Sailingfast is delighted to announce Ben Anderson will be joining the Sailingfast Team Riders. Ben, aged 14, hails from the Isle of Wight and only started sailing in 2020 during lockdown. Ben is currently campaigning an ILCA 4 and a WASZP throughout the UK and Europe.
Towards the end of 2023 Ben won the Palamos Christmas Regatta in the ILCA 4 and won the WASZP End of Seasons Championships in the 6.9 rig. Ben is a member of both the Athena Under 25 and Under 18 Foiling Pathways.
Ben says, “During lockdown, all the ferries had stopped and school was closed so I just sailed every day, up and down for hours in an old Tera, from just outside my house. I’m excited to join the Sailingfast Team Riders, there’s some amazing sailors in the Team and I’m looking forward to spending time with them all.”
Sailingfast director, Duncan Hepplewhite, says, “We first came across Ben at the WASZP Nationals last summer, holding his own even with the smaller rig size. It was fun to watch this newcomer to the class mixing it up in breezy conditions. Ben is super keen, and we’re excited to see what he might achieve in the years to come.”
The first WASZP event of 2024 is the Start of Seasons Championships at Datchet Sailing Club on 23/24 March. With the Athena Foiling Pathways, regattas in Valencia and Mallorca, not to mention the ILCA Qualifiers, the ILCA 4 Europeans in Slovenia and the ILCA 4 Worlds in Portugal, Ben is going to be busy in 2024! He will also be at the WASZP Games in Norway in August. Take a look at Ben’s Team Rider page to see how he has got to where he is and where he intends to go with his sailing.
Why not pop along to see us, meet Ben and some of our other Team Riders at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show? We will be exhibiting on stand I12 with details of the offers available on ILCAs, WASZPs as well as the RS Sailing Range. With Rory and Duncan’s background in coaching Junior and Youth classes, we are well-placed to assist when it comes to transitioning from Junior to Youth classes, with an eye on the future progression of your sailor.
To book a test flight in the WASZP, contact Rory or Duncan at Sailingfast (www.sailingfast.co.uk) and they can advise you of the dates available.
Sailingfast is an online and mobile chandlery specialist – delivering faster sailors. With dealerships including ILCA, WASZP, RS Sailing, Mackay Boats, North Sails One Design and Selden: whether you are new to sailing or a seasoned pro, we are on the web and at the end of the phone to help with your sailing needs.
Sailingfast is excited to announce a new addition of Rory Wilson to the sales team. Rory has spent the last 3 years based in Weymouth working for the Andrew Simpson Foundation’s Performance Academy and British Youth Sailing. Rory has coached nationally and internationally and has recently returned from supporting 5 GBR youth sailors at the ILCA 6 Youth World Championships in Argentina.
“I’ve always been on the coaching side of the industry but now I get to help customers stay on the water with their new equipment. I’m looking forward to supporting sailors at events from the shore, it’s a brilliant opportunity and I’m looking forward to starting my journey with Sailingfast.” says Rory.
‘Adding to the sales team will strengthen our unquestionable, topnotch customer service throughout the UK. With a second vehicle on the road we are better placed to support our customers and sailors. We have known Rory for a long time and are confident he epitomises the ethos of our business.’ Says Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast.
Rory brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Sailingfast team. Why not pop along to meet him, if you don’t already know him, at the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show. Sailingfast are on Stand I12 showcasing the WASZP, ILCA & RS Sailing, along with spares and chandlery equipment from Marlow and Harken.
To mark the 2023 British WASZP season ending, 36 boats from all corners of the UK, including Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Isle of Wight and Guernsey gathered at Rutland alongside a handful of international competitors from the Netherlands and Croatia, who made the trip especially for the event!.
To add to the fun in what is becoming tradition, many of the fleet chose to dress up for the occasion as ghosts, crash test dummies, clowns, the Super Mario bros and countless more guises.
Once ashore, the swarm took over the entire top floor of the sailing club, much to the surprise of the midlands Topper squad, whose dinner became significantly livelier than expected. Six randomly selected teams of six sailors fought it out in the annual games night. Pumpkins were thrown, broomsticks ridden and apples bobbed in a scene of competitive chaos. The top two teams qualified for the grand final of doughnuts on strings hanging from a WASZP mast before sitting down to dinner, pumpkin carving and ‘scary’ stories that quickly stumbled off piste.
Sunday’s forecast was promising so the sailors promptly headed out to sail four championship-style races. Having sailed out in full-send conditions, contrary to forecast, the breeze quickly became patchy. Those at the top were the ones that successfully managed to link the pressure to stay on the foils. It was all too easy to get foiling in a gust and promptly sail into a hole and off the foils as the rest of the fleet foiled off on the other tack! The battle at the top was fought between Ross Banham, Sam Whaley and Hattie Rogers. In the end, Whaley emerged victorious with Banham second and Rogers third. Peter Cope of the Isle of Man topped the Juniors after winning the final race and Rhys Stevenson took the youth category. The always close-fought 6.9 rigs saw young Ben Anderson from the Isle of Wight edge out Alice Senior for the 6.9 win. Ian Fitzgerald of Dalgety Bay took the Master’s category and resident Kiwi Dan Goodman took the Super Master.
The UK fleet now shifts its eye to the winter training program and planning for a big season in 2024 as the 2025 WASZP Games in Weymouth gets closer!
For more information on how to join the swarm, you can find out more about the WASZP itself or drop us a line on 01324 861 756 and we might be able to organise a test flight before you make the jump.
Over the past twelve months, we have been hard at work refining the handles for our flat water and racing paddles. To make sure we got it right, we recruited the expertise of two elite paddlers—APP World Champion Arthur Arutkin and Maui waterman Bernd Roediger.
It took a lot of prototypes and many hours of on-water testing, but our combined efforts paid off with the all-new, PowerGrip Handle.
“We developed the PowerGrip Handle with the goal of using 100% of the resources from the paddle,” said APP World Champion Arthur Arutkin. “That means putting as much power as possible on the handle, while also ensuring a better grip to maximize control of the blade.”
How the PowerGrip Handle WorksOptimized for maximum power, increased efficiency, and long-lasting comfort, the PowerGrip provides a significant performance advantage—no matter if you are battling for the podium or grinding out long training sessions.
The PowerGrip is triangular in nature, with a wider, flatter and more upright back than our previous handles. The slightly curved back fits naturally in your palm, while the indentation on the front adds comfort and security when wrapping your fingers and helps maintain grip when the paddle is rotated forward. The combined features of the new PowerGrip ensure that it remains comfortable during longer races and workouts, while maximizing energy transfer to promote efficient paddling and speed.
“The new handle was one of the most challenging projects we have ever worked on,” said Black Project Co-Founder, Chris Freeman. “In fact, we started a few years ago and shelved the project until Arthur encouraged us to upgrade. Not only was getting a clear consensus from a range of athletes difficult, but the actual process of modeling and producing the ideal handle design was demanding. Using our 3D printer for producing handle prototypes was crucial to the final development. In fact, Arthur used a 3D printed prototype at the Carolina Cup as part of our final testing process. This new handle represents a massive performance upgrade to racing paddles and I encourage all paddlers to take advantage and make the switch.”
The PowerGrip is now featured on our high-tech family of Hydro paddles—the Hydro FlowX, Hydro SprintX, and Hydro TempoX. This innovative line of premier racing and fitness paddles was born with the Hydro FlowX—the ultimate paddle for racing and training—but has expanding to include the Hydro SprintX for sprint racing or HIIT (high-intensity interval training), and the Hydro TempoX for recreational and fitness paddlers looking to hone their stroke technique.
Adding the PowerGrip handle instantly improves each Hydro paddle by creating more power and better comfort. Like all our handles, the PowerGrip is constructed of hollow carbon to eliminate any excess weight. The matte finish provides a good balance between grip and comfort.
Due to the nature of this handle, it is not ideal for all paddlers—getting the most out of this new racing design requires good technique and hard paddling.
The PowerGrip handle is available in standard, slim, and our new ultra-slim shaft size – this new ultra slim version is designed to fit the new PowerTaper shaft. If you already own a Hydro FlowX, you will be able to upgrade your handle.
If you are ready to get more out of your paddle, our PowerGrip handle will not let you down.
Yes the hull looks stunning, if you don’t mind us saying so ourselves, but there’s so much more going on there than just fantastic aesthetics. The testing and development that went into the RS Aero was extensive and can be attributed to the success of this modern day single-hander and why she’s such a delight to sail across the size ranges. Keep reading below to find out all of the key features of the RS Aero hull.
Hull size
Chine
Gunwale design
Flat panel deck
Do you want to find out more? Head to our RS Aero page for more information or call the office on 01324 861 756.
The newly formed UK & Ireland RS21 Class Association has announced an exciting inaugural racing circuit for 2023.
Where possible, the events are integrated into a bigger regatta not only to provide value for money but also to ensure vibrant socials, enhanced by the class’s healthy gender mix. The circuit comprises four UK and Irish events topped off with the World Championship in Sardinia, Italy which is already proving attractive to many professional and amateur international competitors, reflecting the one-design sportsboat’s International Status with World Sailing.
The season gets under way with the Royal Lymington YC Sunday Spring Series running through April as a warm-up for the Bank Holiday Scottish Series in Tarbert at the end of May before moving on to Dun Laoghaire Regatta in July. The highlight of the UK & Ireland circuit for 2023 is the four-day National Championship hosted by Lymington Town Sailing Club in early August. The event is timed to coincide with the end of Cowes Week and offers international teams the opportunity to gauge the competition ahead of the World Championships at the end of September.
Following the UK Nationals, focus for many will move to Europe with the Italian National Championship in Riva del Garda at the end of August before crossing the Tyrrenhian Sea for the World Championship hosted by the Yacht Club Porto Rotondo in Sardinia.
Back in the UK, the final circuit event of the season sees the RS21 fleet join Hamble River Sailing Club’s One Design Championship in October where the fleet also aims to take part in the winter series running into December.
The Association has also taken the opportunity to launch its new website where all event details and dates can be found. Visit www.rs21ukclass.org to find out more.
Here’s everything you need to know about the RS Aero’s construction and how the weight of the hull is kept so low. Cleverly designed by the incredible duo of Jo Richards and the RS Technical team, the RS Aero was designed to be ultra-light from inception.
Would you like to read more about the RS Aero? Click here to find out more.
Martin Evans – WASZP Class Manager
There was a strong turnout of 20 boats for the opening WASZP UK event of the 2023 season held at Datchet Water. Local sailor, Adam Raeburn-James, is leading the charge in encouragement and enthusiasm to persuade new sailors to the class. With regular class training events, you will be up and flying in no time.
The best way to learn is to go to these events and learn from those already in the boat. Nothing beats hands-on experience and time on the water. You might not make it around the course on your first try, but you will get better at launching and recovery; find out those top hacks for getting the wings up and down and make some new friends – what’s not to love?!
Head over to the WASZP Race Hub pages to find out about the upcoming events in the 2023 season – INCLUDING the training weekends. Once you have caught the bug, don’t just stop at the UK events, the WASZP is so easy to transport, why not try the various events around Europe. Take the family and call it a holiday?!
For more information on how to join the swarm, you can find out more about the WASZP itself or drop us a line on 01324 861 756 and we might be able to organise a test flight before you make the jump.
Head over to the WASZP Race Hub for the full results, a snippet of these can be found here:
| Date | Venue | Event |
| 22-23 Apr | Helensburgh Sailing Club | Scottish Traveller Series |
| 29,30 April & 1st May | Rutland Sailing Club | Eric Twiname Championships (invitational, Open event for RS Tera Class) |
| 27th-30th May | Pwllheli Sailing Club | RS Feva Nationals |
| 3rd – 4th June | Prestwick Sailing Club | Scottish Traveller Series |
| 10-12 June | Loch Earn Sailing Club | Scottish Schools Championships |
| 17-18 June | Loch Tummel Sailing Club | Scottish Traveller Series |
| 17-18 June | Bardowie | Laird Cup Scottish Schools |
| 1-2 July | Prestwick | Feva Association Race Training |
| 19-20 August | Bardowie | Scottish Traveller Series |
| 26-27 August | Largs Sailing Club | Largs Regatta (Largs Channel and round Cumbrae race) |
| 2-3 September | Aberdeen and Stonehaven | Scottish Traveller Series |
| 9-1 0 or 16-17 | TBD | Feva Association Race Training |
| 23-24 September | Poss Dalgety Bay | Late Summer Champs |
*Some dates may be amended as the season progresses, but these are good working dates for the diary.
On 25/26th February the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show returns to Farnborough International Conference Centre.
The Sailingfast team will be exhibiting at the show, are looking forward to catching up with our customers and talking them through the exciting products that we offer. You will find us on Stand G22, sharing the Dinghy Show Deals ahead of the 2023 sailing season.
In addition to the special offers, we are thrilled to have Sailingfast Team Riders Hattie Rogers, Carys Attwell, Sam Whaley and Ross Banham joining us on the stand.
Hattie has had an epic year, winning the SailGP Inspire female programme, helming an F50 alongside Ben Ainslie, and was selected for the Athena foiling project. She has demonstrated the sailing foiling pathway and will be available to answer your questions and tell us what comes next. Join us at 11am each day on stand G22 for a very special Q and A with Hattie.
Carys Attwell has been progressing through from the ILCA 4 and is now sailing the ILCA 6 on the circuit. Based at Rutland Water, Carys is very approachable. She is also sponsored by Marlow Ropes so is always happy to answer questions about your control lines.
