Whenever I think about sailing, I think about how to improve it. Let's face it, sailing is not a major sport(in the US). Why not? Well, it's just not appealing, accessable, interesting, exciting, expensive, etc. You can't go in the backyard and just tack the boat around for a few minutes with friends. I think one of the main problems with marketing sailing to non-sailors is how they can watch it. Watching a sailing race from shore is one of the most boring things I can image. Especially since most races are at least a couple of hundred yards offshore. Ok then, go on a boat. Well, this is both expensive(unless you own a boat), but you still get a bad vantage point. It's difficult to explain the racecourse from a boat. Ok, TV! Helicopters, planes, satellites! Well, yes. But then you're not even there. You're not involved. You don't feel the wind. It's just not the same. Plus, the course is still hard to understand. So how do you make it easy for everyone to understand and enjoy? Enter my brilliant idea. I got this idea from the London Boat Show where they had windsurfing races/jumps indoors. It was pretty cool. So I started thinking, how cool would it be to sail indoors? That's the genius to marketing sailing to the masses. But then I took it a step further.
Imagine a baseball field like arena, full with water. Sailboats race a course around the bases with controlled wind, waves, etc. This way, fans could watch the race from a great viewpoint, height, location, comfort. The course would be easy to understand, and the regatta could be held any day of the week, any time of day! Especially now that they are putting roofs on these fields, anything is possible. Imagine having an indoor skiff race in a 20 knot breeze while outside it's dead calm, or outside it's stormy. Now, I understand that this is completely impossible. The engineering, the financial cost, etc. But wow, wouldn't that be fun. Anyway, that's my solution to the sailing markering delima. What do you think?
