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SVN Solovelanet Global
A
few days ago I was reading a book written by a friend of mine, a technical
book about safe boating, when I was struck by this sentence: "It is well
known that boats are promoted as status symbols" and a little further on,
to demonstrate that concept, "I don't have to remind you about the num
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ber of pictures of boats sailing with beautiful girls in bathing suit on their
bows". In reading it, I realized how we can get stuck with ideas that have turned into
stereotypes even when they are no longer in sync with reality. It's been about twenty
years since the marketing departments of major shipyards stopped using pretty ladies
on the bow to attract buyers hoping to be the alpha male behind the wheel staring
bravely at the horizon. And at the lady. In presentation videos, shipyards no longer
seem obsessed with the necessity of ending every story with a casual shot of a perky
female bottom.
Nowadays, shipyards have realized that a sailing boat is used by families or couples or
socializing with friends. While you might still see pretty ladies sporting bathing suits,
we are after all on a boat, this occurs in more homely settings emphasizing friendly
interaction more than languid seduction . Images of vacationing families or couples
and the occasional a group, but children are never missing. A long way from the stere
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otype of the James Bond skipper whose boat was a tool of his womanizing trade. The
average user has matured, is more cultivated, perhaps socially more accomplished.
The boat is a means of escaping the stress of are usual lives rather than something to
show off in society. There are obviously exceptions, but they are mostly confined to
the world of superyachts where there is still a competition about who has the biggest.
Sailing boats purchased as status symbols have had their day. Having a nice boat of
course can still be a sign of success and status, but for the average yachtsman this
remains a secondary motivation, when it is there at all. And the idea of sailing as an
activity reserved for would be successful alpha men, a highly dangerous activity reser
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ved only for brave navigators, is frankly ridiculous notwithstanding all the dramatic
yarns spun in many sailing books. The truth is that the number of deadly accidents
occurring in a year can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Sailing is a fun activity
for normal people with normal lives.
m.anzillotti@solovela.net
Maurizio Anzillotti
Maurizio Anzillotti
The boat as a
status symbol
There are still those who believe that sailors choose
to buy a boat as a status symbol, an expensive toy to
show off to their friends. Whoever thinks so is stuck in
the nineties.
EDITORIAL
