A Purple Patch for the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024

Purple patch at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - A beautiful National 12 © Magnus Smith

Sailing fashion is a fickle thing, one minute yellow is all the rage, then red, then orange. In 2024 it was most definitely the colour purple.

Be it blocks, ropes, hulls, shirts, signage, sails or any other kind of marine paraphernalia, shades of purple were everywhere.

Here are just a few of the shots we took of all that was purple... with a bit of lavender, lilac, mauve, periwinkle, plum and violet to mix things up...

Thankfully our hosts for the weekend got the memo, and the venue's signage matched the colour scheme

The cheerful volunteers of the 2000 Class Association had been to a tailor with his finger on the pulse

We all love freebies at a boat show, but purple freebies are even better! Thanks, Grafham Water Centre

Enjoy a comfier powerboat ride with these shock absorbers

Excellent colour matching with spinnaker and hull on this Buzz dinghy

Despite a lot of pink on this new Europe dinghy from Synergy Marine, the riggers knew that purple must not be omitted

The Solo class decided to keep things mysterious, by hiding the purple below the waterline

As the show opened on Saturday morning there was a dash for rope bargains - naturally one colour was in demand more than others

The RYA framed the talks on the main stage with appropriate boards

You now have a choice of trampoline colours on the Waszp, thanks to SailingFast

3D printed spinnaker pole ends have been created by a Merlin Rocket sailor

This Challenger trimaran is beautifully coloured, and available for you to try out

Let's end with another shot of the beautiful National 12 seen at the top of this article