WASZP sailor and Sailingfast Team Rider, Ross Banham will also be on our stand all weekend to help answer your WASZP and sailing-related questions. Where has sailing taken Ross around the world?
Sam Whaley, Sailingfast Team Rider, WASZP Games Silver medalist, ILCA sailor and aspiring Olympic Athlete will be joining us on stand G22 during the weekend. We will be announcing a time for you to join us on the Sailingfast stand and meet with Sam very soon.
So pop by stand G22 to meet the Sailingfast Team; Emma, Duncan, Martin and Shuna along with some of our Team Riders who will be on hand to offer you advice across a wide range of sailing dinghies, wingfoil kit and paddleboard kit.
Tickets for the RYA DAWS are free for RYA members, or you can get 10% off using our code RYAEX23801.
Don’t have time to hang around? Why not place an order online for collection at the RYA DAWS? Head to our website to place an order with ‘collect from shop’ as your delivery option or call 01324861756 to speak to a human! Then visit Stand G22 at the Dinghy Show to collect.
The team at Sailingfast enjoy an event-packed year and 2023 is to be no different. As soon as we have unpacked after the RYA Dinghy and Watersports Show, Duncan will be back on the road and heading to Stokes Bay for the first of the UKLA ILCA Spring Qualifiers.
Sailingfast are proud sponsors of the UKLA ILCA class: not only does this mean we sponsor the prizes for the Qualifiers, we also provide T-shirts for the Nationals and chandlery support at as many of the UKLA ILCA events we can get to.
The reasoning behind our event support is for us to provide you, the sailor, with chandlery support in the unlikely event that you suffer gear failure while on the water. Some of you are prepared, and have an arsenal of spares and a well-stocked toolbox at your disposal to enable a quick fix and return to the race course in time for the next race. However, experience shows that not everyone is as uber-organised, so if we can be on hand to help, we will. The last thing we want is for you to drive 4/6/8 hours or more to attend the Qualifiers only to go home after a race or two because of gear failure.
The first UKLA ILCA event of 2023 sees us all down at Stokes Bay with its notoriously stony beach but otherwise a great place to sail. If you haven’t come across our event support vehicle, then you will usually find us parked up in the Stokes Bay car park, as near to the beach as we can get. This saves you having to run too far in the event of a catastrophic failure mid-race.
Keep your eyes peeled for Duncan, usually in a Sailingfast branded jacket, chatting away to various folk. He will be in or around the branded trailer, which we turn into a mobile chandlery unit, complete with card machine and rope cutter and, if you ask really nicely, you might even get to borrow the rivet gun. (Bring the boat/spar section with you because the tools don’t leave his sight!) For the UKLA ILCA Spring Qualifiers, we will have a variety of ILCA specific kit from covers to carbon tillers & extensions, friction pads to pre-cut control lines and mainsheets. If you would like us to bring something for another dinghy class, please pre-order through the website (instructions below)
The last two weekends of March, we will be back to the home of most big sailing events in the UK, the Sailing Academy at Weymouth and Portland. Again, we endeavour to be close to the water, within the dinghy park, but this does depend how busy the Academy is.
These are events are a great opportunity to chat to Duncan about part exchanges, new boats, charter boats, delivery time frames or just put a face to a name. We offer free delivery on any pre-orders which can be collected during the Qualifiers (handy if you need a new spar section!):
Pre-ordering means we will have your order bagged up for quick and easy collection but we are also able to process orders onsite.
We look forward to seeing you get out on the water and having some fun at the first big ILCA event of the 2023 season!
RS Marine Group is expanding with the newly formed Ocean Play. The new company, which is collaboration between RS and Jo Richards, is now manufacturing Picos, Bugs, Bahias and Vagos, with delivery expected in late January 2023.
Sailingfast is appointed one of the Ocean Play UK dealers for the sale of boats and spares. Duncan first worked with these iconic boats when they were manufactured by LaserPerformance back in 2002. Duncan says, ‘We are excited to be back working with these boats again, looking to service the corporate market of sailing clubs, schools and outdoor centres both in the upkeep of their existing fleets, or to refresh their fleets’.
Alex Newton-Southern, technical CEO for RS’ marine group of businesses, says that elements of the Pico, Bug, Bahia and Vagos have been updated where appropriate, ready for the customers in the UK and overseas who have been seeking to replace their favourite classics.
“All of the sail designs are refreshed, and the Picos’ and Bugs’ mainsails now come with vertical batons. This gives a more stable sail shape and makes them much easier to furl.”
“There is also a vast opportunity in the spares business,” says Jon Partridge, commercial CEO for RS’ marine group. “We’re not underestimating the 50,000-ish boats already in use that all need replacement parts.
“Sailing schools are very attached to these boats. I grew up in a sailing school environment. In fact, that was my entry point to the trade. We used six Picos like every other school around the world. At the time they set a new benchmark in sailing school equipment.”
Partridge says the appeal to sailing schools is multi-faceted. Schools are often wedded to the boats they’ve evolved with and have a raft of spares available. Some schools have 20-30 identical boats in a fleet, and when they need to replace just a few, they understandably don’t want to go to a new craft. He believes bringing the old classics back to the production line, coupled with RS Sailing’s experience in delivering high-quality, high-volume dinghies worldwide, is a recipe for success.
“Hundreds of thousands of young people learned to sail in Picos. We’re excited that hundreds of thousands more will as well,” says Partridge. “These boats, designed by Jo Richards (also the designer of many RS boats), are incredibly simple and create a safe and comfortable environment for learning to sail. That’s why they are so popular with clubs and, more importantly, with children and novice sailors.”
For more information on the boats and spares side of things, you can follow the links below, or drop us a line on 01324 861 756 to talk to a real human being!
Sailingfast is thrilled to be kicking off our 2023 season with the RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show at the end of February. With just under 8 weeks to go, the Sailingfast Team will be enjoying their 20th anniversary celebrations with a stand to rival our previous efforts.
In addition to our display of WASZP one man foiling dinghies, you can expect a couple of ILCA dinghies from different manufacturers, along with some of the RS Sailing range of boats AND a more complete chandlery offering. Namely, PFDs and Dinghy Boots from Zhik and Vaikobi, available for you to try on and at special Sailingfast 20th birthday prices.
New for 2023, you will also find top end equipment from the paddleboarding and Wingfoiling side of the business. Both sports have really exploded during, and since COVID and we are excited to be part of both scenes.
Who is on the stand?With a number of our Sailingfast Team riders available to chat to you about their respective classes, Duncan will be on hand to advise on boat and trailer lead times and delivery while Emma never misses an opportunity to talk about her passion for paddleboarding, both social and racing!
The RYA Dinghy Show is when our minds turn towards the season ahead. Normally, an opportunity to grab a few bargains, catch up with friends and perhaps learn a thing or two.
Some of boats we look after are:
2021 – Georgie Altam Photography
The ILCA sailing dinghy is built in the UK by well-known builders Ovington Boats and is class-legal for all National and International events. If you would like to read more about debunking the ILCA/Laser jargon, please head to the blog page of our website.
The foiling sensation of the WASZP is totally amazing and once you have tried it, you’ll be hooked! The WASZP is the most eagerly awaited and talked about one-design dinghy in generations. Various sailors during test flights have managed to foil after only a few minutes in the boat and come away enthusing about how much fun they had.
RS Sailing RangeRS Sailing designs have built some of the most vibrant class communities, been chosen by leading organisations globally and that from humble beginnings RS Sailing have become the world’s largest small-sailboat brand.
Whether you are looking for spares, or boat packages, please follow the links, or contact the office on 01324 861 756 to talk to a human being.
Dinghy Show OffersEnjoy 10% off your entry to the 2023 Dinghy & Watersports Show using code: RYAEX23081.
Customers looking to order new boats during the weekend can look forward to a wee incentive as well – details will follow on our social media platforms during the course of the weekend. To take advantage of any Dinghy Show-related offers, keep your eyes peeled on our website and across our social media platforms.
Pop by the stand for a chat to find out more, or drop us a line on 01324 861756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
The team at Sailingfast have spent 20 years in the industry, scouting out different gift ideas for the sailor or watersports’ enthusiast in your life.
Have you left your Christmas shopping til the last minute?
Fear not, Sailingfast have rounded up a list of our top 10 Christmas gifts, full of useful sailing presents with a price tag for every budget. Whether you are splashing out on a big ticket item, or just looking for some stocking fillers, we’ve got you covered.
One of the Sailingfast team suffers from Reynauds disease – a condition which causes some areas of the body — such as fingers and toes — to feel numb and cold in response to cold temperatures or stress. So you can trust us when we say we have tried a LOT of gloves over the years. Not just for keeping warm but also for grip when holding on to your control lines. Feel free to drop us a line if you wish to chat through the ideal glove for your situation. 01324 861 756 (ask for Emma!).
Keep your head cosy in the dinghy park or on the water with this Sailingfast bobble hat. Made in the Scottish Borders, exclusively for Sailingfast, the team at Wonky Woolies know a thing or two about keeping your head warm!
Available in turqouise, pink or red.
In pursuit of the ‘optimum time’! Check out the new black colour, tipped to be the favourite colour at Christmas this year.
The best sailing watch on the market with easy-to-read numbers, you won’t be late for the start!
Hydration is key to your performance. Check out our range of bottles and travel mugs to keep you topped up while on the water. Just make sure to tie it securely to your boat in the event of a capsize! We are happy to provide some bungee cord if needed.
We can’t all be on the water all the time. Why not grab the updated racing rules for a little winter homework session? Too intense? Grab the condensed flip companion – a perfect stocking filler.
Know where you are going or want to be going! Sailingfast stock robustly-made wind indicators from a number of manufacturers. Alternatively, if you just need to replace the vane arm, these are available separately.
Heat resistant and long lasting, Marlow’s R8 is Sailingfast‘s current go-to rope for control lines and mainsheets. This rope uses a Dyneema® sk78 core but with an 8 plait cover, blended from Technora® aramid and polyester.
Not convinced? Check out the social media pages of our team riders Hattie Rogers and Carys Attwell who are both Marlow Brand Ambassadors.
Protect your dinghy from stone chips while travelling, or the worst of the weather by treating her to a new set of covers.
With digital compasses now permitted in the ILCA class, we are finding the Tacktick Micro-compass is very popular. Alternatively, go faster, sail higher & improve your sailing skills with Sailmon MAX. Sailmon MAX is the number one training- and racing instrument on the market.
Still not sure what to get the sailor in your life? Why not pick up a Sailingfast Gift Voucher so they can put it towards something they really need? Vouchers start at £5 and can be emailed as well as posted out to the lucky recipient.
We would be very happy to talk you through some gift ideas based on the type of dinghy they sail and your budget. Just drop us a line via email info@sailingfast.co.uk or by phone on 01324 861 756.
Hallowe’en is now behind us and Christmas is fast approaching! Black Friday is a fantastic opportunity to stretch your last payday before Christmas, taking full advantage of the sales and make your money go a little bit further. Heck, with eight kids between the Sailingfast team members, we will be doing the same thing!
At Sailingfast, we want you to get the best deal and get your Christmas ducks lined up in plenty of time so you can sit back and enjoy a wee gluwein instead of panic-wrapping at midnight on Christmas Eve.
(more…)The accolades keep rolling in for our flagship Hydro FlowX SUP Paddle. It was recently named the winner of SUPboarder’s 2022 Race/Touring SUP Paddle Test. Expert paddlers from SUPboarder tested 16 different paddles from a range of SUP brands, but it was the Hydro FlowX that ultimately claimed the coveted title of, “Best Paddle Money Can Buy” with a test score of 33.3/40.
Featuring a revolutionary blade design that includes our proprietary Advanced Flow Technology and Deep Power Scoop, this test-winning and World Record-breaking paddle redefines what a paddle stroke feels like. The Hydro FlowX offers paddlers a fluid stroke movement which reduces energy usage while increasing forward thrust—ideal for training, racing or cruising.
The premium finish and peak performance of the Hydro FlowX was evident to the team at SUPboarder. Their team of six experienced testers all loved the performance and feel of the Hydro FlowX, noting the incredibly light weight, grippy shaft, refined edges, and high-tech engineering of the blade. The reviewers were each impressed with how easily the blade moved through the water, ultimately creating less fatigue and better power.
It was especially pleasing to hear that they loved our new PowerGrip handle (scoring 5/5).
“Compared to cheaper paddles with similar blade shape, you can see there is more refinement and sharper edges with the Hydro FlowX,” said SUPboarder.
Interestingly the Hydro SprintX actually scored higher in the test with 33.7/40 while the Hydro TempoX came in 4th in the numerical ratings with 31.3/40. By securing 3 out of the top 4 spots the Hydro paddle collection underlined Black Project’s superior paddle performance and quality.
We have a couple of different Black Project SUP paddles and fins on demo at the moment. Drop us a line on 01324 861 756 to find out more or have a go.
Our ex-demo paddles and fins can be found on the Used Boats & Kit page.
RS SAILORS WINTER BUY OFFER 2022Between 1st – 30th September 2021 RS Sailors Club members will have access to a:
Who is eligible for the RS Sailing Store Sail Discount?
– To be a UK member of the RS Sailors club you need to be a member of; RS Association, RS Tera, RS Feva, RS Aero, RS Elite, 2000 class.
– To be eligible for the discount you must be a member of the RS Sailors Club* at point of order and point of dispatch.
