Reader Rant

Lost Opportunity

I spent an hour or so at the Strictly Sail venue of the Miami International Boat Show last Sunday. On what should have been a really busy day for the show, with fantastic weather, I was supremely underwhelmed. The paltry and boring selection of boats to see was a definite contributing factor. Same old production cruising boats, charter deals (Moorings, et al), look-a-like Cats (except for the somewhat interesting Gunboat), and a few larger semi-production yachts. In the city that hosts the OCR, part of the Acura? SORC, and is a jumping-off point for KWRW, the closest thing to a racer on display was a Flying Scot!

For crying out loud, can this industry get a grip? Can we possibly blow a better opportunity? How hard can it be to contact local racing clubs/classes to have them send some representative boats to display. Yes, I know that this show is not targeted at racing sailors specifically, but a little "sizzle" couldn't hurt. Kudos to the South African AC team. At least they took a shot. Imagine, a guy sees a Melges 24 or Flying Tiger or 49er (or even an old Farr 40) and immediately gets all hot to sail the seas. Wife adjusts his outlook and they sign-up for a Hunter 23. OK, maybe it's not what "we" would consider buying, but at least there is another sailboat in the water. And maybe, just maybe, he/they will find themselves beer-canning next year and buying a racer/cruiser the year after. And maybe they buy new sails, and get the kids a Laser, and join a fleet. Gee.

At the Genoa Boat Show, there are sailing demonstrations on a small closed course within the marina and in plain sight of the show attendees. What a cool thing for a local dinghy club to do... Folks, we have to work much harder to build our industry and our sport. The number of new sailboats delivered in the US annually is dismal, and falling. Overall participation in sailing, and specifically racing is down. The operation and marketing of the trade shows (see FLIBS Flop) is not helping matters at all. The shows have been distilled down to something that is easy and profitable for the organizers, but less and less valuable to the exhibitors and/or the public. There is no excitement - no WOW factor. There are plenty of creative minds in our game, and I am certain that we can do better.

02/23/06