On another subject and maybe our northern hemisphere friends can help. To raise the interest in our sport how do we go about doing that. I know the sport is huge in Europe so they must get to people some how. In aus people seem to get into the sport by word of mouth. Most people are not aware that the sport exists and what good value for the buck it is.
Please try and keep the discussion positive. Thank's
Cheers
aus230

I've been trying to do this ever since i came into the "sport" things like shopping centre car park displays, road side displays, places that have a lot of traffic, places like bunnings and such that are open on weekends, these sorts of places you get a fair "bang for you buck" as they don't cost much to display,, other things like small community xmas pagents at xmas time try putting a few yachts togeather as a "float" in the local pagent,, last year i tried to get a few yachts for display at the kite festival held here in adelaide, unfortunatly those who had said they could bailed at the last momnet,, things like that community events that attract a fair amount of passing foot traffic, just set up a display and have some "info" sheets printed up to hand out, you'd be surprised at the number of people that stop and ask questions i know that they ahve down my way when ever I have put my two yachts out on dislay at local car parks on weekend.. Also, local newspapers are always looking for "something different" to write about, also if anyone is involved with community radio it is always possible to get "some air time" every now and then. The idea of leasure shows and such isn't a bad one except mostly you're gunna have to pay a fair amount for floor space i know the company my wife is manager for has to pay a fair bit to display their wares at those sorts of show's but having said that it is possible to do it, but it'll cost ya.

theoretically it shoild be dead easy theses days with email and websites, yet every story we send to the local newspaper bounces back as the email adress is permenantly full.
you need to physically take in an electronic copy to the newspaper office!
traveling to remoter area sof the state to try out possible venues would have to work , as long as you then go into town and tell them all about it,not just the pub
you wouldnt know how many blowies are around as they are packed away in black bags, but seeing them on trailers and roofracks is important

There is one big Down Side in Australia: Go to Great Britain, Europe, NZ etc and you can spit across most Countries into their neighbors back yard.. Hear what Desertyank and Sabydent have to say, read between their lines. The greatest population centers are in coastal regions and as with Aus', the yanks and Canadians etc have fairly large distances to travel to get to Great Venues.. Perth to Kalgoorlie almost 500 Odd K getting close to a thousan to Lake Lefroy. If we in the East wish to compete over there we have a 3 or 4 day drive with our gear to get there for for just a couple of days sailing.. What I am saying that for many of us distance is the killer. I should think that finding a beach, new the States Capitals, that one could find a postage stamp to sail on would be difficult. People have a habit of getting shiity if when they see others screaming around the beach and complain of the danger we put ourselves and them in.OR if we are lucky enough to find a Car Park or Air Strip that is suitable the owner then becomes paranoid that if we get hurt, we might sue (The Great American Pass Time). So we then have to find remote deserted locations to sail. When you start traveling large distances on the off chance you may have a sail then people become disenchanted. There are all sorts of reasons why people "Won't 'ave a Go" . I watch people stop and have a look at me sailing on the Strip (Say nothing TP1) they sit in their cars 300mtr away for a few minutes, every now and then one of them will move in and have a closer look and drive off, I have even had a "B Double" come onto the strip "Round me Up" and drive off and not one person has come in to query me on the Sport (other than to Kick me off the Strip).. I have had others mention that "Oh! I've seen a bloke down on the local beach "Having a Ball" ". What is that Crap?? A Lack of Curiosity, not interested, too much trouble, afraid of the unknown?? All of the above and more I think for most it is "Too Bloody Lazy" "Watching NRL or AFL or Cricket, drinking booze and getting obese is the answer..

Sorry about the rant, but facts is facts.
Ron

I dont want to sound like I am harping on but-
I still reckon we need to develop a cheap, quick and easy to assemble landyacht that is suitable for getting youngsters into the sport, Blokarts are fine- but parents are few and far between that can afford to spend a couple of grand on a landyacht for thier kids to mess about on- and lefroy minis are magic- but you need the time, skills, space and materials to build one, and unless you are constantly on the lookout you will find it difficult to find suitable components.

There is a real need for a kid sized landyacht that is designed around sailing on the most commonly available venues we have- grassed ovals, closely followed by carparks.
If we can get the price down low enough for scout troops, cub packs, schools and young families to be able to afford to buy a kit- or couple of kits, and be able to assemble thier landyacht quickly while the enthusiasm is up and running we will soon have a constant supply of young landyachters snapping at our heels.
I have been bouncing ideas around in my skull for a while trying to work out alternative components to reduce the prices- but hit a brick wall when it comes to masts and pulleys. Apart from importing from China- I dont know what to do.
There was a chinese manufactured "sand yacht" shown on the forum a while ago, and the spare parts were priced incredibly cheap (pulleys at US$3 each!)- no idea of quality though- and couldnt get a decent reply from the company.
Is it worth while starting another thread with design ideas and alternatives?

We have plenty of places to sail- ovals, every school has them, local governments have them everywhere.

We have the potential recruits- scouts, cubs, schools, YMCA etc- not to mention the typical Aussie families with 2.1 kids.