How it works:
If you’re based in the UK, place your order with Sailingfast by either phone (01324 861 756), you’ll need to pay a non-refundable 25% deposit, the remaining balance will be collected 2 days before despatch.
Orders will be fulfilled by 31st March 2023. All sails include digital 8 sail numbers, battens and sail bag.
*Maximum of one complete suit of sails per member (family membership will be allowed two suits).
Ross Banham held off stiff competiton from Nick Zeltner and Sam Whaley to take out the 2022 UK WASZP Nationals in Weymouth.
Zeltner begun the event as equal world number 1 with Banham after attending both the America’s Championships and European Games, while Whaley was the reigning UK National Champion. At the end of the event it was Banham who took the win and heads to the WASZP Games as world number 1.
With over 50 boats on the start line in big breeze, the WASZP UK Nationals delivered some spectacular foiling racing! The swarm was hosted by Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy on the world-class foiling waters of Portland Harbour for four days of one-design, high-speed action.
SlalomThe first day of the competition was dedicated to the Slalom tournament, which comprises of a series of short, downwind races in a knockout-style format. With just enough breeze to get all the heats and finals away, it was Welshman Zac Blomeley that came out on top to take the Slalom victory. Hattie Rogers sealed the women’s Slalom title.
The Slalom day would be the end of the lighter breeze, with a solid forecast of 15+ knots for the three championship days.
Four races were sailed on day one of the championship in the increasing breeze. Familiar faces in the fleet were battling at the front. Ross Banham, fresh from silver at the Europeans, and Nick Zeltner of Switzerland have been at war since the start of the year with the pair joint on points at the top of the world rankings! British Sailing Team ILCA sailor Sam Whaley, the 2021 national champion, was also fighting at the front in defence of his title. The trio traded blows but it was Banham who led after day one.
By the fourth race, conditions became pretty fruity with 20+ knots of wind and a tricky Portland harbour chop to contend with. Across the fleet, sailors valiantly soldiered on with good support and rallied for the less experienced sailors. Special prizes from class sponsor Rooster were awarded to Alice Senior, nominated by the race committee, for perseverance with a smile whilst super-masters Stuart Swan and Bruce Allan was recognised with Rooster goodies for defying their ages on the water!
At the end of the day, Ross Banham led a fleet-wide debrief to share his tips from the day so that others in the fleet could take some ideas away ahead of the windy forecast for the next two days.
Day 2On day two of the championship, the race team compressed the course and ordered a higher number of laps to avoid the choppiness sailors had experienced on the previous day. This allowed a much more manageable day of sailing for the fleet, despite the average wind being higher. The sun shone down on the leaders as they raced around the course at speeds of up to 25 knots! This time, Zeltner bounced back against his rivals with three race wins out of four! Banham did enough to hold the overall lead, whilst Whaley suffered a nasty collision with Dutch sailor Eliott Savelon that saw him miss two races as he rushed back to shore to make some emergency repairs. Whaley did make it back on the water to score a 2 and an 8, keeping him in the fight. WASZP Class Manager Martin Evans made a late charge in the final race, leading around all three laps only to be pipped by Banham moments from the finish! By now, Hattie Rogers had opened a commanding lead in the women’s division, but the battles for the age groups were tight!
Hattie Rogers took the women’s title for the second year running ahead of newcomer to the fleet, Bella Fellows. Ewan Wilson claimed the Junior division whilst Andy Bridgman took the Apprentice title one place ahead of Martin Evans. Christian Smart won the Masters’ category and Geoff Carveth won the super-masters. All prize winners enjoyed a share of the generous Rooster prize pot!
Of course, the WASZP class is not all about performance and there was plenty to be celebrated up and down the fleet. Recognition was given to those who had completed their first ever lap, first foiling gybes, best social media contribution and a host of other humorous happenings from the week. The social calendar included 5-a-side football and volleyball, a championship dinner and plenty of off-the-cuff meets at local bars!
The UK fleet has plenty left on the calendar for 2022, with a number of GP events all over the country and an end of season championship in the autumn.
We have a container of new boats arriving in early July so if you would like to #jointheswarm, drop us a line on 01324 861 756 or browse the ‘buy a WASZP‘ pages on our website.
RS Sailing are delighted to announce a new partnership with Sailingfast based in Scotland. Sailingfast’s energy and passion for the sport will further fuel the development of our RS racing classes.
Initially set up to provide coaching and mobile chandlery at sailing events, Sailingfast was established in 2002 and grew quickly to include boat spares, boat sales and servicing. They will now join our worldwide network of passionate dealers to enhance the distribution of the RS Sailing range in the UK. With Sailingfast added to the network, RS Sailing now has five customer touch points in the UK. With Bosun Bob in Northern Ireland, JP Watersports in Scotland, Mike Saul in the north of England and the option to contact RS Sailing directly through their UK sales team. By adding Sailingfast to the network, we increase RS Sailing’s flexibility and reach in our home market.
Sailingfast is a family-run business led by passionate duo Emma and Duncan Hepplewhite. Emma Hepplewhite commented on the new partnership, “Sailingfast is delighted to develop their partnership with RS Sailing and look forward to delivering our usual levels of excellent customer service to a wider customer base.”
Duncan Hepplewhite continued, “‘Since 2002, Sailingfast has been driven to deliver the very best sailing equipment, RS Sailing has become ‘the world’s largest small sailboat brand’ with some incredible products in their portfolio. The opportunity to combine forces offers a very exciting future for all.”
Michiel Geerling, Commercial Director, RS Sailing, commented, “We are thrilled to start this new partnership. It will not only strengthen our network but will allow us to collaborate with a company as passionate about our sport as we are. With 20 years of experience supporting sailing in Scotland, Sailingfast will continue developing and supporting our ethos within our brand, our active racing classes and fantastic sailing events. We are looking forward to having Sailingfast and their team on board.”
You can find all the RS Sailing information on the Sailingfast website by clicking here.
The Sailingfast team have also set up a Facebook Group to encourage RS Sailors in Scotland to share boat hacks, event dates and any new boat bragging they may wish to share!
Winding my way along the single-track road to Dalavich, almost two thirds down the Western shore of Loch Awe, I spotted a bright blue sign, ‘Loch Awesome – are we nearly there yet?’. This question came back to haunt us all on the first day of the challenge! The LochAwesome challenge is a 75km paddleboarding team challenge, a double-header if you will, of Loch Awe, over 2 days. The team element is key, it’s not a race, you all must get to the checkpoints and across the finish line together.
With entrants from all corners of the country, the first challenge for many was finding the wee village of Dalavich. I was greeted by a festival-like atmosphere of vans and tents, portaloos and the luxury of access to the village hall as a focal point for meals and impromptu yoga sessions.
My next challenge was to find, and in one case meet, my team-mates for the next couple of days. The Paddlefast team comprised 6 paddlers of varying paddleboarding experience. Derek, a former triathlete, has only been paddling a year, whereas Ollie (Saltwater SUP) stands at no 43 in the world rankings! Jaya, Nick, John and I made up the rest of the on-the-water team and Nick very kindly brought team photographer, Juliet (his wife) and team mascot Freya (Labrador).
A sense of anticipation and nerves was prevalent at breakfast, briefing, kit check and the start line until finally we were off! The wind slowly built until we had a reasonable tailwind helping us on the way to checkpoint 1 at Loch Awe Boats.
Thoughts of ‘what on earth have we signed up to?’ didn’t really kick in until we turned at Kilchurn Castle, when the lovely tailwind we had enjoyed on the way down, became a menacing headwind with waves on the way back. Our sub-10-minute kilometres quickly turned into 18 minutes, to 25 minutes, to 30 minutes as we struggled our way back to Checkpoint 3 at Loch Awe Boats.
Island-hopping as best we could, there was a 5km section of open water to go. There may have been a few choice words hurled at the wind, and I know I wasn’t the only one! That section was one of the most difficult I have encountered to date and the longest I have had to paddle on my knees for.
Here I must give a huge shout out to the Marshalls and the team at Loch Awe Boats who kindly took pity on the crazy paddlers, supplying sweet milky tea on request. If you know me well, you know I don’t drink tea or coffee, but I swear it was that cup of tea and a chat with my lovely teammates, which gave me the renewed courage and determination to continue (I freely admit I nearly called it quits!).
A scoot over to the opposite, leeward shore, head down and onwards. Then something brilliant happened, the wind dropped off, the waves evened out and disappeared, the sun came out and we were making decent progress again. ‘Walking on Sunshine’ came on the headphones and things were looking up.
Never have I been so happy to see a Red Bull arch – it’s just round the next headland, honest! We returned to Dalavich, crossed the finish line as a team, to tunes and cheers from those who had already finished and the onshore supporters. The final challenge of the day being to carry your board off the water – fortunately I had a little help.
Day two dawned clear and wind-free, much to the relief of all the paddlers! A few light zephyrs combined with general exhaustion from the day before meant that there was almost an unspoken agreement to ‘try this drafting lark’. We managed to keep that going for around 6km and made really good time. Team goals… check! The rest of the day stayed flat, and a wee tailwind most of the way back. The only drama was when the safety boat roared past and we went from paddling 6 abreast to completely scattered across the Loch (some surfed the wash, others turned towards it!). We regrouped for a final draft session and came in to the Red Bull Arch with the tunes blaring, boogying away!
Initially I had been quite worried about my role as Captain, the responsibility of keeping everyone together, if something goes wrong, etc, etc (I am a worrier!). We had a strong bunch of characters making up the team and I must thank them for making the event so memorable. In no particular order:
A couple of choice phrases stick with me:
It’s just round the next headland (ha ha ha)
“It’s not a race”
Are you STILL singing?
Jaeger bomb anyone?
I would also like to thank Samantha Rutt of Barefoot Ocean Fitness for her training plan and support over the last year. Finally, my lovely family for putting up with my disappearing to paddle for hours at a time. They looked after the kids, they fed me when I got back and kept encouraging me on. I couldn’t have done it without you!
If you are thinking of getting into endurance paddling, I would highly recommend a team challenge like this as your first foray into longer distance. You will get a feel for what conditions you can handle, what kit you will need, what snacks and hydration work for you, etc.
The next, similar team event (that I know of), is the Trent100 in July. Run by the same team, Helen, Dave and Casja of Saltwalk, the festival atmosphere prevails, and the fancy dress party is as well attended as the challenge. Everyone is made to feel welcome and included, especially supporters or four-legged team mascots.
Why not sign up for the Great Glen Ultra? 92km over one or two days from Fort William up to Inverness. Usually run with the prevailing wind direction, in theory it’s one hell of a downwinder. Shore-based support is recommended for the Great Glen to assist with the shuttling of boards/paddlers.
To find out more, drop us a line on 01324 861756 or via email emma@paddlefast.co.uk
(photo credits go to the LochAwesome Team (drone footage), Ollie William, Juliet Jessop, Angela Kerr).
The WASZP class is truly a class with world-wide reach as a few of our Sailingfast Team Riders are heading across the pond to compete in the WASZP Americas Championship. They will be going head-to-head with WASZP sailors from North and South America over 4 days next week, at the Richmond Yacht Club in San Francisco.
The British contingent consists of experienced WASZP sailors Ross Banham and Zac Blomeley with Francesca Mackay, who only stepped into a WASZP at the end of last season for the first time demonstrating that, as sailors, you can do anything you put your mind to.
Ross (aged 22) who now sails out of Datchet says, ‘Sailing with a backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge is going to be an epic experience! I look forward to meeting other WASZP sailors from across the world and if we can persuade them to come over to Europe for the WASZP Games in Italy this summer, all the better’.
Dividing his sailing time between Plas Heli and the National Sailing Academy at Weymouth, Zac (20 years old) has been selected to represent team GB at the SailGP finals which are being held in San Francisco a couple of weeks after the Americas Championship. He continues, ‘Having the WASZP Americas Champs to warm up and acclimatise, before racing in the SailGP Grand Final seemed like the best option and I’m so excited to get involved.’
Sailingfast Owner, Duncan Hepplewhite says, ‘It’s great to see so many opportunities for young sailors out there. I know sailing has taken me all over the world both as a sailor and coach, and with Sailingfast. It’s really exciting to see these young sailors jumping at the chance to travel to new venues halfway round the world.’
You know you have a great venue to host a WASZP event when the Richmond Yacht Club moto is ‘this club was built for fun’ and the WASZP Americas Championship is sure to live up to the expectation. Wishing our Team Riders all the very best of luck in the coming days and weeks.
To find out more about our Team Riders, you can click through the section on the website https://sailingfast.co.uk/sailingfast-team-riders/
If you would like to know more about the WASZP, drop us a line on 01324 861756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
In the run up to Christmas, there is an overwhelm of amazing things that you could get the sailor in your life as a present. Sailingfast have rounded up a top 10 gift list of useful sailing presents with a price tag for every budget.
Keep a hold of your control lines and stay warm on the water with our selection of dinghy sailing gloves.
Keep your head cosy in the dinghy park or on the water with this Sailingfast Bobble hat. Made in the Scottish Borders, these guys know a thing or two about keeping your head warm!
The best watch on the water / market. Make sure you arrive at the startline on time.
Hydration is key to your performance. Just make sure to tie it securely to your boat in the event of a capsize!
We can’t all be on the water all the time. Why not grab the updated racing rules for a little winter homework session? Too intense? Grab the condensed flip companion – a perfect stocking filler.
The future is foiling! Fun and facts about the newest angle to our amazing sport. Find out what all the fuss is about with top tips and examples from experts in the field.
