TridentUK joins Noble Marine as title sponsor for TridentUK RS400 National Championship
by Sally Campbell 4 Mar 2021 15:35 UTC
23-27 August 2020
Launching during the 2019 RS400 UK & Irish Nationals © Bradley Quinn
The RS Class Association are excited to announce that TridentUK will be title sponsor of the RS400 National Championships alongside Noble Marine; the Noble Marine-TridentUK RS400 National Championships.
TridentUK was established in 1983 by Dave and Jackie Gebhard, both keen dinghy sailors, as a sailmaking business. The business grew quickly to include the manufacture of waterproof and thermal clothing. They supplied Shipyards, Oil Rigs and the Fishing Industry as well as the Dinghy Market. This led, along with sailing in cold North Sea water, to developing their drysuits, designing and testing the suits themselves. The chandlery followed naturally and is a big part of the current business.
RS Class Association Secretary Sally Campbell said "this union feels like a perfect fit, with Dave and Jackie having sailed an RS since the very early days, keeping their original vintage RS200 at Tynemouth Sailing Club, just across the water from the Nationals venue at South Shields and son Joric now a sailor in the RS400 fleet."
Dave and Jackie's seven children (famously all with names beginning with J - now there's a theme for a party!!) were all taught how to sail, cut sail patches, answer the phone and smile. The J Tribe are one of the key reasons so many sailors turn to TridentUK; if you call for a part that you can describe but not name, or need some advice, one of them will almost certainly be able to help you.
The RS400 remains one of the UK's most popular dinghy classes and this, coupled with the event being rolled over from 2020 to 2021, due to COVID, has created an unprecedented demand for places, with the entry limit being reached six months in advance. With a waiting list building, the RS Class Association and South Shields SC are now carefully monitoring the new Government roadmap and trying to find a way to accommodate more boats - RS400 sailors are being urged to get their name on the waiting list, so that the club and class know the extent of the demand.
"We very much want to include all who want to take part and will do everything we can within RYA and Government guidelines to enable them do so." said Sally.