There is an interesting post up in the new editorial section of the IMCA UK web site. The first in what I can only assume will be an ongoing series of posts introduces the concept of the moth “middle class”.
Who is the moth middle class?
Time for a definition, paraphrased from the UK article.
People who paid full price for their (slightly inferior gear), without whom all manufacturers would go bust and all championships would fail.
So it appears that we how have a system in the class where the majority of sailors will be paying to compete with an elite number of sailors whom they themselves are funding? Huh ? What the crap are you going on about Bruce?
Ok let me explain, with a completely hypothetical scenario and manufacturer.
Now let’s pretend for a moment that an Olympic gold medallist, lets call them Bob. Signed up with a manufacturer team, and he got a new boat at a hypothetical 50% discount.
Let’s also assume that Bob gets access to a set of special “team only” foils that are smaller so in heavier winds they are 10% faster, and gets three sails. Bob flies to the regatta two weeks before the World titles starts, trains with the team coaches and gets used to the sailing conditions. The cost of his flights, accommodation and boat transport are less than the 50% he saved on the price of the boat.
Meanwhile Tim buys a boat from the same manufacturer and pays full price. On top of the purchase price he has to pay for his flights and accommodation. Tim runs his own (non-sailing related) small business so he can’t afford to take any extra time off to get to the regatta early.
Bob wins the regatta, and puts up his boat for sale. As the reining champion, his boat is in high demand and he sells it for only $1K less a brand new boat. That $1K is the total cost of his entire regatta, and he can now get another brand new discounted boat from the manufacturer, and repeat the cycle again. Unknown to the boat’s buyer, Bob changed back to his old foils, an old sail, and altered the boats settings before the new owner took delivery.
I want to stress that this is fictional and any resemblance to an actual person or manufacturer is completely co-incidental. This is a hypothetical scenario that could happen in the future.
The moral of the story
Unless you have very deep pockets, as long as your manufacturer has a “team” that is subsidised, and has an equipment advantage, you should look elsewhere for your boat. If you want a serious chance at winning a championship with a level playing field, you should insist on equal equipment at the same price as the team members are getting, at the same time that they get it.
Otherwise you can buy the boat and be very happy in your Ferrari Enzo, knowing full well that you have helped fund Kimi Räikkönen to winning his world title. You still have a fast car, you still can have fun and even win club races, but you will never get a shot at the title.
The other option is simple, talk with you wallet, and buy your boat from a manufacturer where everyone gets the same gear, and there is no A team. Apparently they do exist. Who knew ?
At the end of the day, a Moth upper class will only exist as long as the middle and lower classes are prepared to fund it.
Super! I like being called middle-class to sub-mothist… Has a better sound to it! I think the IMCA UK post and yours here is spot on. It is reality and pure economics.
I like your Ferrari Enzo & Raikkonen analogy however feel it is flawed in some ways.
Let me share my little story. I received my BR couple weeks late. No apologies from the makers. Ok. So far so good. Reseller is so nice I don’t say anything. He lets me sail his demo boat in the meanwhile anyways.
Then we put the boat together. Numerous small issues to do with the build quality. Apparently no one bothered to put the boat together before shipping it out. Again, reseller is super, whips out a circular gringer and starts to grind away my pride & joy Enzo… Tweak here, epoxy there lo & behold we hit the water. Front section takes water. Another fellow sailor with similar aged boat complained to the builder about his boat taking on water and suggestion he received was that he should capsize less and problem will go away so I didn’t even bother to raise this issue with them.
Couldn’t believe build quality would be such as it was after nearly 200 units were shipped for a product which is the “Enzo” of the sailing fraternity… So going back to your analogy, yes, I think its flawed.
Any proud new owner of a Ferrari will get a product that is a work of art, built and put together lovingly and tested till each and every bit is functioning as it should. I was expecting the same at the price I paid but was sadly left wishing. Its ok to have tricked parts in the “factory team” boats. Always the case in each competitive sport. I know I will never be up there competing with them top 20′ers so this does not bother me. But to be shortchanged on quality does…
I am glad to be well supported by an excellent reseller who has long been a part of the class and does what he does for the love of it. So far I have not had to make a warranty claim and feel I will be well covered if & when I need to. I know they are good people who simply took their eyes off the ball on the quality front.
I still can’t help but feel I am riding something that is built halfway decently by members of a society who don’t mind feeding melamin to our babies, painting their toys with lead based paint and putting fake medicine into our mouths. Nothing suprises me anymore…
Damn straight the best way of doing things is to go with the teamless producer and build performances and reputation for yourself and the builder from your own work, instead of adding to the rockstars’ sailing budgets and effectively paying them to build a reputation for the boat for you.
The only problem is with our boats Bruce, I don’t think that there are two identical boats really to speak of… the hull shape is identical, but that’s where the similarity ends. John’s foils are the post-garda Illet ones and he now has a new foredeck on his after the old one got a bit busted up, Daves boat has different wings, your boat is full of your own ideas, mine’s got a different gantry to the rest of them (which is going to get modified shortly to bring it more in line with John’s)… I’d love to see what the two that Dave’s got under way will turn out like.
It would be un-australian not to back the underdog (or Alpha male in this case) anyway!
Maybe Tim should just lower his expectations?
I think that if Tim realised that he was never going to place in the top 10 and sailed to enjoy it he would be a lot happier. But what can you do ? He is an ex-skyrider world champion after all.
It’s probably a little late to point out, but what is being discussed here is nothing new. It happens in every sport. There is always going to be company’s trying to sell more stuff with rock star endorsements (it doesn’t even matter if the product is any good or not).
I don’t think it is such a big deal.
It’s never too late to have an opinion.