Know where you are going or want to be going. Robustly-made wind indicators from a variety of manufacturers. Alternatively, if you just need to replace the vane, these are available separately.
Heat resistant and long lasting, Marlow’s R8 is our current go-to ropes for control lines and mainsheets. This rope uses a Dyneema® sk78 core but with an 8 plait cover, blended from Technora® aramid and polyester.
Protect your dinghy from stone chips while travelling, or the worst of the weather by treating her to a new set of covers.
Go faster, sail higher & improve your sailing skills with Sailmon MAX. Sailmon MAX is the number one training- and racing instrument on the market.
Still not sure what to get the sailor in your life? Why not pick up a Sailingfast Gift Voucher so they can put it towards something they really need? Vouchers start at £5.
We would be very happy to talk you through some options based on the type of dinghy they sail and your budget. Just drop us a line via email info@sailingfast.co.uk or by phone on 01324 861 756.
Really exciting to see the new developments coming out of Sailmon, the Dutch maritime company who have enjoyed huge success with their Sailmon MAX compass system.
Sailmon has launched a prototype of its newest innovation at METSTRADE, Amsterdam. The MAX mini follows the very popular MAX that was presented two years earlier at the same trade fair. This affordable smart tracker offers sailors the opportunity to improve their performances based on the most accurate data and the innovative analytical Sailmon App. In addition, for events it offers a unique opportunity to track and broadcast the entire fleet for maximum audience reach.
“The revolutionary Sailmon App has proven itself in the worldwide community thanks to its new look-and-feel and greatly improved features. More and more sailors from every continent are experiencing how fun and easy it is to improve their sailing using data. With the MAX mini, there are no more excuses. Everyone can enjoy, improve and ultimately win. Because winners sail with us.’’ – Kalle Coster and Kim Coster, Sailmon founders.
Improve your sailing
With the help of renowned Silicon Valley app developers, the Sailmon App really advanced last year. This has resulted in a unique and hitherto unknown user experience for the sailing community. The Sailmon App allows sailors of all ages and levels to analyse, learn from and improve their sailing performance in a simple and fun way. Once you’re off the water, the Sailmon App translates every mile you sailed into a very accessible interface with a number of unique features.
With the app, it is possible to relive every second of the race or training on a clear visual map with a graph – which can be displayed in automatically detected legs. Performance-determining data such as speed, heel, pitch and COG can be ingeniously analysed. This data can also be compared (live) with the data of any other sailor who is in the same area at the same time. Finally, the app tells you how you performed on the basis of percentages up- and downwind.
The best results of the day, such as top speed, best upwind performance and fastest 500m, are displayed as personal highlights. These achievements can be compared with those of any other on the day. The best overall performances are also ranked in leader boards, clearly categorized by highlight, class or period. This includes renowned sailors such as America’s Cup legend Kyle Langford, World Champion Tom Slingsby and Olympic Winner Ruggero Tita.
The world at your feet
Next to the Sailmon App’s benefits for individual sailors, the MAX mini opens up new opportunities for sailing organizations to broadcast their event. When fleets are provided with this affordable tracker, every sailor around the globe becomes a spectator. What was once a fuzzy spectacle on the water can be translated into easy-to-follow visualizations in the Sailmon App – live or after the event. And the greatest moments on the water can be shared with the rest of the community by sharing, tagging and posting photos and videos with data stamps in an impressively easy manner.
You can pre-order the MAX mini now from Sailingfast for £355 (incl. VAT). Sailmon will continue to refine the MAX mini and the Sailmon App going forward, with the introduction of new functions.
There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing! Alfred Wainwright
Whether you live in sunny climes, or the upper reaches of northern Europe, there is an increased appetite to enjoy the traditional summer sports like sailing or paddleboarding all the way through into the winter. Based as we are in Scotland, we have put together this guide of our favourite things to wear to enjoy sailing and other watersports, throughout the winter months.
Not for use every day perhaps, but on the really cold days, you could add an extra layer underneath your wetsuit. Our personal favourite is the Zhik Hydrophobic Fleece top which can also be warn on its own, or with just a wind-proof layer over the top. We wear ours running, skiing, paddleboarding, etc, etc!
Worn as a long john with a separate top, the Superwarm X from Zhik has lines of fleece on the inside which help trap the air (or water) next to your skin and keep you warm. Add the top for the complete set but you might like to size up as they are small made.
The best-selling Aquafleece from Rooster should be one of the staples of the water sports enthusiast’s wardrobe. Designed to keep you warm even when wet, this fleece-lined, wind-proof top comes in 2 designs: Pro Lite – with cuffs at the wrist and waist, or Classic – without cuffs. Also comes in a women’s cut and children’s sizes. We would recommend sizing up again here as they are quite neat otherwise.
Our favourite hat for the dinghy park is, of course, our Sailingfast branded bobble hat, made by hand in the Scottish Borders. Those of you who prefer a hat minus the bobble need look no further than the Zhik Beanie.
As for your hands, it sometimes takes a bit of trial and error to find what suits you best. Our Director Emma suffers from Reynauds, so likes to layer up even her hands with 2 pairs of gloves. The Rooster PolyPros make a fab 1st layer, with a grippier outer layer like the Showa Thermo gloves.
Layering up your feet can also be a good idea – Rooster polypros or a pair of Supertherm Socks from Zhik work well with a pair of dinghy boots on top. You may wish to try a larger size in the boots, to accommodate the extra layer.
If you need advice on sizing, or which combination of products might work well for you, call us on 01324 861 756.
Like this post? If you would like us to cover other useful topics, please drop us a line in the office with your suggestions info@sailingfast.co.uk
Sam Whaley Sailing and Sailingfast are delighted to announce a very exciting partnership as he becomes a Sailingfast Rider.
Sam has come through the RYA programme working hard on his ILCA (formerly Laser) sailing and his pathway to Paris 2024. In addition to his ILCA Olympic aspirations, Sam has also campaigned his WASZP for the past four years. In June 2021, the highlight of his WASZP years was being crowned UK WASZP National Champion.
The Team at Sailingfast have a reputation for supplying some of the very best One Design classes in the World: the ILCA, Topper and the WASZP.
The partnership will enable Sam to fully focus on his racing and pathway to Paris, knowing that he is supported by Sailingfast, the very best in the industry.
“It is very exciting to be partnering with the very best young talent, especially as Sailingfast enters its 20th year in 2022. One design racing is at our core and helping Sam on his Pathway to Paris 2024 is an honour. Sam throws himself into his sailing and training and we look forward to encouraging him towards his goals.” explains Duncan Hepplewhite of Sailingfast.
Sam continues, “I have been heavily involved with the WASZP and Laser / ILCA classes for a few years now and this partnership with Duncan and Emma at Sailingfast is a natural step together to help encourage and build both classes. This will enable us to showcase the sport we love and demonstrate having a great time on the water”.
Good luck to Sam and the British Sailing Team who are heading off to the ILCA European Championships in Bulgaria this week.
For all your ILCA spares and boat requirements please contact the Sailingfast Team on 01324 861 756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
| WASZP Event & Class Survey The WASZP_X 6.9m Rig is the perfect solution for junior performance sailing. Combined with the stable wing-frame of the WASZP_X platform, the next generation of stars can start their journey and move through to the senior WASZP8.2m section of the class. Check out our test sailors from Team Simmons Sailing. Aidan (13) and Callum (11) are top Australian Optimist sailors who have easily transitioned to the WASZP_X platform. The 6.9m rig is perfect for Aidan, and the 5.8m rig is suitable for Callum, all using the same platform! www.waszp.com/pathway |
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| SAILGP INSPIRE – FRANCE What an unreal time we had in St Tropez, the INSPIRE Racing Circuit had glamour conditions during the week, however, like the F50s the finals race days were hampered by light winds at 4-7knots. It was awesome to see the Japan SailGP team having a spin on the WASZPs in between F50 training. Something tells me they were a little envious of what our INSPIRE sailors get to do at events. The next stop is Spain and the city of Cadiz, we have some announcements coming up around San Francisco, stay tuned for more details! The INSPIRE Racing Circuit is growing with every event and is now firmly one of the best and most attractive youth circuits in the world. Now is the time to get involved! |
Get involved – Join the Swarm!
The WASZP circuit in the UK and Ireland is still expanding at pace with training sessions and races lined up across both countries. With a strong line up for the Irish Nationals in a couple of weeks, the class is going from strength to strength.
If you are considering joining the WASZP family, please drop us a line on +441324861756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
Sailingfast are thrilled to let you in on some exciting new developments in the WASZP class.
INTRODUCING……..
Welcome the WASZP_X to the WASZP family. Creating the most accessible foiling pathway in the world, from junior, to youth, to senior sailing.
The WASZP_X is the latest product out of the WASZP factory. This boat will provide the start point of the most affordable and accessible foiling pathway in the sport, minimising the total customer lifetime spend over the sailing journey. The class will use the same hull as the WASZP with the following differences:
The WASZP_X still benefits from all of the other great WASZP features:
Using all the current WASZP Racehub infrastructure, the WASZP_X will be able to mobilise a global racing circuit extremely quickly. With agent support in more than 30 countries, the global reach of the WASZP brand is incredible. All our agents are set-up and ready to connect the dots on this foiling pathway. We can now complete the circle from youth to senior sailing on one platform at one cost. Creating an overall lifetime spend for a WASZP sailor that is incredibly low compared to those who will continually need to upgrade their class or platform to move through the ranks.
The WASZP_X will grow into a go-to class for junior sailors, allowing them an early jump into competitive foiling without the price tag or danger of other classes. With global partnerships in place with SailGP and the INSPIRE youth racing circuit, we envisage this will be the starting point to get more kids foiling earlier and lifting the overall standard by the time they reach their late teens and move into senior sailing on the WASZP 8.2.
The WASZP lifestyle and culture is what ties this together – a genuine sailing home for anyone wanting to join the fun of the WASZP. WASZP has proved time and time again to be an innovator in how the class is managed and events are created. WASZP forms one of the most exciting global event circuits, and we cannot wait to add the WASZP_X to the family!
If you want to learn more about the WASZP_X and receive updates on the launch of this amazing product please sign up here >>> http://eepurl.com/bnPfIj
Or drop the team at Sailingfast a line on info@sailingfast.co.uk or on 01324 861756.
Sailingfast are looking forward to the 2021 sailing season with great hope. Even before the virtual RYA Dinghy Show this weekend, the phone has started ringing with customers excited to be getting back on the water as soon as possible.
With the Roadmap to Recovery announced by the Prime Minister, a vaccination programme well under way, it looks as though life may return to a semblance of normality. We anticipate the summer sailing calendar will be dusted off and put back on the table.
The RYA Dinghy Show is when our minds turn towards the season ahead. Normally, an opportunity to grab a few bargains, catch up with friends and perhaps learn a thing or two.
The good news is, despite COVID, the RYA are hosting a virtual Dinghy Show which will be free for visitors to attend. The Sailingfast team are supporting the event by taking a virtual stand and will be available all weekend. Emma and Duncan will be on the Sailingfast stand, ready to answer any questions you may have.
Some of boats we look after are:
The ILCA sailing dinghy is built in the UK by well-known builders Ovington Boats and is class-legal for all National and International events. If you would like to read more about debunking the ILCA/Laser jargon, please head to the blog page of our website.
The foiling sensation of the WASZP is totally amazing and once you have tried it, you’ll be hooked! The WASZP is the most eagerly awaited and talked about one-design dinghy in generations. Various sailors during test flights have managed to foil after only a few minutes in the boat and come away enthusing about how much fun they had.
One of the attractions for us with the 420 is its universal appeal as a class. It has always been popular and it always will be. There is something about the boat that attracts the youth to it. We think it’s got to do with how post-opti kids can relate to the size of the boat and it’s sail plan, while providing them with all the thrills they could ever wish for in varying wind strengths.
To take advantage of any Dinghy Show-related offers, keep your eyes peeled on our website and across our social media platforms. We will have offers running on the following brands:
Customers looking to order new boats during the weekend can look forward to a wee incentive as well – details will follow on our social media platforms during the course of the weekend.
Pop by the stand for a chat to find out more, or drop us a line on 01324 861756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
A splice is a way to connect two ropes, or finish rope ends without using knots. In this article, we will give you a brief introduction to splicing, with a little assistance from Marlow Ropes. A splice is usually a neat and tidy way to do this which doesn’t impact the strength and longevity of the rope in the same way as a knot.
The Sailingfast team have built up their splicing knowledge over the years and are happy to offer various types of splice. Tapering a sheet or a halyard or putting soft eyes in the end of the ILCA kicker primary line – these are available to purchase, pre-made online.
Alternatively, if you would like to have a go at your own splicing, all you need is some rope to practice on, some splicing tools and the Marlow ‘How to’ videos on YouTube.
Some of the Splicing Tools available are:
Swedish fids are used primarily for 3 strand and multiplait splicing. They also aid Marlowbraid and D2 Racing splices.
Braid on Braid Fid Set – Selma fids are used primarily for doublebraid, D12 and D2 splices, but can also be used to aid 3 strand and marlowbraid splices.
Splicing Needles – Large and small used for Marlowbraid, D2 Racing. Can also be used for the doublebraid splice.
Excel Control Splicing needle – Used primarily for Excel Control and Excel D12 2.5 and 3mm.
Other tools and equipment – Sharp knife and/or scissors, tape measure, permeant marker pen, splicing (or insulation type) tape, strong point on your work bench, hot knife or flame for sealing the rope.