All we need to do is come up with a simple design, make a prototype, test it, refine it- then build jigs from it.

Local councils are lately promoting "Mens sheds" to give retired blokes somewhere to do stuff instead of sitting at home and rotting- with a set of jigs, templates and a simple shopping list these blokes could have a good community project helping out a scout troop- cub pack- local school etc. to build thier own landyachts.

I dont mind helping out where I can- but my skills only go so far

Stephen.

Preaching to the converted Joe- my family was heavily involved in scouts and cubs for donkeys years, both set of parents started as cub leaders & scout leaders, then group leaders, ran Lone Scouts and Lone Cubs, became leader trainers, organised and ran the Jamboree here in '79, ran a sub camp at the '95 jamboree here, full time association employees running scout shop both here in W.A. and NSW.
As a kid I grew up at Manjedal, was a cub, scout, venturer, and then scout leader for troops in city and country, ran a farm that was temporarily scout association property.

If it wasnt for shift work and the mining industry I would still be involved up to my neck.

I learnt a long time ago that if you want something done- find someone busy to do it, cause the slack ones are good for nothing but complaining.
The main reason I would like to see these landyacht kits as simple as possible is to save the leaders any hassle I can.

stephen.

lachlan3556 said...

If I was going to have a real go at getting people involved in landsailing in the future,

I imagine I'd have to start by having a place to sail.

Then get people interested (the easy part).

Then getting those interested in starting, having a series of workshop type events/meetings and help build a few yachts for new pilots. Kinda like chook is doing at present over in WA. For those with no interest in building, Im sure yachts could be built for not much more than cost price (maybe as building demonstrations during the workshop meets). With ALL the materials on hand and a couple of jigs, I don't think it would be out of the question to build ready-to-go yachts over a few afternoons/mornings.

From this perspective and not having access to lots of windsurfer gear locally (plus peoples general dislike of having to scrounge), new sails and masts (homebuilt) would be the most viable option to me (though the most expensive bits as well). Depends what people were willing to to...

we here in SA have a reasonably good place to sail, al be it a bit out of the way, but people just don't know that land sailing exists and what it's all about,, like i said going to where the people are even for a static display natural courosity will get people asking questions........i even put my saber out on my front lawn and the number of people that are going past and stop on ask what it is and what's it about is increasing every tme i put it out there some even stop and ask is it for sale...... we need to be where the people are to be seen

my ute is a rolling billboard for the misfits and land sailing at the momnet and i've had a few people ask me about it at servo's and such places when i pull in for fuel, so anything that puts it out there is a good thing i think

Gizmo said...

Raising the profile is probably just one part of a much bigger question, where do we want the sport to be say in 3-5 years time?

Do we want the sport to grow rapidly with lots of beginners?
Do we want to push Class5 top end racing?
Do we want to encourage the Mini class?
Do we join in with the Blokarts or run parallel to them?
Do we want to encourage manufactures into the loop?
Do we want to push the home built side of things or go the kit yacht path?
How many clubs should there be in Australia?
Do we want all of these or do we need all of these?

When the direction is worked out then a focus could go that way with local clubs.....

I think this is crucial - what do you want to raise awareness of and how will you measure your success?

ChrisClarke said...

Gizmo said...

Raising the profile is probably just one part of a much bigger question, where do we want the sport to be say in 3-5 years time?

Do we want the sport to grow rapidly with lots of beginners?
Do we want to push Class5 top end racing?
Do we want to encourage the Mini class?
Do we join in with the Blokarts or run parallel to them?
Do we want to encourage manufactures into the loop?
Do we want to push the home built side of things or go the kit yacht path?
How many clubs should there be in Australia?
Do we want all of these or do we need all of these?

When the direction is worked out then a focus could go that way with local clubs.....

I think this is crucial - what do you want to raise awareness of and how will you measure your success?

I think that some questions should not be asked.. ie. Q;s 2 through 6 These should be allowed to happen naturally. We should have our druthers? Yes! but we should not push people into something they aren't happy with. I have stated that I am not a fan of Blowies but if the vast majority should decide that is their thing, So-Be-It. We should be putting it all out there showing people what there is to offer and this Forum/Group being primarily Owner Builders that is the format me should push. Manufacturers will steel our ideas anyway and you can rest assured that if there is a Buck in it Globally the Chinese will be in there Boots and all. Just get out there Show people what a BALL we have and encourage their participation.. Do Not Force the Issue as we could finish up inundated with a Bunch of Clowns that will get us bad Press..
Ron

oldMXer said...

I know this is a rather targeted audience, but are there many motocross tracks around? Riders and families are already into action sports, nice equipment, some mechanical knowledge. Riders definitely have ability, risk taking mindset and a need for speed.A good looking yacht would definitely intrigue some and from my experience racing mx and yachting on really windy days I would call them equals on the thrill meter.

sadly we spend all our time cleaning up the mess that they make at our yacht club.
there is an assumption thaat we enjoy the sound of their machines to

to start with and to kick start this almost dead pastime, we need to apply the KISS principal don't get to elaborate otherwise if the event fails it fails bigtime, the more fingers in the land yacht pie the more chance of loosing control of said event