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Of Brown
Dogs and English Boats
Richard Johnson, W10862
The rubbish from the Old Brown Dog regatta has barely made it to the
curb and the old brown dog himself still has a red wine stain on his
forehead and nose. I'm not sure which wine it was but thank
goodness he caught it. Now there's a good bar dog for you. Tommy
(aka The Old Brown Dog, and or Senior Brown Dog) is the epitome of the
Wayfarer. He loves to travel and he himself is from a strange
land (St. Mary's, Georgia). He has a bit of a checkered past, and he
mixes very well with a crowd.
So what does this hairy sausage of a dog with toothpick legs have to do
with Wayfarers? He is welcomed wherever he goes, and fondly
remembered when he is gone. I think it is time, we as a class, truly
get in touch with our Brown Doggedness. We love to travel, we mix
well with crowds and we love the attention our boats receive. Whereas
in the past we were willing to be a bit insular, perhaps sullen,
orphaned on the shores of North America, with no manufacturer and no
hope, we now have a glimmer: the Mk IV. What's more we have our
own distributor, NP Boats.
Now that we have a new boat, and a distributor, we need to do our part
as a class. We need to stop traveling in the same tiresome
circles. We need to get to new regattas and sail in Portsmouth
Classes. We need to demonstrate the versatility, agility, and grace of
our venerable dinghy. And the best way to do that is in open
competition. Yes, we are a one-design class and yes we can have
our one-design fun, but the real challenge is in the outside world.
We can do this in three ways. One, join a boat club and
participate in racing and not just Wayfarer racing. Two: Look on
the internet, and identify 5 Portsmouth Regattas within your
region. Plan to attend three of them. Just go... you will
have fun. Lastly, find a Portsmouth Regatta and invite two or three or
more Wayfarer buddies to attend. In this manner you can have a
mini Wayfarer Regatta and you can piggy back it on someone else and
garner a lot of attention for our boat.
So whose job is this? It is each member's, but more to the point,
it is the job of the regional reps, of whom I am one. We need to
do a better job of keeping up with our regional members and a better
job of knowing what is going on in our region in terms of events.
We need to plan events and take advantage of events at other clubs.
So what is the goal and or purpose? First and foremost to enjoy
sailing, secondary to that is to get out and sail more, tertiary to
that is to get out into the community with our boats and enjoy the
people we meet when sailing. As a goal beginning in 2013, we
should strive to have 50 new Wayfarer members by the end of 2017. So
what is the plan? Just show up. There are some amazing places to
sail and some truly pleasant people to meet. In the end just
enjoy the sailing, the people and your boat. If you do no more
than that you will always be welcome, and will be fondly remembered.
And our class will grow. Senior Brown Dog would be proud.
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