The first of our “Try a Spitfire” events took place at Grafham Water Sailing Club on the Bank Holiday Monday on the 5th of April. After a weekend of high winds and rain the Monday brought around some change with 10-15 knots of breeze and sunshine. The Topper Inland Championships took place over the weekend with over 130 entries. This meant there were plenty of young and eager Topper sailors waiting to try out the various youth class boats and choose in which direction to take the future of their sailing career. With the first boats scheduled to be afloat at 10am it was a hive of Activity from the spitfire team to get demo boats ready in under an hour.
10am came and Spitfires were soon dominating the reservoir. Sailing was continuous with no boats coming off the water for lunch. Spinnakers were up and were flying the length of the reservoir. Sam Rowell took the fight to the 29ers single handedly, however after an impressive hull up fly by managed to spectacularly tip it in before being rescued. In total more than 30 sailors experienced the joys of Spitfires and catamaran sailing and there wasn’t a single sailor who didn’t come off the water beaming. A sure sign that we are doing the right thing and that the class is being recognised.
We have learnt many things for the weekend and have put together an action plan to make the next two events even more of a success. Questions were asked both by sailors and adults and it is clear that the common misconceptions of the Spitfire and Catamaran Sailing are still in circulation. An FAQ section will be added to website shortly to make clear what a truly remarkable, fun, affordable and exciting Catamaran Sailing really is.
Many thanks to all those who helped make the event possible including the King, Rowell, Smith and Harrison families. Also a very special thank you to Kevin Cummerson who gave up his 50th Birthday celebrations to come and help on the water with his Spitfire, proving that the Spitfire isn’t just for the youth.
The next two “Try a Spitfire” weekends will be:
- 30/31st of May – Rutland Sailing Club – Feva Nationals
- 22nd/23rd of August – Grafham Water Sailing Club – Youth and Junior Cat Championships
To book please complete the online form.
For more information view the original Try A Spitfire Post.
