Sailing crisis? All baloney, stop doing that

They say the practice of sailing is in decline. But it is not true if we create sailing fans. This world is fickle, like the wind. It has only been four years since sailing, experts said, would have a bright future. Instead, today, judge economists who look at the numbers and not the context, it has a “negative outlook.” What happened? Nothing, or rather everything. Let’s figure it out in a world that is now ruled by chaos and short-term fickleness.

Question, have those who, in any form, sail decreased? No, in absolute numbers rather they are growing, slowly but increasing. So why are the feelings of decline and declining interest in this sport?

It simply happened that during and post-pandemic, from 2020 to 2022, there was a momentary positive climate toward the values that sailing expresses: freedom, contact with nature, controlled social contacts. Sales of new and used boats soared. Not to mention the temporary boom in charter sailing vacations. It would have been a blunder to think that this discipline had suddenly become a popular phenomenon, like playing soccer. But someone believed it.

Instead, as of 2023 it was back to normal, exhausted the “Covid” phenomenon. Sailing, in all its aspects, is back to being what it is, a wonderful niche sport (or rather a sport practice) made of passion, of a way of life in contact with nature.

How many sailors are in the world

But how many sailors are there really in the world? Official estimates do not exist; what is known is that there are approximately 3,500,000 sailboats, 2 meters and up, on the planet. Multiply these conventionally by 7 practitioners per boat and we have a plausible number of active sailors who sail at least once a year: here is the estimate of 25 million practicing sailors. In Italy there are an estimated one million active annual sailors.

Let’s make a comparison with another sport, tennis, where to play it, as in sailing, you have to learn precise rules. Reliable estimates say that there are 100 million active tennis players, over three million in Italy. Worldwide 25 million sailors versus 100 million active tennis players. One to four in favor of tennis.

The distances widen enormously if we analyze who follows tennis as a fan versus sailing. The latest estimates read: one billion people follow tennis passionately; for sailing, no estimates exist. Except for the momentary phenomenon of the America’s Cup followed in the last edition by about 500 million people worldwide, otherwise those who follow this sport without practicing it can be said to be roughly equivalent to those who are sailors.

Interesting is the “case history” of France. The phenomenon of ocean racing, such as the recent Vendee Globe, has reached 15 million French people out of a population of 68 million.

Sailing: From practicing sailors to fan sailors

We draw conclusions. Sailing is not in crisis, practitioners are stable trending toward growth. The sailboat market is not in crisis, it has only stabilized after the Covid drunkenness. What sailing lacks are the enthusiasts who follow it without practicing it, the fans. Only in this way will the numbers of sailing practiced grow, attracting young people, who are in decline.

There are three possibilities to finally create an audience of sailors who are fans and not just practitioners: “adventure” enterprise sailing, “top performance” adrenaline sailing, and “pure” sailing. Three fantastic possibilities for making sailing more popular, ready-made.

Starting with the sailing enterprise “adventure,” drawing from the French example that follow extreme feats such as Round-the-World sailing generating a huge audience of fan sailors who are passionate about the extreme feats of sailors. Go to p. xx to find out who Italians, who have a historic tradition in this field, can become national heroes.

Regarding “top performance” adrenaline navigation, the Sail Gp world circuit is growing, supported by such a prestigious and munificent sponsor as Rolex. Adrenaline-fueled sailing on flying catamarans capable of impressive speeds, fit for video footage, APP and the public in attendance that is inspired by the Formula 1 automotive circus.

That leaves the third card to play, “pure” naivgation. Here we are at year zero. But it is enough, even here, to be inspired by a winning case like the ATP Tennis circuit. Let’s take the major world events of Olympic sailing, drastically reduce the number of classes, turn it into a world professional circuit with economic rewards to ranked sailors. We will talk about this “dream” again; we believe in it.

Conclusion, sailing is beautiful, it is not in crisis and it is the only sport activity that is practiced from 5 to 100 years. But if it is to grow and attract new practitioners, it needs the emulation of the sportiest part, the fans. It can be done. The world has changed, and sailing must also adapt.

Luca Oriani