Splices: Most Marlow ropes can be spliced, this is normally the preferred method of termination. A good splice using the recommended method should not reduce the strength of a rope by more than 10%.
Knots: A knot will reduce the strength of the rope, sometimes very significantly. This loss is caused by the tight bends and compression found in any knot. The amount a rope will be weakened will depend on the knot, type of rope and the material from which it is made but can be up to 60%
Eye Sizes: Wherever possible the angle formed at the throat of a splice when it is loaded should be 30 degrees or less. The length of the eye when flat must be at least 2.7 times the diameter of the object over which the eye is to be used. The distance from the bearing point to the throat when in use should be at least 2.4 times the diameter. Some materials like Aramids and HMPEs (Dyneema) will require a larger eye with an angle at the throat of 15 degrees or less.
We hope this introduction to splicing article was useful. If you would like a bespoke quote for some splicing drop us a line on 01324 861 756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk . Or if you would like to get some kit together to have a go yourself, get in touch too!
In the meantime, here are a few of Marlow’s most popular ‘how to’ splicing video guides.
https://youtu.be/mZ8YnYB8D2Ihttps://youtu.be/W1aLFUWMLYMhttps://youtu.be/Ah2giRtT6XU
Time to jump on the weighing scales! If you are new to the class, you need to have a look at the weight ranges for each rig size.
ILCA 4 (formerly Laser 4.7) weight range is 45kg-60kg
What do your other club members use? If the fleet at your local club is full of ILCA 6s, we would recommend buying the same. The ILCA is a one design class, so if you are close to the weight range for the majority of the club ILCAs then go with the masses. It will make for more exciting racing although you might have to work a little harder to keep up with them!
If you are transitioning from the Junior classes (like the Topper and Optimist), you have to decide where to start in the ILCA class. You can be based purely on sailor weight, but the jump up from Junior to Youth class can be a challenge both in terms of coach expectations, physical effort and mental effort as the sailor gets to grips with the different class. Moving between the different rig options is very easy. It is as simple as changing your sail and lower mast section. Many people use two rigs and gradually transition over a number of months.
Joining the ILCA class is very easy. One aspect to consider is your budget, what are you prepared to spend?
There are somewhere in the region of 218000 boats world-wide out there, so you will definitely find boats for all budgets. Once you have decided on your budget, stick to it!
Please do bear in mind that, while a second-hand boat may appear to be good value, you may end up replacing ropes, spars or the sails almost straightaway. This is where second-hand may prove to be a false economy and you would be better buying new.
Consider part exchanging your current boat. Here are Sailingfast we would consider taking your current boat as part-payment towards your new boat. If you would be interested in part-exchanging, please contact the office to discuss further.
Ali Young collecting her ILCA (Aug 2020)
There are various benefits of spending more money on a newer boat:
The ILCA Package includes:
Hull with fittings
Drop us a line via email info@sailingfast.co.uk or phone 01324 861756 and let us know the various upgrades/personalisations you require. We can talk you through the options in more detail, and send you a bespoke quote.
At the moment we have ILCAs in stock, ready to deliver to your door. However, at busy times of year, there may be a lead time to consider. Best thing to do is contact the office on 01324 861 756 and chat to Duncan, our ILCA specialist.
Sailingfast have vehicles delivering boats throughout the UK on a weekly basis. We are happy to offer free delivery to the ILCA events we are due to support. Other delivery options possible – just contact the office to discuss.
Sailingfast owners, Duncan & Emma Hepplewhite, are a trustworthy pair. Familiar faces on the circuit too as the Sailingfast mobile shop can usually be found at all the major events run by the UKLA (UK Laser Class Association).
The Sailingfast team have a long working relationship within the Laser/ILCA class. Duncan and Emma have worked with LaserPerformance since 2003, and with Ovington Boats since 2010, but more specifically when they were recognised as an official ILCA builder in August 2020.
At one stage, Duncan was coaching the Scottish Laser Squad. He likes to claim he had a hand in encouraging fellow Scot Lorenzo Chiavarini onto his path to being a contender for the British Sailing Team selection for the Olympics in 2020.
We hope you found this ILCA Buying Guide useful. Drop us a line on 01324 861 756 to chat to one of the team, or head to: www.sailingfast.co.uk/ilca/
Sailingfast have been fielding a number of queries about Brexit in the last week, specifically with regard to the impact on our European customers. We have put together this article to answer your concerns.
The UK and the Brexit situation has been discussed at length for many months. While the daily implications of Brexit have yet to be fully understood, we hope to offer a little clarification and put your minds at rest.
Sailingfast will continue to purchase the majority of their products from within the UK. While there may be the expected annual small increases in value, Brexit should have very little impact.
Some of our key brands such as WASZP and Mackay Boats are imported from out with the EU; China and New Zealand respectfully.
Sailingfast are experienced in importing from outside the EU and are not expecting there to be any changes to the import duties, fees or taxes. In simple terms there should be no impact on the pricing or service we are able to offer.
The team at Sailingfast have studied the guidelines that will enable us to continue our great service and supply products to our customers across the globe.
We have demonstrated that our importing of products will be unaffected by Brexit and are now developing systems that will enable our sales and particularly exporting of products to continue.
The Sailingfast website now indicates both UK retail pricing including and excluding UK vat @ 20%. This will enable our overseas customers to see the price they will pay. Overseas customers should be aware that they will be liable for import duties, fees and their home country VAT or GST.
We are working with our shipping companies to offer a complete service that will see us sell product to overseas customers and cover all import duties and fees. While this will be a great service, it is not fully operational at this time, we will roll it out as an option ASAP.
We will continue to ship and support all our customers across the world. If you have questions or would like more information on a specific product please contact the team at info@sailingfast.co.uk
With a year like no other in 2020, both SailGP and WASZP have embraced the change, taken stock and further improved their programs to foster diversity and inclusion in the sport of sailing. Since its inception in 2016, the WASZP has provided sailors the opportunity to build their foiling skills, while engaging a new generation of athletes to begin their journey in the modern style of the sport.
LEARN MORE >>> sail.gp/genderequity
Now, SailGP will be utilising WASZPs as the global championship holds invitational camps across the world to identify and select female athletes to join each of its eight teams starting in 2021.
Marc Ablett, WASZP head of product and global sales/marketing said: “It is with great pleasure the SailGP teams have turned to WASZP to kick start their talent identification programs for elite female sailors around the world. Many current and former Olympic sailors, as well as professional sailors, are using the WASZP as an affordable cross-trainer parallel to their existing programs.”
Kahena Kunze Olympic Gold medallist in the 49erFX class in Rio has been cross training in the WASZP
The WASZP provides a level playing field for female athletes to compete equally against males, creating a fresh and inclusive event atmosphere. Many current WASZP events range from 20-40 percent female participation, which continues to grow.
The WASZP is already linked with SailGP through a strategic partnership with SailGP Inspire, the league’s youth and community outreach program. The partnership successfully kicked off earlier this year in Sydney with a gender-balanced group of 16 young sailors from Australia, Japan and New Zealand taking part in an elite youth racing program, culminating in a final in front of the SailGP event crowds and broadcast globally.
As part of its Race for the Future purpose-driven agenda, SailGP is working to create an end-to-end pathway to expand participation in the sport and, ultimately, the league. With the WASZP equipment readily available and affordable for sailors to get into the programs, it eliminates prohibitive entry costs.
SailGP Chief Communications Officer Christy Cahill said: “WASZPs are a natural choice for talent identification and development within our global league. As we aim to immediately diversify our talent pool, these boats offer an accessible step on the path to participation in the type of high-performance sail racing that SailGP offers, and remove many of the barriers to entry that have blocked a more inclusive environment in the past.”
The SailGP Season 2 calendar is taking shape, with nine events planned starting in Bermuda in April 2021. The 2021 WASZP events are being finalized, with the EuroCup circuit to feature around the SailGP calendar culminating in a blockbuster European Championships during August.
We only have 5 days remaining in our historic WASZP #1000 competition and we can assure you there are some fantastic slogan entries rolling in. So they should be with the chance to win the amazing limited edition GOLD WASZP 1000.
To enter it is simple, head to http://racehub.waszp.com and purchase an International WASZP Class Membership (IWCM) for existing WASZP owners or a Future WASZP Class Membership (FWCM) if you do not own a WASZP. Then give us your best WASZP slogan in 25 words or less, the top 5 slogans will be voted on from December 7th -10th on our social platforms to determine who will win the 1000th boat.
This competition is open to everyone! Just head over to racehub.waszp.com and sign-up to our FUTURE WASZP MEMBERSHIP and enter, it is only $15! See image below for what you recieve as a FWCM.
There are a host of benefits to go with the new IWCM and you can see the full press release here >>> https://www.waszp.com/news/waszp-1000 you will see the value you receive for the membership, we are more than just a racing class, we are a way of life. If you sign up to the IWCM or FWCM you also have the opportunity to win 2nd prize, an Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset, through our partnership with MarineVerse Cup you can experience the WASZP in virtual reality as well as racing your mates all over the globe.
Our class manager Martin Evans has been working hard on the 2021 Event calendar and we will be announcing a full set of events for 2021 by the end of the year and any benefits the class recieves through strategic and commercial partnerships will only be available to IWCM. It is looking like an amazing return to championship racing in 2021 with loads of events to satisfy everyone’s needs.
Can’t wait to see you on the water.
Don’t miss the chance to save on new, inshore North Sails One Design sails.
Click on the ‘shop sails’ button before November, 30th to unleash our special Black Friday offer.
Not sure what to get? Drop us a line in the office on 01324 861 756 and speak to our North Sails expert, Duncan.
Promotion valid for inshore One Design sails delivered in North America and Europe. Orders must be placed by November 30, 2020. Sails will be delivered on/as soon as possible upon completion. This offer cannot be combined with any other discount/promotion. 50% deposit required when order is placed and balance is due prior to shipping.
For anyone with a passion for the Laser class you would be forgiven for feeling confused as you get to grips with the new boat terminology. The Laser has been renamed and so have the various rig sizes.
Want to know what we are talking about? Then read on…
While Lasers are still being produced, these boats no longer have the World Sailing plaques which are needed for competition. Boats purchased pre-2020 that carry the World Sailing plague (see our blog post about class-legal kit) are class-legal. If you would like to continue to race at a local or National level, you need to have class-legal kit.
The good news is Ovington Boats are official builders and, to avoid confusion with LaserPerformance, the boats they produce are called ILCAs.
True to one-design standards, each ILCA in the world is identical ensuring the best sailor on the water wins the race. A challenging boat that rewards athleticism, subtle steering and trimming techniques, as well as the tactical excellence of the sailor. The ILCA is raced by young and old alike from Club sailors, Youth sailors, Masters, Great-Grand Masters all the way to the Olympians.
The same 3 rig sizes are available but have been renamed as follows:
So where you might have been looking for Laser Radial kit on the website, you are now looking for ILCA 6 products. Laser Standards are now looking for ILCA 7, and ILCA 4 replaces the Laser 4.7 search term.
We are delighted to be working with Ovington Boats to distribute the ILCA. The Ovington ILCA comes with a Harken fit out, and with carbon upgrade options as well for the Top Section, Bottom Section and Tiller & Tiller Extension.
Duncan Hepplewhite, owner of Sailingfast, has been working with the RYA since he first started coaching back in 1997. Over the years he has worked with LaserPerformance, Topper, Mackay and Ovington Boats and he brings all this knowledge to the Sailingfast customers.
If you are looking for advice or have questions, just drop us a line on 01324 861 756
Sailingfast is delighted to announce exciting news relating to class-legal ILCAs in the UK. Ovington Boats have been authorised as ILCA builders and have appointed Sailingfast as their UK retail team.
Sailingfast support sailors through sponsorship of key events, including the UKLA World / European Qualifiers, UKLA Nationals and the UKLA Sailingfast Series. In addition, we provide onsite chandlery support at key events and can offer delivery throughout the UK.
Sailingfast owner, Duncan Hepplewhite, delivered the first of the Ovington-built ILCAs to the Nationals which took place at Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy back in August.
Duncan Hepplewhite comments: “Sailingfast has been providing onsite chandlery support to the Junior and Youth Markets since we started out in 2002. By partnering with Ovington to sell the ILCA, we will continue to be able to support the sailors throughout their sailing career.”
Chris Turner, Managing Director at Ovington Boats Ltd explains “Sailingfast plays a key role in supplying the ILCA class and is perfectly positioned to help Ovington Boats look after the ILCA customers in the UK.”
Ovington Boats based in North Shields, England, have a world-wide reputation for their high-performance boat building. Quite simply, they make boats that win.
Sailingfast will be providing onsite chandlery support at the following ILCA events:
For all your ILCA spares and boat requirements, please contact the Sailingfast Team on 01324 861 756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk
*ENDS*
For further information, please contact:
Emma Hepplewhite
01324 861756
About Sailingfast:
Sailingfast is part of the Scottish Sailing Group which was established in 2002. Initially set up to assist at sailing events, the group quickly grew to include boat spares, boat sales, servicing and much more. With the focus on dinghy sailing, Sailingfast are the agents for WASZP, Topper, Laser, Selden, North Sails and Mackay Boats as well as stocking a vast array of parts and sails for many other dinghies.
About Ovington Boats:
For over 30 years Ovington Boats has built the highest quality dinghies and performance sailboats.
Top sailors come back time and time again for the world renown craftsmanship and hulls that win.
Visit the Ovington Boats website for more information www.ovingtonboats.com
Sadly, the Southampton Boat Show has been cancelled. As a result, we are delivering the North Sails boat show offers online. Our offers will run September 9-27, as the Southampton International Boat Show was intended.
