another Brit boat away from home. Nowadays (maybe because we now have a French built boat) most Brits ignore our friendly wave. The same people sit and watch from their cockpits waiting hopefully for a cock-up rather than offering a friendly hand to a boat coming into the next berth.


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[tillergirl]

"The same people sit and watch from their cockpits waiting hopefully for a cock-up rather than offering a friendly hand to a boat coming into the next berth". Don't tell me you've got one of those unmanageable boats. Someone was complaining about them on this forum recently. You'll need to keep away from him!

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[Mudplugger]

Robin.... I take it that your comments are/were designed to generate the level of discussion that has come forth...IMHO.
(1). on the East Coast if its not wood it shouldn,t be there! particularly when OGA are having a get together..with or without sails up, seem to have little understanding of the rules of the road.GAFFERS RULE OK YA!
(2) Annual Ostend Rally run out of Colne, has OG's, Plastic Fantastics,AWB's and Classic WB's as well as a varied assortment of Mobo's.Everyone seems to get pieeyed to-gether but difficult to remember when the bar stays open til breakfast.
(3) Its a tribal thing! the bigger the boat the more it costs..therefore people who buy boats for reasons other than sailing will only mix with those of like mind.
(4) People who buy boats to actually go sailing, and enjoy it, seem to be quite happy to commune with all who have a similar outlook, irrespective of size, type etc. I suspect from my relatively brief experience of forum contributions, that most forumnites, fall into the latter category...Vive La Difference! Life would be very grey if we all liked the same thing.... PS. Please excuse PWC's from last comment.




<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.

 

[Robin]

Hi Tony

We used to have a W33 too, superb boats, had ours for 14 years. IMHO anyone who doesn't have one should stay in harbour in winds >F6! Oops - don't have ours anymore....

OK so the biased cliques have a tribal obligation to defend/promote the genre(s), yes I think I can understand that. I do though prefer your category 4 group who buy boats to actually sail and are happy to commune!

Robin

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[alec]

REAL Boats, REAL People, REAL Skills

This was the banner advert for a classic boat magazine I read recently for I think Classic Boat, although I stand corrected. This in itself seems to preserve the myth that only traditional wooden boats ( and particularly with gaff rig) and their owners are ‘doing it right’.

There seem to be people on this forum who love saying AWG (average white boat) or even better ‘plastic’ .

Reading between the lines of these contributions , it is quite incredible the hatred that they hold within themselves for the rest of us. Much more I think Robin than the other categories that you mention that reflect general snobbery.

But dear reader, do not envy them, the tragedy is that they are just as miserable and unhappy as they sound.



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[Mirelle]

Political Correctness?

What term should be used in place of "AWB", please?

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