Sailing Is Evolving…
Sailing is evolving….. In the recent past all types of sailing came from the established Yacht Clubs. Parents, members of the yacht club, enlisted their kids in the training program of the Yacht Club and some of them became so good that they could go to the Olympics to represent the Yacht Club (and country). For others it remained a pastime where they could spend their leisure time among wealthy peers. The boats had names like Lightning, Dragon, Swan….. they were slim, beautiful and expensive. New sailing members came from within the families of existing members of the club or through a Godfather system where some members supported the candidacy of the new member and often a substantial entry price had to be paid. Some “Royal” yacht clubs still use this system today. In the late seventies & early eighties a new type of craft, a “windsurfer”, suddenly became available and was embraced by the International Yachting Racing Union as a “board-sailor”. It was a much “hyped” sport; all over the world millions were sold. In 1984 it made its first appearance (for men only) at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, with an additional, new, medal. In 1992 in Barcelona the girls also got an additional, new, Olympic medal. The special thing about these windsurfers was, and is, that you can easily put it on your roof rack, ride it to the beach and sail off, free, unattached to any official body. A bit like the ‘renegade’ surfers riding all the best waves all over the world. Suddenly the established Yacht Clubs had a kind of competition because the launching ramps, cranes and moorings were not needed by those “boardsailors”.
[Show full text]