Please select your home edition
Edition
25 26 Leaderboard

Female Sailor buys first Elan 310 for Australia

by Gael Moldan on 24 Sep 2000


The dynamic Elan 310 twin rudder design due to arrive in December in Melbourne has been purchased by a very enthusiastic female sailor who now looks forward with tremendous excitement to helm her very own boat. The sailor has crewed in many club races and women's regatta events over the years.

Firstly, the decision alone to buy her own 31ft sailing boat was certainly a big one. This naturally moved quickly along to the next big decision ….what to buy?


The requirement was to have a boat that has a leg in both camps - a boat for real racing but not stripped bare but cruising also. The boat needed the ability to cope well shorthanded in changing conditions offshore and in Port Phillip Bay.

Researching the market, there was in fact only a small handful of real performance boats in this size class from which to choose. Initially, models from various marques were in line for consideration - and as you could well imagine - there was no shortage of fellow club sailing die-hards strongly advocating their choice.


Apart from the 310's immediate cheeky good looks and exciting design concept, the more the buyer investigated the qualities of Elan's versatile new model running out the boutique boat manufacturer's door with great success since its mid 2009 launch and enthusiastically reviewed by UK's prestigious Yachting Monthly, where they hailed the 310 as Elan's new ‘Pocket Rocket', the final choice was becoming clearer to the buyer.

Still, the voices from the sidelines continued trying hard to make their suggestions heard. However, when the Elan 310's attributes were rolled out – the Rob Humphreys twin rudder design simply had the goods.


Steadfastly, the buyer made her final decision on the boat of her choice as it stood. As keen club racer who wants to enjoy sophisticated sailing qualities with a competitive edge and enjoy the comforts of a pleasurable cruise as well, the 310 gave her a boat that had it all. It had the numbers as well as the looks, the build quality with top performance and delightful cruising versatility along with the shorthanded features that would be competitive without a works team – and all on the water at an affordable price.

The boat offers real value for money with lots of exhilarating and rewarding fun days sailing ahead. And what sailor does not want to spend time on the water 'grinning from ear to ear'…as Yachting Monthly's Toby Hodges wrote of his experience in the 310 boat test.

Not to mention the significant savings to be had with the current best ever exchange rates make that grin broader still.

Contact Navsail for further details 02 9999 6730, elan@navsail.com.au

You can also visit the website: www.navsail.com.au

Hyde Sails 2024 - One DesignVetus-Maxwell 2021 v2 FOOTERSelden CXr

Related Articles

Mission Accomplished!
Keeping it in the family was always really the main mission. Just ask him… Keeping it in the family was always really the main mission. Just ask him… Now at 138 days and some change, Tristan Gourlay has shaved a fair old chunk off the 179 days and change his dad, Ken, set 19 and a bit years ago.
Posted on 6 Apr
Victoria Low on the 2x25 Review
A Q&A with Victoria Low about the findings of the 2x25 Review The Magenta Project, in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing and World Sailing, recently conducted the largest gender equity study in sailing's history. The findings weren't great.
Posted on 2 Apr
Measure twice. Cut once.
Perhaps even measured thrice? Yes. On reflection, I think we can absolutely lock that one in. Perhaps even measured thrice? Yes. On reflection, I think we can absolutely lock that one in. So then, let's consider all this. Now that initial quantum was keeping the ambition in check. No headlines. No elongated rig. No overtly aggressive sail plan.
Posted on 1 Apr
Setting Sail at the Sofia Season Opener
So much sailing to celebrate at the Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca There's so much about the Bay of Palma that works for sailing, and has turned it into one of the main Mediterranean destinations for both regattas and training.
Posted on 30 Mar
Analogue v Digital.
It all started with the mighty Finn. You might have considered that it had wandered off... It all started with the mighty Finn. Now some 77 years old, and no longer an Olympic Class, you might have considered that it had wandered out to the far reaches of the back paddock and now rests under a big tree. It doesn't.
Posted on 26 Mar
St. Pete-Clearwater to host The Ocean Race 2027
The Ocean Race 2027 route and stopover in St. Pete-Clearwater, Florida Time and distance have ways of playing with one's mind, especially when the most valuable currency—wind—can be such an unpredictable actor.
Posted on 24 Mar
Jay Leon on his new role Velocitek's CEO
A Q&A with Jay Leon about his new role as Velocitek's CEO On March 9, 2026, Velocitek named my friend Jay Leon, a longtime Seattle-based dinghy and big-boat sailor (and wing-foiling addict), as their new CEO. I pinged Leon, via email, to learn more about RTK GPS technology and his new role.
Posted on 24 Mar
On the right wavelength
The rise of Radio Sailing While model yachting has been around for a very long time, dating back to the early 1800s with vane steering yachts raced in The Queen's Basin at Green Park in London, it has surged in popularity in this century.
Posted on 17 Mar
Clipper Race Stage 7 Video Review
An extraordinary welcome in Qingdao The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race arrived to a huge ceremony in Qingdao, China at the end of Stage 7.
Posted on 12 Mar
MGR: Tiny boats, massive adventure
The MGR delivered big adventure aboard tiny boats There's something about tiny boats and massive oceans that stirs the heart. Take, for example, the Mini Globe Race 2025, a circumnavigation stage race that began on Sunday, February 23, 2025, on the waters off of Antigua, aboard 19-footers.
Posted on 10 Mar