Sailingfast is offering14% off all North Sails One Design sails. The discount will be applied at the checkout. Whether you are a VX One sailor or an Oppi sailor, the same discount will be available to you.
Sailingfast has personal experience across the 420, Solo, Optimist, VX One, Enterprise, Sonata and Flying Fifteen classes. Contact the Sailingfast team on 01324 861 756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk to discuss your requirements.
We’ll miss seeing you in person but we look forward to connecting with you online and over the phone. Call us to discuss the exciting product developments introduced this year, and how North Sails technology and products can deliver the results you’re looking for.
Check out all the latest News on this unprecedented challenge with the best prize in Sailing!
WASZP GPS PRO-AM CHALLENGE >>> Press Release
This is an amazing opportunity to race agains the Pro’s! Get on your WASZP or borrow a boat and join the challenge to beat the Pro’s.
You can login to the platform now and complete some test sessions >>> https://www.gps-waszp.com/
We have seen an influx of Olympic sailors past and present jumping into the WASZP Class over the last 12 months.
The WASZP is the perfect cross trainer to their Olympic campaigns. The boat is also an awesome way to keep racing skills sharp in a one-design class.
The biggest attraction for the Olympians has been keeping minds fresh by just going out and sailing for fun! Whether racing or just getting on the water with your mates, the WASZP is the perfect class.
Sailingfast are delighted to sponsor the Laser/ILCA Nationals 2020. After a very long summer of lockdown, little sailing and no events, the Nationals will take place at the Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy.
In addition to supplying the prizes on two of the days, the Sailingfast Mobile Shop will be on hand to support the sailors. Duncan will have a range of class-legal, official kit ranging from spar sections, sails, to toe straps, wind indicators and watches.
If you would like to take advantage of free delivery to the event (especially if picking up longer items which are expensive to ship), please place your order online and select ‘collect from shop’ as your shipping option. The mobile shop is a big white branded trailer as shown here.
****LAST ORDERS**** Thursday 20th August by 11am. After this time we will be preparing the van and trailer so Duncan can head south on Friday.
Collections – we aim to be flexible depending on the sailing conditions, briefing times, etc. If Duncan isn’t at the mobile shop he will be back soon. You may find him in the dinghy park, helping another customer.
Sunday 23rd August: Standard & 4.7 Registration & Briefing
Monday 24th August: Standard & 4.7 Race Day
Tuesday 25th August: Standard & 4.7 Race Day
Wednesday 26th August: Standard & 4.7 Race Day & Prize Giving, Radial Registration & Briefing
Thursday 27th August: Radial Race Day
Friday 28th August: Radial Race Day
Saturday 29th August: Radial Race Day & Prize Giving
As ever, if you are unsure about what to order, please drop us a line on 01324 861 756 to speak to Duncan or Emma about what you are looking for.
A total of 6 British & French Sailors propose to sail across the English Channel, or La Manche as it’s known in France, to raise funds for frontline keyworkers in both countries. The ‘Foil For Life Challenge’ has been created in light of COVID-19. The aim is to raise as much money as possible for the UK’s NHS & the French Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris (APHP), and help to save lives.
Since the WASZP class started to take shape back in 2016, there has always been a sense of adventure and challenge amongst the sailors, and the class of 2020 is no different!
Six sailors: 3 British, 3 French; will set off from Lymington and head over the Channel to Le Havre in France. The Challenge is expected to take around 10-15 hours and it brings together the British and French sailing communities. In addition to fundraising, we hope to develop the spirit of adventure and friendship between these two great sailing nations.
Sailingfast are delighted to be getting involved with this Challenge. We will support the sailors as they set off, and on the water for the duration of the Challenge.
A WASZP is a single-handed foiling dinghy which means it’s suitable for one person and that it flies out of the water! When it’s foiling, the WASZP can achieve speeds of up to 27 knots. The WASZP is a one-design class which means every boat is made the same way. When it comes to racing, it’s all about the skill of the sailor, not how fancy your boat is.
Sailingfast are the UK importers for WASZP. If you would like to take a test flight, or are considering joining the UK WASZP class, drop us a line on 01324 861 756 or via email.
You can donate through the donation links on the Foil for Life website: https://www.foilforlife.com/
You can follow the team on Instagram @hats.sailing
and on Twitter @FoilForLife
or by emailing FoilForLife@gmail.com
You can read the full press release by following this link: Foil for Life Challenge
Sailingfast have been working with the Laser Class for many years now, supporting various events from the Nationals, Qualifiers and 4.7 Ladders and everything in between. With that in mind, we wanted to share the latest rules regarding class legal equipment from ILCA (International Laser Class Association) so you can keep on the right side of measurement.
You can read the full article here: ILCA Class Legal Equipment File
All class legal hulls after 148200 must have a “World Sailing” (or equivalent) plaque affixed to the aft face of the cockpit toward the port side (approx. 100 cm from the centreline) that displays the sail number for the boat. The current plaque appears as follows:
Plaques have changed in appearance over time. Following are some images of plaques that may be encountered:
There are two different insignia that may appear on the sail. The ILCA logo or the traditional Laser starburst, each pictured below:
Sails must have a sail button, which may be one of several different colors, attached near the tack of the sail:
At present, the colors are orange (for MKII sails used with the Standard/Full rig) and red (for sails used with either the Radial rig or 4.7 rig, or the older parallel cut MKI sail for full rig).
Older buttons may have a Laser starburst but all will indicate that they are made by an “ILCA Authorized Sailmaker”.
Class sails will all have a patch placed near the tack of the sail, indicating that the sail is class legal. (Note: older sails may have patches with “Laser” markings, which remain class legal).
New Laser Class Legal equipment is marked with QR certification labels of the following format:
Labels are included on the parts and locations listed below:
a. ILCA Dinghy Hull – On the transom 10mm (+5mm) to port of the upper gudgeon on a baseline which is an extension of the lower edge of the gudgeon.
b. Centreboard – On the top or side surface, above the top of the centreboard case when the centreboard is in the fully down position. The label position may be recessed in the centreboard.
c. Rudder Blade – On the flat back face of the rudder blade.
d. Rudder Head – On the side directly under the mid point of the tiller hood.
e. Upper Mast (Aluminum) – Next to the sleeve.
f. Upper Mast (Composite) – Next to the sleeve.
g. ILCA 4 Lower Mast (Aluminum) – Between the gooseneck and vang fittings.
h. ILCA 6 Lower Mast (Aluminum) – Between the gooseneck and vang fittings.
i. ILCA 6 Lower Mast (Composite) – Between the gooseneck and vang fittings.
j. ILCA 7 Lower Mast (Aluminum) – Between the gooseneck and vang fittings.
k. Boom – Between the vang attachment fitting and the gooseneck plug.
l. Vang cleat fitting – On side plate.
m. ILCA 4 Sail (used on 4.7 size rig) – located in the aft bottom corner of the window.
n. ILCA 6 Sail (used on the Radial size rig) – located in the aft bottom corner of the window.
o. ILCA 7 Sail (used on the Standard/Full rig) – located in the aft bottom corner of the window.
Most equipment that will be encountered at class events will have “Laser” markings. These items remain class legal. Specific parts that should have labels (whether “ILCA” or “Laser”) include all spars and foils. Sails will all have sail buttons and patches. Hulls must have World Sailing (or equivalent) plaques.
We would be happy to talk you through your sailing requirements ahead of any upcoming events. We have class legal equipment in stock and ready to ship.
Drop the Sailingfast team a line on 01324 861756 or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk for more information, or to place an order.
With the WASZP class going from strength to strength and rapidly heading towards 1,000 boats globally, how do I get involved?
The best place to start is our website www.waszp.com click the link below to find out all about the WASZP Class. Find out about the boat itself, to global events, as well as programs tailored for sailors of all ages!
We have an amazing global network of distributors for the WASZP. Some of the biggest names in the Sailing retail industry working with WASZP. Agents/Ambassadors can provide you with a demonstration of the boat, assist with your purchase and answer any questions about set-up. A lot of our agents stock spare parts as well, to ensure you will never miss a minute of on-water time. Most of our agents/ambassadors sail the WASZP themselves so are able to provide expert advice well beyond your purchase.
The WASZP has developed an amazing community over the short 3.5 years it has been in existence. From huge groups connected worldwide through the power of social media, to an epic global events circuit. Locally, there are large pockets of fleets all over the world, with many clubs now racing up to 20 WASZPs on a weekend.
One of the best parts about the WASZP is even if you are isolated, you still have an ability to stay connected to the community through the power of our on-line footprint. There are some big projects nearing completion as we head into 2021 that will further connect our sailors in a way that has never before been seen in grass-roots sailing.
More and more people are getting involved in this class all over the world, mainly due to its affordability and accessibility. The passion of our sailors and the growth of the community makes it the number one, one-design foiling boat in the world at the moment!
To organise a test flight, or to grab one of these amazing flying machines, drop us a line in the Sailingfast office on 01324 861 756 or email the office info@sailingfast.co.uk
New E40i Electric Winch from Seldén Mast simplifies short-handed sailing.
Seldén Mast Ltd has introduced a new electric winch, the E40i, to the UK. Ideal for single or
short-handed sailing, this three-speed winch can be operated by the helm with two fingers; one
to start the winch and one to switch speeds.
This labour-saving sailing must-have is built around an electric motor which is totally integrated
into the drum, leaving just three thin cables protruding.
With no external motor or gearbox, the E40i’s innovative design means the large cut-out in the
deck or coach roof, usually associated with electric winch installation, is no longer required.
E40i is ideal for operating halyards, furling lines and sheets led to the coach roof.
Launched last year in Sweden, the E40i has proved very popular with boat owners in the 35- 45ft range, especially those who sail with limited or inexperienced crew. “It’s convenient and easy for everyone onboard, such a simple way to hoist, furl and trim the sails,” says Anders Lagerberg, Najad 400 owner, with E40i installed. “I’m experiencing much smoother sailing than ever before, especially when sailing by myself.”
The self-contained nature of the E40i winch makes for simple self installation and full instructions are provided. Alternatively, professional installation can easily be arranged through a Seldén dealer.
The E40i is available with a black anodized aluminium drum or a stainless-steel drum.
Recommended retail price for the new E40i electric winch, including the control pack, is
£2,848.40 for the entry level aluminium drum.
A Power Supply System (PSU) converting 12V/24V to 42V is also required. The PSU retails
separately at £592.80, but boats fitted with a Seldén electric Furlex may already have one
installed.
For further information on the E40i winch, please drop us a line on 01324 861 756 or ask for a quote via this link.
The team at Paddlefast are delighted to see that from tomorrow, 13th May, paddleboarders are allowed back on the water in England. Social distancing rules apply and you should only exercise with members of your household, but it’s a start!
Obviously paddleboarders are full of cabin fever having been cooped up for some 7 weeks so far so don’t let your enthusiasm overwhelm you with plans to navigate the length of Ullswater on your first outing!
If you haven’t been able to practice paddling technique on land, take it slow and build up gently to remind your muscles what paddling is all about.
While one may be allowed to get in your car to travel to do exercise, that doesn’t mean you should. Scotland and Wales are a no no for now as they are still ‘staying at home’.
Be aware that certain beauty spots and their local facilities may quickly become overwhelmed if we all decide to head off for a sunny weekend. That will not endear paddleboarders to the locals…! We are fortunate enough to live on an island which is criss-crossed with lakes, reservoirs and canals so there is probably somewhere to play within a 30 minute drive. It might not be the most picturesque paddle, but it’s an opportunity to get back on the water, so enjoy!
As paddleboarders, we suffer from a lack of governing body to listen to. Therefore, we would recommend listening to a number of different sources to get an overview of sensible advice before hitting the water. Organisations such as BSUPA, British Canoeing Association (BCA), Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Canal River Trust, the RNLI or whoever manages your local body of water.
Whatever you get up to over the coming days and weeks, enjoy the freedom of being back out on the water (and take pity on your paddle buddies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who have to wait a little longer!).
Been dreaming of something light and carbon to help you enjoy those longer paddle days? Looking for something racier? We have many paddles in stock from Naish, Starboard and Red Paddle Co.
Need something to spend that furlough money on? Been for a few SUP hire sessions? Head over to the Boards page and treat yourself to one of our top of the range boards from Red Paddle Co, Naish or Starboard.
If you are looking to get your hands on a second-hand board, we still have a couple available from last season. Head over to the clearance page for more details or call us on 01324 861 756 to speak to one of the team.
Sailingfast are sharing the challenging times with everyone of you. Each day we engage with the media, perplexed by the constant stream of bad news, wondering what we could do to help, but at the same time praying for some good news, that might see the restrictions lifted and let us return to the water.
For now we need to all stay at home, boats parked up in gardens and sailing clubs. That is the advice from the RYA and the government. With sailing clubs closed for the foreseeable, all we can do is hope that sailing is one of the first sports back on the ‘allowed’ list when restrictions do start to ease.
Sailingfast, like many businesses, is reviewing the government advice on a daily basis and very much hope it will be back to ‘normal’, or a version thereof when the lockdown is reviewed on 8th May. We are fortunate to work from home so when restrictions are lifted it will be business as usual very quickly. Social distancing is easily accomplished and we have built in new hygiene measures to our packing system to keep our customers safe.
