The first weekend of March always sees the UKs leading Dinghy Show take over Alexandra Palace. Manufacturers, clubs, sail makers and chandlers take over 3 halls to show off their latest products. Sam Rowell was there representing the British Spitfire Class Association with his boat on stand C62 and grabbed some highlights from the show.
First off is the S1R from Outlaw Sailing. Outlaw sailing are the new kids on the block when it comes to boat companies however they have hit the scene hard with a good range of performance and foiling catamarans. The main item on display was the new S1R which is a new non-foiling singlehanded catamaran filling the gap in the market when the White Formula “Shadow” lost support. 16ft in length with a 12.5m2 main sail area its got lots of power to have a great time on the water. Prices start from £16000 and it certainly turns heads when presented in this green finish.
More Info: https://www.outlawsailing.com/collections/new-boats/products/s1race
Its been floating around on social media for the past year but the WASZP is a new take on the foiling moth. Unlike the foiling moth this is a one design so none of the expense of keeping up with a development class. Rigs are available to support sailors weighing form 40 up to 100kg so it can be setup for anyone. The controls are vastly simplified and the rig is free standing freeing up space in the crew aware. Wings are adjustable and foils are alloy. Prices start at $10,000 which right now equates to around £8000 which is around 30% cheaper than a specced up moth.
More Info: https://www.waszp.com/
Nick Stones and Sara Stones spent some time manning the Dart 18(UKIDA) stand along with Brian Phipps from Windsport. Brian and Tom Phipps (currently campaigning for the Olympics) released their new Catamaran Book on Saturday afternoon which has been the first update in the past ten years. FFSC sailors grabbed their sign copies at a reduced price at the book launch. FFSC also discussed with UKIDA the possibility of a Dart TT at the club in 2018 and showed support for another nationals in the future.
The Catamaran Book: https://fernhurstbooks.com/product/catamaran-book/
One here for the Swain family and all those who have ever progressed through the Youth Sailing performance group. The Buzz class association were on show with a boat with updated sails. The design hasnt changed much over the years and apart from the wings its almost identical to the ISO. Vantage Sailing based in Kent took over the Buzz Brand a few years ago and White Formula have been producing the boats in Brightlingsea. A new boat can be had from £7995 and can be heavily personalised to make it unique to you.
More Info: https://www.vantagesailing.com/
Other highlights of the weekend included two meetings. The first was regarding the RYA Club Membership Census for 2016 which shows the classic cap of 18 – 40 year olds in the sport. It shows membership by location, age, sport etc and is a great insight into what is going on. The 2016 census isnt available to the public but it has been seen by the FFSC committee and the general trends are also seen within our club.
The seonc meeting was about “Push The Boat Out”. An RYA initiative to get more people afloat. Its essentially a club open day where members of the public can come sailing, hopefully enjoy their time afloat and then become members. The meeting focussed on the success of some clubs in the form of case studies and looked at the “conversion” of people just coming for the day, to become full club members. There was lots to take away from this and this will be implemented within our own club this season.
2015 Census: https://www.rya.org.uk/clubs/affiliation/Documents/RYA%20Club%20Membership%20Census%202015%20Insights%20England%20(Final).pdf
