One word that I don't believe has been mentioned regarding marketing is "visibility". There's been heaps of talk about TV coverage at Olympics etc, but the principle behind this is "visibility".

It is difficult for sailing to be highly visible. Skate boarding and BMX is easy, kids rock up to school on them blah blah blah...we know how visible they are.

How do we make sailing more visible? Getting TV coverage is one very limited and difficult/expensive avenue.
There are simpler and cheaper alternatives that may be more effective.

I think the Volvo Extreme 40's are getting close to the mark, location, location, location! Am I correct in understanding that they had numerous regattas in the middle of big cities? Look at the locations for the air races, right next to big cities, over a river or lake with plenty of room for spectators.

The biggest hurdle is that most of the clubs we belong to set courses far from land because that's where the best wind and water is.

A few weeks ago I saw a school teams racing group training in a small bay near my local club with near perfect spectator viewing all around. It is about 450m wide and 500m long. I looked at them and thought, if this little bay was dredged a bit deeper closer to shore, we could get 2-3 short courses laid for teams and match racing at all tides. It would also be perfect for learn to sail courses because mum and dad can sit on the bank and watch. There's parking, public parks with seating, popular walking paths, everything you need for real-life visibility.

Instead, the club runs the teams racing and learn to sail 500-600m from shore straight off the club where there is no access for the public to watch. And the general club fleet racing is set even further offshore between 2000 and 4000m!

So, how else do we improve the visibility? Location is one way. Maybe steal another aspect of skating and riding, flashy artwork on the hulls. I'm sure there are plenty of struggling artists out there that would love a crack at it. Hobie sort of did it with their multi-coloured sails. Check out this... Airbrushed Drag Boats

Maybe we as sailors are too conservative with our sport, we think we're outlandish or on the cutting edge, but in reality all the technology we use has been thought of by someone else, even the wing keel concept was taken from aeronautical engineers designing planes. When it comes to our boats, we are, in general, very conservative.

This is a natural feeling, our boats are very expensive and loved and at the end of the day we like calm seas and steady wind because it is much easier and less punishing and the racing is more even.