Until then, like many sailors, we are taking advantage of the time at home to homeschool the children, spruce up the garden and get through the long list of maintenance tasks which invariably gets ignored in favour of travelling the country to support Laser Qualifiers, RYA Youth Nationals and more locally, the Scottish Topper and Optimist Traveller Series.
Those of us who are lucky enough to have our boats at home, now is the time to check things over and make sure you are 100% ready to hit the water when lockdown finishes. Don’t forget to check your sailing clothing too. For now, we must content ourselves with looking back at all the sailing images and footage from previous years and sighing wistfully *sigh*!
Now for some good news! We are very excited to launch our new website, something we have been working on for over a year now. With a fresher, updated look, you will also enjoy a more logical layout and straightforward shopping experience.
While the layout and aesthetics are new, the great products and 5 star service is still key to the Sailingfast website. Whether you are a first time visitor or one of our loyal customers, we are sure you will appreciate the ease of use the website delivers, not to mention the exciting new products that we have added.
Keep checking the website as there will be lots of special launch offers.
Sailingfast was founded back in 2002 which means we have nearly 20 years of experience and are always happy to help. As always if you have any questions or would simply like to speak to someone about different options, please call 01324 861 756 or email.
We are delighted to be teaming up with Plastic Patrol to enable us to fight the scourge of rubbish taking over our waterways.
Plastic Patrol was set up in 2016 and has already made great strides to remove plastic waste from over 60 countries around the world. They combine community action with disruptive technology to gather important data for scientific research into waste that escapes into nature.
Those of you who have paddled with us (Paddlefast’s SUP Central Scotland) in the past know that we encounter huge levels of rubbish in and around our waterways in Scotland. Emma Hepplewhite, Paddlefast director, says, “It can really take the shine off an other-wise perfect paddle when you find bottles, cans and plastic floating or washed up on banks and beaches. We owe it to ourselves and future paddlers to get involved and clean up what we can.”
Paddlefast’s SUP Central Scotland group arranged a couple of litter-pick paddles in 2019 and were ably assisted by shore crew and the team at the local Tesco Redding, near Falkirk. (see more) ***Facebook link***
We are provisionally looking at hosting an event on the Union Canal at the back of Tesco Redding again on 9th May to tie in with the Plastic Patrol mass litter pick, however, that is subject to the restrictions in place at the time to combat the corona virus. Keep an eye on our Facebook Events Page for details as they are confirmed.
However, YOU can make a difference now by downloading the Plastic Patrol App to your phone and using it to log any rubbish you find while you are out and about exercising (this can be water-based or land-based exercise).
Don’t forget to tag @plasticpatrol or #plasticpatrol when you share your photos on social media.
It’s time to step up! If you need help getting on the water, just drop us a line on 01324 861 756.
North Sails proudly launches the 9DSX Moth mainsail range for the 2020 season. Incorporating on-the-water feedback from the 2019 Moth World Championship, the 9DSX is North’s fastest Moth sail to date, as proven by Tom Slingsby who used the latest North design at the Worlds where he won every race he sailed. “The 9DSX is having the most significant impact on the Moth class right now”, explains North Moth Class Leader Rob Greenhalgh. “North Sails has been at the forefront of Decksweeper development over the last year, and are committed to being a step ahead and continuing to deliver the fastest Moth sails.”
Made of 3Di RAW, the 9DSX is incredibly strong for its weight, delivering an extremely stable sail capable of handling high loads. Engineered for its application, this 3Di mainsail is durable yet remarkably fast across the wind range. Sail designer Ruairidh Scott was diligent in optimizing the deck sweeping capabilities and sail area under the Moth class rules. The increased decksweeper section maximizes the endplate effect and increases overall sail efficiency by reducing aero-drag.
“We took the successful Vi-8DSX design and evolved the sail for 2020 based on the feedback from the 2019 Worlds,” comments North sail designer Ruairidh Scott. “If you’re looking to build a better product, a World Championship win is an excellent place to start.”
Also available with a reduced overall area, the 9DSXR option is the ideal all-purpose sail for lighter weight sailors, or suitable for heavier sailors in big air.
To find out more, or get a quote, please contact Duncan in the office on 01324 861 756 or via email.
Hi my name is Niamh Harper and I’m a student at the University of Edinburgh.
My parents taught me how to sail, at a very young age along with their friends and their children at the Local Club (Loch Tummel). Then I started sailing Toppers and I was in the Topper Squad in 2013-2015 with Duncan Hepplewhite as my coach.
I loved all the friends I made and the friendly competitions that we have on and off the last day, I still get to see these friends now. After Toppers as I mentioned, 420 because I wanted to sail with another person and sail a more technical boat. From there I went on to the 470 because I’m the right size for the job.
I really love the cool places that we got to go in the summer, especially my frist trip to America in 2018 for the 420 Worlds Championship and currently I’m trying to finish my degree and I hope to get back on the water as soon as I finish my exams.
You can follow Niamh on her sailing journey by heading over to her Facebook sailing page.
Hello everyone, my name is Alex Still or known by the nickname of Chucky from all those years ago in the Scottish squad. I’m here to answer a few questions for Sailingfast. First up is occupation. I’ve recently, just come off a 115 metre superyacht called Le Grand Blu. I was on her for the last four years, and we did lots of interesting, exciting things in amongst all the polishing and detailing that goes on. She spent most of her time in the Mediterranean during the summer, then for winter chased the nicer weather across to the Caribbean.
I am currently staying in Glasgow for the moment, actually, and taking a year off to do some studying to hopefully get my ‘Officer of the Watch Unlimited’ certificate and basically lead to the next stage up in my career.
From a very young age actually, down at Royal Gourock Yacht Club is where it all started. We’d go out in a very old, light blue Topper that we had down there. Our Dad used to take us out there, take us sailing around the moorings, and that then led to an interest of doing some racing. Then I started touring around the country doing the traveller series in the topper.
And then that then led on to the Scottish squad. From 2006 to 2010 I was part of the Scottish squads, and with the coach of, we had Kirsten Mcseveny, and then throughout the years we had a number of amazing coaches as well.
I guess just the freedom of the training camps that we had across in Cumbrae in the winter, waving goodbye to our parents in Largs and taking the very, sometimes, or most of the time, windy and blustery ferry across to the island, and we spent the weekend with our mates and having an amazing time doing some racing, training, and jogging to the monument, and it was just all great fun.
I got too big for the Topper sort of grew out of it, struggled to fit underneath the boom. So I chose the Laser Radial class, great decision, I loved the competitiveness of the class, and the physicality and yeah it was just great fun.
Unfortunately, no sailing anything at the moment. Hopefully, do a bit more during the summer, up the West Coast, and then yeah just have to see what the plans are after this year.
Too many to choose from, really. From the Topper squad to the Laser squad and travelling around with them, sailing in some amazing places with them; doing some ocean crossings has got to be up there as some quite cool things, crossing the equator – big tick in the box and
As I said this year not got any immediate plans, hopefully do some stuff through the summer. Then, after this year hopefully get onto something quite exciting. Just have to see what happens. Thank you very much. Hopefully everyone has a great, great year sailing. Thank you.
Hi guys ! How’re we doing? I’ve just been asked to answer some questions for Sailingfast. So, my name is Nick Ironside, and I’m a marine engineer.
At the moment, I currently live on board a new yacht, that I am helping commission over in Holland. I’ve been here full-time since the new year and I will be full-time on board till June. Then I actually start rotation on this job so I will be working for a certain amount of time, and then I’ll be back home in Scotland for my off time, which is something new, something I’ve been really looking forward to getting to spend a little more time at home, rather than being stuck living on board all the time.
So I would say that I started sailing when I was about five years old. And that would be through my Mum and Dad really, who got into yachts. And from that, the other people they met sailing thought it would be a really good idea if I got involved with Largs Sailing Club, and the dinghy section, and that’s where on the evening sailings that’s where I first started doing my own sailing. Apart from the yacht, and that was actually straight into Toppers sort of about six /even years old. And that’s where my own sailing really started.
After a good few years I then started doing club racing, which then moved on to the Scottish topper circuit. And from there, the topper squad, and I think that would have been around 2001 2002. I was actually a member of the Scottish topper squad, and my coaches from then would have been Duncan, and Roy McCubbin for those two years.
The best bit about the squads for me was definitely the people, the travelling you got to do, and also the competitiveness of the actual race weekends. It really gave you a bit of focus, other than school and hanging around, it was something that you were doing for yourself and it was a good motivator. To actually concentrate on something really helped because I wasn’t that interested in school and the sailing really helped me focus on something else.
After the Topper I went into Lasers for a few years – probably not the best move into the Laser because I wasn’t really big enough. But I really enjoyed it still, really good racing and kind of just a continuation of the Topper really.
At the moment I’m not really doing much sailing because we’re building the yacht – the only thing I’m actually sailing at the moment would be this 50 metre, new sailing yacht that I’m currently helping commission and build here in a very cold, wet and windy Holland.
Well, for the last four years, I’ve been doing different bits and pieces of racing, more so. I spent two years with the J class and that included racing in the Caribbean, the East coast of America, and we actually attended the Americas cup in Bermuda where there was a whole bunch of J class racing, there was superyacht regattas and the cup event itself which we were watching. After the J class, I went and did offshore racing with the IMOCA fleet. And I’ve been working the last two years with Alex Thomson racing on the south coast of England. The best adventure would have to be sailing from Portugal to Canada, doing a transatlantic on the IMOCA. There’s something, something quite special about doing 30 plus knots in the pitch black.
As I said I’m currently on a 50metre new build. Once we’ve commissioned this build here, and we’ll be doing sail, sail testing and race training in the Mediterranean, mainly in Palma, and then the plan for this boat is to actually take it to New Zealand for the next America’s Cup. So that’s the overall goal. Obviously, we won’t be heavily involved with the cup itself this time, unlike I was last time with J class, but we will be competing in the superyacht cup down there in Auckland next year.
Anyway, I hope that gives you a bit of insight to what I do now. So thanks very much. Bye.
Hi Everybody, I’ve been asked by Emma Hepplewhite to do this kind of video/interview thing. I’ve enlisted my colleague, Alison here to hold the camera and to ask me some questions because there’s too much to do for my small brain at the same time, so I guess I’ll just get into it.
Over to you Alison.
My name is David Lilburn. Back when I was Sailing my Topper, people used to call me Lilly. Nowadays I go with my professional name. And my occupation? I am a sailor of some sort. I certainly used to be a sailor. And now I clean a lot of windows! But I live on the ocean and I earn my living that way so I guess that answers the question.
I got into sailing when I was about 12 years old. Quite a late starter to be honest, when my Dad offered to take me down to the local sailing club, Royal Tay Yacht Club in Dundee, to attend the Wednesday night cadet evenings. Which was a useful out-of-school activity for me to do that wasn’t hanging around on street corners or supporting Dundee United or Dundee – I was always conflicted so my story is I took up sailing instead.
Well, it was a very, very long time ago now and I had to consult a few people as to the dates, but I believe I was in the Topper squad in the years 1993 and 1994, which actually was last century!
My coach was Donny Meldrum, the father of Stuart Meldrum and the rest of the Meldrum dynasty, I guess. They were a very successful sailing family, still are I hope, but I haven’t seen them around for a few years. But Donnie was always the keen dad he was always shouting to Stewart, “Pull your kicker on!”
The best part of being the topper squad, and really as I got into sailing more and more was the idea that we would go away, at the weekends and we would go to different venues around the country and I’d meet my friends again. There’s a very social aspect, as well as the competitive side and the actual sailing, the whole kind of lifestyle that was associated with the topper squad really suited me as a, as a young teenager. And I guess it’s still true today that I love the, the aspect of travelling around the world and the same people, doing the same things, but in a different place.
After my burgeoning Topper career came to an end, I then moved into the 420 like many other people will do in the squad system. Originally sailing with my friend from home, another Topper sailor, Andrew Buchanan. Then a year later, I think, I ended up in the Scottish 420 squad alongside Mr. Duncan Hepplewhite, who was helming for me in a 420, and that probably explains one of the reasons why I’ve been asked to do this
At the moment I sell a 42-metre power boat, which is a stretch for the imagination. I guess the thing I’ve done most recently in sailing, my personal sailing, would be the WASZP, which is obviously getting a lot of attention these days and very much worth it as well.
Right now I’m in the Captain’s Chair while he’s not looking. We’re based here in West Palm Beach in Florida. On the east coast of the States.
This is probably the question I have deliberated over most. I think it was an experience or adventure, I guess, sailing is an adventure, full stop. But I guess I’ve got three real highlights I’d like to mention, I guess. I was for a brief time, the skipper of the sailing yacht Drum, an old Maxi yacht that sails up and down the Clyde in Scotland. I’ve worked on it for many years and eventually became the captain. And we actually, for the first time in many years, actually threw it around a racecourse. At a small local regatta on the Clyde, we, we managed to weave around the many, many 30-40 foot yachts and we’re sailing in the regatta with this 80 foot Maxi and wowed the crowds, I certainly impressed myself. That was a real thing for me.
Then when this whole superyachting thing began I guess you have to mention sailing in the superyacht regatta St Barts bucket. As you go upwind and round the windward mark, in 25 knots and crystal, crystal-blue, turquoise water with the wind blowing and loads of other big Superyachts sailing around and as you round the windward mark, the whole team springs into action and hoists spinnaker, pops the kite. That’s a moment I’ll never forget.
