• The use of the sea for leisure purposes requires political stability, so that people feel safe to invest in non-essentials

• There is economic and political confidence and optimism: potential boat owners must believe that these favourable conditions will continue into the future

• The potential boat owner considers that sailing and the role of being a yachtsman relate to a way of life they value and wish to achieve

• There are a sufficient number of potential sailors for the would-be sailor to feel part of a community of like-minded souls

• A sufficiently large group within a society have surplus wealth

• and surplus time. 4) and 5) are not the same, as the creators of new wealth may spend all their time working, so it may well be the second generation of a newly rich family who become yachtsmen

• They have sufficient time and motivation to learn how to sail, to use the boat, and maintain it (or have it maintained), and to enjoy their chosen leisure pursuit

• There are a sufficient number of potential yachting havens, capable of providing safe moorings for a number of yachts

• There is easy access from the yachtsmen's homes, which are likely to be in a city, to these yacht havens

• The seas around these havens provide protected waters within which to sail

• The water is clean – free from sewage and pollution

• And free of industrial and urban character and congestion

• Peter Johnson adds: Access to foreign or other land within a few hours.*(This is surely a bonus, rather than a requirement.)