Wow, I managed to get into the Shearwater site (not easy) and I must say Jalani is right; the Shearwater describes itself as a restricted class. I'ts very unusual to have a boat with a set set of lines (with tolerances) and rig dimensions to describe itelf in that way, all the other restricted classes (MR, NS, MG, N12 etc) have no set hull shape but merely a box, and ODs like Mosquitoes, 505s, FDs, Tornadoes* etc that have similar freedom to the Shearwater are still One designs! All very strange.
However, the Shearwater may have been a bad example so we'll have to chuck in the Dart 18 - 30 years old, strict OD but still claiming the biggest fleet in the UK. Not dead! That's all I was ever saying (yeah the OD classes can evolve like the Yvonne - that doesn't mean they die!)
Bob, I fully agree that mass-media publicity is important for the sport to grow once more. I just don't see how that can't happen in a one design context - the Dart 18 nationals are being televised this year, the Volvo X40 cats are one design, the televised ProSail cats were one design, the televised 18 foot Skiff circuit went towards one design.
There is however a question mark how good it is for the sport to get lots of TV that shows it as being an extreme, scary expensive sport for experts, rather than a fun, simple, accessible sport for everyone. SUV marketing here concentrates on the fun/comfort/perceived safety/camping/family/exploration aspect, rather than on the revheads in the high-speed high-bounce Paris-Dakar racing specials.
I don't know about the situation where you live, but where I am (Australia) there was a cat boom in the '70s based around Hobie types, which weren't much quicker than older boats - but they were simple and tough and aimed at beginners, and they got TV publicity because of their surf antics. Cat sailing became massive. We had races of 310+ boats, and it was mainly Hobies and similar boats. Now that same race is mainly Tornadoes, F16s, As and F18s and we get 7-10 boats. That's not exactly a tribute to the pulling power of performance!
Windsurfing - I was there as a kid in the late '70s, was in the industry and at the world championships in the boom days (1 million boards sold '85) and I'm still in it. Did the OD, did the development class, did the slalom, did the loops in waves, did the freestyle - and I stand by the comments that development stuffed the sport up. Much of the move to high-wind gear was initiated by the industry in the same sort of marketing you want. Yes, it proves how powerful it can be - but it also proves that if you promote an impractical,unsustainable model of the sport, you won't succeed in the long run.
Re the F16 video - this catting year has been a Tornado/F16 year for me, so I know what F16s are like.
Bob, you are right when you say there has been development in longboards - my description of "old-style '60s vintage longboards" was meant for those people who may not know what a longboard/Mal is. Actually original vintage boards are prized and used in special comps here, but the main point was that when I started surfing longboards in '82, most people thought they were old fashioned and slow....now they are seen as a viable alternative despite a lack of "performance" - just like ODs!
Anyway, enough of me.....all I was trying to show is that ODs don't die and the North Haven Dinghy, Water Wag, Laser, 420, Dart 18, Hobie 16, Tornado (which was conceived, designed and built specifically as a one design within the B development Class rules), Yvonne are proof of that.
