Flying Fifteen Class ready for the Dinghy Show - and the year ahead
by Jeremy Arnold 26 Feb 2021 02:45 PST
RYA Dinghy Show offers close-up views of the various ways Flying Fifteens can be fitted-out © Jeremy Arnold
As the country navigates its way out of lockdown the Flying Fifteen class stands ready with a full programme of events scheduled for 2021 and beyond, and are able to reveal news of another builder entering the class too.
The RYA Dinghy Show is the traditional start of the season for many sailors and this year switches to a virtual format for the first time. The UK Flying Fifteen Association (UKFFA) has put a lot of effort into representing itself in this format in the best way it can, starting of course with it's virtual exhibition booth which links to several specially-created articles on UKFFA's own website: www.flying15.org.uk
Amongst these is the "Take a Closer Look" article which presents photo galleries of the various Flying Fifteens that have been displayed at previous Dinghy Shows over the last few years, with all the photos specifically giving close-up views of the various ways Flying Fifteens can be fitted-out, and thus allowing visitors to examine the various alternative systems and ideas in some detail. We can't provide a real boat for you to inspect this year but hopefully this is the next best thing!
It's not all shiny new Flying Fifteens at the Dinghy Show though - there are shiny old ones too, with Graham Lamond's beautiful Squall (GBR 1155) being entered in the Concours event. Originally built back in the 1960s Squall has recently been restored and is one of a small fleet(!) of Classic 'Fifteens now owned by Graham.
Also for the 2021 Dinghy Show the class has commissioned a new 11-minute video (see below) which gives visitors both an overview of the Flying Fifteen itself and also provides useful Buyer's Guide for potential owners considering the purchase of a new boat.
And talking of new boats, we are excited to announce that Ginger Boats of Cumbria will shortly be producing new composite Flying Fifteens in addition to long-established builder Ovington, with Ginger Boats using the existing Dingwall moulds together with refinements and developments of their own.
A full calendar of Flying Fifteen events is scheduled for 2021 including - lockdowns permitting - a Nationals at Royal Northern & Clyde YC and a Southerns at Weymouth. And of course early 2022 sees the rescheduled World Championships in Freemantle, Australia, which was originally supposed to have been taking place as this is typed!
Please visit the Flying Fifteen class stand at the RYA Dinghy Show this weekend, and we look forward to seeing you out on the water soon!