Has sailing taken a hit along the MS Coast since Katrina?

[JonnyQuest]

I expect it has.

We moved here only about 2 years ago, but from what I remember as a kid, sailboats cruising the coastline was a common sight. I never see sailboats out during the week (yes, people do have to work), none out there for sunset, and not much more on the weekends. I may see one or two one weekend, and then none for several weekends on end.

I see the masts in the harbor, but not many seem to get out there these days. Charts don't seem to show too many underwater obstructions, the winds seem fair, beer is cheap-- what gives?

So am I creating the past that I wanted to remember that never really existed? Weren't there plenty of sailboats actively sailing prior to Katrina?

 

[Ross]

I googled Johnny Quest and now I know that you were a kid in the early '60's. I was stationed at Kessler in 1960 and lived in Gulfport. The rich people took their boats out at the same time as I was able to go fishing. Those boats were for the most part wooden. They made large wakes that I had to watch or be swamped in the rented row boats that I could use. There were not many boats in those days but they were impressive.

 

[Andy1237]

Katrina..then BP..I hope I get to sail down there before its completely gone!
Keep the faith Jonny. Maybe you and Dr. Quest can save the coast for the rest of us.

 

[frank balcer]

Johnny, my friends and I in the Pascagoula area sail about as much now as we did before Katrina. Of the three coastal counties, Jackson, the one we are in is probably the least affluent of the three. There is not that many sailboats around here but myself from Moss Point and a few friends from the Pascagoula Inner Harbor sail on a regualr basis. We also make twice yearly trips to Pensacola for about 9 to 10 days each trip. There is great sailing here in the Pascagoula River and the MS. Sound, just not many sailors around......

 

[RichH]

Methinks sailing as a general activity has been shrinking over the past 20+ years. The entry level boats are now approaching 'obscene' in pricing for 'new' sailors - about 10X the price of 20-30 years ago. The demographics of sailors also seems to me to be rapidly changing to 'old farts' (like me), school teachers, attorneys, and gummint workers; fewer and fewer folks who work for/in 'private enterprise' seem to be sailing/boating anymore.
20-25 years ago you could choose between 10-15 racing fleets on the Upper Chesapeake, nowadays there are only two small fleets racing and they only race every other weekend. Stunningly, I see fewer and fewer new/young sailors/boaters taking up the sport.

The same continuing decline in most 'participation sports/activities' is seen in skiing, RV'ing, etc. Maybe we've seen the end of the 'age of prosperity' in the USA (?), which has been seemingly in rapid decline since the mid 90s.

 

[rgranger]

I think Rich may have it ... I spect it is $ not katrina.

The reason I sail a V222 and not a newer hunter is because I got my boat for only $800.

 

[Winkfish]

One thing I've noticed is that, in our area, before Katrina, there were a lot of used boats for sale fairly cheaply. We had bought one of those boats. After Katrina, the for sale listings dropped dramatically, and the price was substantially more. that is still the case today as I see it. (I look through the classifieds often - dreaming..) Plus, a lot of people, including sailors, left New Orleans for good, so if they're sailing, they're not sailing here.

I think that and the economy in general has contributed to this as well.

Having said all that, there is still a fairly large sailing community here, and the Southern Yacht Club and the other Gulf Yachting Association yacht clubs are doing pretty well. The SYC Harbor Mice and kids' sailing camps have been booked full the last couple of years. Good sign.

 

[Winkfish]

Johnny, do you frequent the Gulfport Yacht Club or the other nearby ones (Pass Christian, Bay Waveland)?

 

[sailaway78]

A sign of the times

I think that Rich has part of it, with the cost of boats being just short of highway robbery. Also to be considered are the differences between us "old farts", and the younger generations. We grew up in a time, when it wasn't quite so hard to make a living, when there was much more leisure time and both parents weren't forced to work to make ends meet. As kids we didn't have video games, weren't addicted to TV, and actually spent time outdoors. In todays world the lifestyle is much more hurried, and self gratification is making more money than your neighbor, or just keeping your head out of the water. There is no time for anything as slow moving as a sail boat.

 

[Chilidog]

Stunningly, I see fewer and fewer new/young sailors/boaters taking up the sport.

When I was a kid, sunfish were common and plentiful.

They still represent a cheap investment in fun, a new 'fish goes for about $4k.

