OK Dinghy class at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2025
by Karen Robertson 20 Feb 08:29 NZDT
22-23 February 2025, Stand 150
OK Dinghy class montage © OKDIA
With the first signs of spring starting to appear, the OK class is getting ready for what is often seen as the preparatory signal for the new season - the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show.
The OK class is a regular attendee and is again sharing a stand with our close friends the Europes.
We will be showing the ever popular Ovington OK which has had a new deck moulding developed by Ovington MD and top OK sailor Chris Turner. The new design allows a choice of two different widths of deck at the hiking position to better suit the individual helm's preferences and hiking style. With Ovington now having produced over 180 boats since 2017 there is no doubt that they are a force to be reckoned with in the class and their hulls won both the 2024 World and European championships.
The 2025 season about to start, the new UK Ranking system is going to see its first update from the Inland Championships, this year being held at Grafham Water on March 16/17 as part of the Ovington Inland Championships followed by the annual Sprint Racing at Burghfield on 5th April. With the promise of good racing, and a meal and rugby on the TV at the club on the Saturday night, the Inlands should be on everybody's calendar as a must do event.
Looking further ahead the UK Nationals are being held at Dabchicks SC from 12th July to the 15th July which will be an important step towards what must now be one the highlights of the international dinghy racing calendar - the OK World Championships at Lake Garda. With over 200 boats expressing an interest in attending and the Antipodean fleets seeing this as very much a bucket list event, it promises to be not just the biggest OK event ever, but one of the most closely fought regattas of the year with multiple world champions from the OK and other classes competing for the trophy.
With a large UK contingent expected to make the journey to Garda, hopes are high that the UK can retain the World Championship crown for the fourth year running with Nick Craig (World Champion in 2024, 2017, 2011, 2007, 2006 & 2005), Henry Wetherall (2023) and Charlie Cumbley (2022) all being expected to attend as well as a strong cohort of other sailors such as Matt Howard, Andy Davis and Chris Turner that are all capable of being right up there.
With so much on the plan for 2025, do drop past and see us on Stand 150 (behind the pub!) to find out more.