Please select your home edition
Edition




The slightly unusual at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024

by Magnus Smith 1 Mar 12:00 UTC 25-26 February 2023
The Wilkinson Sword is a travellers trophy - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 © Magnus Smith

Back in Farnborough, Hampshire, for the third year running, the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show presented the usual huge range of sailing craft, mostly focussed on racing. It's always a great weekend seeing the latest hulls, new rope systems, crinkliest sails, and innovative products. But I always have an eye for the slightly unusual...

A huge silver sword! Well that caught my eye immediately. The Osprey class have quite the biggest trophy I have ever seen, awarded for their travellers trophy since 1979. The Wilkinson Sword was even used to cut a wedding cake, for one lucky Osprey couple. I suspect the person who had it mounted was very keen on there being enough space to affix the winners' name plaques for the next 250 years. It is a huge piece of wood over 3ft high!

The Wilkinson Sword is a travellers trophy - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

My love of colour (boo hiss to white plastic hulls) was sated by Extreme Trailers showing us how winch webbing and keel rollers can now be colour matched.

Match your winch webbing to the rollers, with Extreme Trailers - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Synergy Marine had done an excellent paint job on this Europe dinghy. I was fascinated by the way this class uses a non-watertight compartment just aft of the mast, which control lines run through.

New paint job from Synergy Marine - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

The ISO class were excited to show off their new re-designed hull, but since the changes were nearly all internal to the structure, and not visible, they had to resort to a simple way of making punters realise how much hull weight had been saved. Yes, 30kg!

The new construction of the ISO means 30kg weight removed - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Flying Fifteens may have keels, but their planing nature means they are firmly welcome in this dinghy show. It seems they are more worried than other classes about a rogue wave plopping down the spinnaker chute. Apparently they have a lower freeboard than many smaller boats, and it's easy to push that bow under if you're not careful. Hence this very neat and tidy waterproof cover at the bow.

Keeping water out of the Flying Fifteen spinnaker chute - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Others classes with keels were present: this radio-controlled One Metre was on display next to the model yachting 'lake'. It sported a wild new design of double jib-boom which really got my inner geek excited.

A jib boom on a One Metre radio-controlled yacht - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

A less technical rig was to be seen at the Andrew Simpson Foundation stand, where races were won or lost with a flick of the wrist. Pairs of competitors were battling to see who could wind their painter around a hand-held bar, to drag their wooden boat over the 2m course first.

Competition time with the Andrew Simpson Foundation - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Another wooden class is the Tideway, and it seems this owner is not worried about "keeping weight out of the ends". A nice framed poster complements the boat's name.

Transom of a Tideway dinghy - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Sailors over the age of 40 will be familiar with an increasing interest in healthy eating options. I am no exception. I was please to find the free water bottle refill station at the Show, so I could avoid needless sugar in my drinks.

Rooster Sailing, however, attempted to lure me back into sugar, with this array of cupcakes laid on for their 25th anniversary celebrations. It was in 1999 that Steve Cockerill first started the company. He seems to have done pretty well considering the size of the Rooster display exceeded nearly every other stand in the hall!

25 year celebrations for Rooster - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Another sad reminder of my age could be seen on the Fernhurst Books stand. As a child I loved the "Sail To Win" series, penned by the great sailors of the day. My sense of nostalgia was most upset to spot every book had changed, and the new authors were my contemporaries in age: Nick Craig and Ben Ainslie, for example.

Racing books have all been updated - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

The day just kept on getting worse, as RS Sailing promoted their free Sailors Club by hitting me with a reminder of a childhood pleasure long denied! I still haven't got over being refused entry to a ball pit when I was 12 years old. It's a pleasure I thought I could enjoy all my life.

Competition time with RS Sailing - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

A similar competition was running at the Sea Sure stand. I assume punters had to guess whether this bucket held enough bobbles for the rope systems on one Merlin Rocket, two 505s, or one hundred ILCAs.

Competition time with Sea Sure - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

I thought a trip to the Amateur Yacht Research Society would cheer me up after this upset, as I love seeing them push the boundaries of conventional thinking. I was glad to see an innovative design of furling jib that I had not seen in the wild before.

Novel furling ideas from the Amateur Yacht Research Society - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

More cunning furling ideas were seen on the new Nacra 570. A strip of UV-resistant cloth on the foot/leech means the furled sail can be left up all week on the beach, without damage from the sun.

The new Nacra 570 has a protective UV strip on the furling jib - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Happier childhood memories awaited me at the stand promoting sailing on the Norfolk Broads, with a lovely model of the yacht used in filming one of the 'Swallows and Amazons' series of books for a TV series. We should never forget that moment which got us into sailing - for me it was books.

A beautiful cruiser model from the Norfolk Broads - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Safe in the knowledge that I could enjoy books at any age, I decided to embrace my mortality, and acknowledge that I really needed a sit down. The Allen Brothers stand had the best seating in the whole place: an inflatable sofa that was actually comfortable!

Rest your weary legs on Allen's inflatable sofa - at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 - photo © Magnus Smith

Related Articles

Grab 2025 RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show tickets
RYA members and children aged 15 and under go free! Get ready to immerse yourself in a world of possibility at the 2025 RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, taking place on 22-23 February 2025 at Farnborough International. Posted on 6 Nov
2024 RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 'delivers'!
Flying start to 2024 season as thousands come together in Farnborough The much-loved season-opening show brought together passion, knowledge and a thriving sense of community, with some 8,900 attendees seeking out opportunities to learn, shop and network to get the most out of their time on the water. Posted on 26 Feb
Purple patch at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show
Clear the 'in' colour for sailors in 2024 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. Posted on 26 Feb
Students lead the way in sustainable sailing
Finalists of The Green Blue University Sailing Sustainability Challenge awarded The green actions of university students were celebrated at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show, supported by Sunsail, yesterday (Saturday). Posted on 25 Feb
1948 Olympic Firefly wins Concours d'Elegance
At the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show For the judging of the Concours d'Elegance, Mark Jardine, Editor of YachtsandYachting.com, was joined this year by the British Sailing Team 49er crew Fynn Sterritt, who has been selected for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Posted on 24 Feb
Talk to RYA Team at RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show
A weekend filled with excitement, learning, and networking Join us at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show for a weekend filled with excitement, learning, and networking. The RYA team will be on hand all weekend with all you need to know to encourage, inspire and help you progress your watersports journey. Posted on 23 Feb
Handy hardware at RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show
Upgrade your set up for the season ahead Home to 170 exhibitors, the 2024 RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show supported by Sunsail, brings together the latest kit and innovations from your favourite marine brands. Posted on 22 Feb
Discover what's on from Class Associations
At the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 The RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show 2024 supported by Sunsail is gearing up to deliver an action-packed weekend for watersports enthusiasts from 24-25 February at Farnborough International. Posted on 22 Feb
Best of boardsports at the show
Winging, windsurfing, foiling and paddleboard kit offers from exhibitors The RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show supported by Sunsail, is the watersports enthusiast's must-attend event of the year, taking place at Farnborough International on 24-25 February 2024. Posted on 18 Feb