Most kids nowdays want a PWC.

The same continuing decline in most 'participation sports/activities' is seen in skiing, RV'ing, etc. Maybe we've seen the end of the 'age of prosperity' in the USA (?), which has been seemingly in rapid decline since the mid 90s.

The biggest problem is, as I see it, in most families these days both parents work, so it is difficult to coordinate these types of activities. Further, team sports such as baseball, socker, hockey, football etc demand their share of time with their share of equipment costs, league fees etc.

Things go in cycles.

 

[Chilidog]

The entry level boats are now approaching 'obscene' in pricing for 'new' sailors - about 10X the price of 20-30 years ago.

I thought that used boats from the 70's and 80's were the entry level market.

 

[RichH]

I thought that used boats from the 70's and 80's were the entry level market.

That may well be in some places. On the Chesapeake many of these older boats are abandoned or forgotten in marina yards ... and the marinas ultimately are resorting to chainsaws and grinders to dispose of them .... not many are being 'salvaged', especially in light of the current high price of 'reclaimed' lead.

If anyone wants a stripped out ~44' Formosa hulk ... I know of one that will 'go for a song' or soon it will go to the 'chipper'.

 

[ChuckThomas]

What is amazing to me is how many boats are in the marina that never move. We have been sailing out of Mandeville for five years and I know of at least twenty really nice newer boats that have never moved. It is funny that in our bayou there are probably around a hundred boats - maybe one fifty. There are only about fifteen or twenty that sail more than a few times a year. Then there are only about ten that sail most weekends.

 

[Rick Webb]

Simple Answer i Think

Folks there are still busy getting houses, jobs and lives back to "normal".

We were at Keesler there in Biloxi before we moved to the Fort Walton area. In fact we bought our boat while we were there and sailed allover the area. My wife went back a year after the storm to reopen the Hospital on the base. It was a real mess still. She retired two years later and things were still far from normal. The marinas and yacht clubs are coming back and as everyone getts the rest of their lives figured out they will go back to sailing.

I spoke my brother in law in Charleston shortly after Ivan came through and asked him about getting back to normal after Hugo. He said it was ten years before things were normal it was of course not the same, it was a different new normal.

So I guess you are half way there. It will never be normal untill the Goofy Golf Course is back on the beach there.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Yes, Rich, I have to agree with you that it all comes down to money. We are actually in the same financial boat with everyone else. Both need to work, although the economy and BP killed my wife's job. We are often running to a whole slew of kids activities to boot.

But as others have said, I regret that TV adn video games play such a big part of kids lives these days as parent's times are eaten up keeping up. We ditched the TV and I am trying to move away from the rat race and pace of team sports--not as many at least.

I bought my '75 ODay because it was the right price--cheap.

Here's hoping the economy comes back soon enough to get more people out on the water.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Interesting to note --I had no idea that sailing had taken a hit in general over the last decades. I had no idea.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Johnny, do you frequent the Gulfport Yacht Club or the other nearby ones (Pass Christian, Bay Waveland)?

WinkFish, the boat will make it here in October (in Slidell right now), and we'll put it in the Long Beach Harbor--though I am interested in seeing how Gulfport's new harbor turns out. We haven't joined any yacht clubs while we are getting financially squeezed--yep finances hitting the sport yet again. I understand they all have pretty hefty rebuild assessments these days, which only hurts the ability to gain new members. Who knows what the future brings regarding yacht clubs.

That being said, we will probably enroll our son in sailing classes next time round. He has to learn how to swim first though.

 

[JonnyQuest]

Goofy Golf (heh)

Folks there are still busy getting houses, jobs and lives back to "normal".

So I guess you are half way there. It will never be normal untill the Goofy Golf Course is back on the beach there.

I'm waiting for Deer Park and Eight Flags to come back myself!

PS- JQ And Dr. Quest are working on a top secret money machine right now.

 

[Winkfish]

That being said, we will probably enroll our son in sailing classes next time round. He has to learn how to swim first though.

I know SYC allows non-member kids to enroll in its classes, and I'd imagine the other gulf coast clubs would as well. I hear you about the assessments!

 

[JonnyQuest]

They do, and our son is looking forward to it. We're off to a good start in getting them to enjoy sailing--now cruising the coast and having some overnighters will really help out.