But I think the one I’m most fond of, and it’s also the most recent, was when I first saw the WASZP on Lake Garda while Duncan was watching from the RIB. [I was] completely inexperienced, unable to tack or gybe, which is still true. But just the experience of flying across Lake Garda on hydrofoils, looking at the scenery around me, and it really, I said this time that it really brought it home, how lucky I was to have been taken sailing when I was 12 years old, the first place, I was able to do a thing like this, now.
Sailing plans I have the future – is next month, again we’re racing the superyacht, not this one but the owners other boat, which is a 40 metre sloop, we’re due to race again in St Barts bucket and we’re getting ready for that in a few weeks. So that should be another interesting time and then obviously, again, the fourth time running. I hope to be heading back to Lake Garda for the WASZP European Championships in Malcesine. So, that’s my plan.
Thanks, Dave.
Thank you everybody have a great time. Thanks Duncan Emma. We love you.
Hi I’m Lorenzo Chiavarini, I’m in the British Sailing team, sailing the Laser. I’m from the west coast of Scotland, on the Crinan canal and I’m here to answer some Sailingfast questions.
I moved from Italy, from Rome to the West Coast (of Scotland) to the Crinnan canal. I got into sailing on the canal with my dog, and after that I started enjoying it a lot so I moved to the Topper class and started sailing at the local sailing clubs around me.
I was probably about 8 when I started sailing Toppers and I got into my first Scottish Topper National Squad at around 2005.
My coach back then was Kirsty Mcsimile , and later on Duncan Hepplewhite in the Laser Scottish Squad.
After the Topper I moved into the Laser, the 4.7 and the Radial and then the standard. And since 2011 I have been sailing Standards nearly full time, trying to achieve my goal of representing in the Olympics.
There’s so many – training out in Rio prior to the Olympics, it’s a fantastic venue and it really pushed me but I think the highlight for me was winning the Europeans last year in Porto but no, I have a great squad with me. The Laser Standard British Sailing Team is so strong and we’re traveling all over the place, really tight squad with a lot of talented sailors. And we’re really pushing each other, really strong performances.
I am at the World Championships in Melbrounce. Sailing has brought me to fantastic places, I’m really lucky.
Carrying on hopefully until Marseille 2024 and pushing through to get to the Olympics.
If you would like to follow Lorenzo on his dream to reach the Olympics, you can follow him on Facebook or read more about his journey with British Sailing.
Kim Guthrie video transcript
Hi, I hope you’re all having a good day. Emma from Sailingfast sent me through a few questions that she would like me to answer for you. And I will get cracking with them now…
So my name is Kim Guthrie, it used to be Kim Ross before I married my husband Douglas, and I’m currently a stewardess on an 80 metre motor yacht called Chopi Chopi. In the last 10 years or so are so I’ve been an academic, I’ve worked at charity, I’ve been a sailing instructor and most recently I’ve been a secondary school Geography teacher before joining the motor yacht and the reason for that will become clear as I answer these questions, hopefully.
At the moment I stay on Chopi Chopi. We’re currently in Italy, in Imperia on the Italian Riviera. It’s our offseason at the moment but during the summer we travel around the whole of the Mediterranean. We joined the boat in the Caribbean so we’re kind of ocean nomads at the moment. The boat is just here, I don’t know if you can see… (video turns to show 80m motor yacht Chopi Chopi). So yeah, it’s quite, quite different to living in a house!
So I got into sailing through my parents – they both have sailed for very long time. And when? As soon as I was born really, six weeks old, they took me for my first sail on the west coast of Scotland in their 26-foot Hunter Horizon yacht. We did a bit of cruising as a family on the west coast and then I got into dinghy sailing when I was about 10 years old, started racing when I was 15 and joined the Scottish squad shortly after that.
I was in the Scottish squad I think from 2000, until 2002 and after the Topper squad I was then in the Laser squad from 2002 to 2004. My topper coaches were Duncan Hepplewhite and Roy McCubbin for the two years that I was in the squad and.
I have some really, really fond memories of the Topper squad. The best bit about being in the squad for me, for definite, was the people that I met through the opportunity that the squad provided. Some of the people that I met there I am still really, really close friends with today. We went through, what felt at the time as 15-16 year olds, to be quite challenging things sailing-wise, with very, very windy weather at Cumbrae. We had some pretty some pretty extreme weather! Obviously just being away from your parents for the weekend and getting to hang out with your pals and learn lots of amazing stuff about sailing was definitely a highlight. I think I also learned, probably, to be a bit more resilient in bad weather from being in the squad as well.
I’ve already mentioned that I moved into the Laser after the Topper squad. I very briefly was in the 420 but I much, much prefer sailing by myself, because I like that I’m the only one accountable I think for the results I was getting. I was the right weight for the Radial and it really suited my sailing style and my personality so I moved into the Laser. I was in the Laser Scottish Squad for two years after the Topper squad.
I’ve kind of already answered the ‘where are you right now?’. I guess this is probably a good time to explain how I ended up in Imperia in Italy and on a motor yacht rather than a sailing boat. I don’t have, no yes, I’ve got an RS 200, it’s a little bit abandoned our home club at Loch Morlich but I don’t have a sailing boat as such, at the moment. My parents do however, they’ve got a Halberg Rassey 352. And two years ago, my husband and I, Douglas, he sails as well, he used to race against me in Toppers and (bragging rights) I used to beat him quite regularly, which is good. He’s a much better yacht sailor than me so we kind of come up, equal, and we decided we were a little bit fed up with the weather in Scotland, a little bit, we were a little bit fed up with our jobs and we wanted to go on an adventure. We persuaded my parents that would be a good idea to sail all the way to the Caribbean, and on their Halberg Rassey 352, which we did in 2018. Kind of just before Christmas 2018, and we lived with them on that boat for six months, cruising all the way down from Scotland across the Atlantic to St Lucia and then around the Caribbean for a couple months. We decided, Douglas and I, that we wanted to earn a bit of money that we wanted to go off on our own path for a little while as well. So we looked for some day work on a superyacht over there because it’s quite good way of making money and topping up the funds for future adventures. We were very lucky and grateful to end up on the same boat together and that’s how we have managed to get some work on this beast of a motor yacht which would have been nicer if it was a sailing yacht but it’s good that we’re both on the same boat and living together exploring new places.
So I’m not sure if that answers the question… what are you sailing at the moment and where are you right now? Yeah I guess that does kind of answer that.
I just talked about sailing across the Atlantic, in my parents’ Halberg Rassey, I think for, for me, and I think for Douglas as well, even before then we, I think this is what I’m most proud of actually, I think I’m more proud of this than of sailing across the Atlantic. We had a Sonata, a 22-23-foot Sonata, which we sailed all the way around Scotland from Helensburgh right up around Cape Wrath up to Orkney, back down the East Coast and then through the Forth and Clyde canal over seven weeks in 2015. I think that’s most definitely the thing that I am most proud of in sailing. It was very challenging. It was only dry for five days out of the seven weeks and we sailed 800 miles. And for those of you who don’t know Sonatas, they’re pretty basic. They don’t have any facilities; they certainly don’t have a head [toilet]. They don’t have…, ours didn’t have cooking facilities, we cooked on a gas stove in the cockpit. And it was fantastic. We loved it! It was, it was challenging, but we were, we were really happy. We were cold together, wet together. But then dry together and enjoying all the great places that Scotland has to offer on the West Coast and up to Orkney especially. Obviously sailing across the Atlantic is a huge achievement as well and I am, of course, very proud of that and proud of us as a family for having being able to live, again in a relatively small boat, the 352, doing that. And when we were halfway across the Atlantic, my Mum spotted a turtle, which was tangled up in fishing line and Douglas jumped overboard, he had about five kilometres of water beneath him and, and we managed to get this turtle on board and cut the fishing line from it, which is a pretty incredible experience to have. And so yeah, sailing has really been some pretty amazing things places that it’s taken me and, and hopefully that will continue into the future.
At the moment we are planning on staying on the motor yacht Chopi chopi for a little while longer. Douglas is working through his engineering exams to be able to get a rotational two on two off, two months on two months off position, hopefully. We’re also saving some money, quite a lot of money and we’re hoping to, in the next five years, buy ourselves our own yacht, and hopefully, hopefully, circumnavigate in the future. We still love racing – we persuaded my parents to do West Highland Week in the 352, and we’ve had a couple of Sonatas in the past. We would love to get another one in the future and continue racing, and hopefully get out in our RS 200 up in Loch Morlich as well. So, yeah, we love living on the water. We wish that it was on sailing boat and we’re working hard to make that dream a reality. Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of your day, and thank you very much.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai and edited by Emma Hepplewhite.
The RYA Dinghy Show 2020, in conjunction with Yachts and Yachting, returns to Alexandra Palace over the weekend of 29th February and 1st March. The theme of the show for 2020 is ‘A World of Opportunity – Where will Sailing take you?’
Given Duncan’s history as a Topper squad coach in Scotland, Sailingfast have got back in touch with some of his previous junior sailors or ‘squadies’ and find out what kind of sailing adventures they have been on since they left the squad.
Not only is this an exercise in making Duncan feel really old (!), we discovered it was a really interesting topic of conversation. I’m delighted to report, despite all the doom and gloom surrounding the future of our sport, most of the former squadies are still sailing. Some have turned their passion for sailing into a career, others still enjoy it as a hobby.
We sent a list of questions to a handful of different people to record a video interview for us. Some are based in the UK, some are not, some sail dinghies, some sail yachts, some girls, some guys – the only thing they have in common is that they were once in the Topper Squad in Scotland.
You will have to tune in to our blog and social media channels to find out…
The first interview will be released later this week.
Come and see us on Stand B66 at the RYA Dinghy Show at the end of this month to explore where sailing might take you…
Get your tickets here
If, like us, you leave your Christmas shopping to the very last minute, you will need to know how last-minute, last-minute is. The Sailingfast team will be in the office until Christmas Eve. The shop will be closed between Christmas and New Year however, we will be standing by the phone if you need us.
The Sailingfast team will be in the office until Christmas Eve. The shop will be closed between Christmas and New Year however, we will be standing by the phone if you need us. 01324 861756 or info@sailingfast.co.uk
Not everyone wants to follow in Ben Ainslie’s footsteps and make it to Olympic glory. With this in mind, LaserPerformance have developed a range of sails to suit the different levels of sailor and their wallet. As one of the official Laser dealers in the UK, we are happy to talk you through the options if you aren’t sure. To find out more – read on!
The Laser has 3 different types of rig: 4.7, Radial and Standard. Within each rig size there are now 3 types of sail for different scenarios.
Also known as the full rig, the Laser standard sail is available in a MKI or MKII shape. The MKII shape is the newer design and the MKI has more or less been phased out. Sail numbers for the Standard sail are 300mm or 12 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
The Laser Radial is for small adults, women and youth sailors. Sail numbers for the Radial sail are 300mm or 12 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
The 4.7 is often the next step after the Optimist or Topper as sailors transition from Junior to Youth Sailing. The 4.7 sail is smaller and more manageable than the Radial.
Sail numbers for the 4.7 sail are 230mm or 9 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
You can see the full range of Laser sails on our website.
We also offer a Sail Numbering Service. If you would like us to number your sail for you, just send us an email with your sail number and when you need the sail by.
Still not sure? Just drop us a line in the office 01324 861 756 or info@sailingfast.co.uk
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Not everyone wants to follow in Ben Ainslie’s footsteps and make it to Olympic glory. With this in mind, LaserPerformance have developed a range of sails to suit the different levels of sailor and their wallet. As one of the official Laser dealers in the UK, we are happy to talk you through the options if you aren’t sure. To find out more – read on!
The Laser has 3 different types of rig: 4.7, Radial and Standard. Within each rig size there are now 3 types of sail for different scenarios.
Also known as the full rig, the Laser standard sail is available in a MKI or MKII shape. The MKII shape is the newer design and the MKI has more or less been phased out. Sail numbers for the Standard sail are 300mm or 12 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
The Laser Radial is for small adults, women and youth sailors. Sail numbers for the Radial sail are 300mm or 12 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
The 4.7 is often the next step after the Optimist or Topper as sailors transition from Junior to Youth Sailing. The 4.7 sail is smaller and more manageable than the Radial.
Sail numbers for the 4.7 sail are 230mm or 9 inches high and you will need 6 numbers on each side of the sail: the first two are red, the remaining 4 black.
You can see the full range of Laser sails on our website.
We also offer a Sail Numbering Service. If you would like us to number your sail for you, just send us an email with your sail number and when you need the sail by.
Still not sure? Just drop us a line in the office 01324 861 756 or info@sailingfast.co.uk
The Dinghy Specialist: dedicated to supplying your dinghy spares, we want to make it easy for you to get the best equipment in the market as quickly as possible so you can concentrate on sailing fast!
In the run up to Christmas, there is an overwhelm of amazing things that you could get the sailor in your life as a present. Sailingfast have rounded up a top 10 gift list of useful sailing presents with a price tag for every budget.
Stay dry, on the move, on the beach, on the boat or in the changing room.
Ultimate product, changing on the move, the beach or in the boat park without revealing more than you mean to!
The best watch on the water / market. Make sure you arrive at the start line on time.
Hydration is key to your performance. Just make sure to tie it securely to your boat in the event of a capsize! (comes with elastic in the event of a capsize)
The future is foiling, fun and facts about the newest angle to our amazing sport. Find out what all the fuss is about with top tips and examples from experts in the field.
Know where you are going or want to be going. Robustly-made wind indicators.
The grippiest grip from grip land, easy on your wetsuit and suitable for a myriad of jobs. Packing your daggerboard, protecting your hull from scratchy blocks, or a softer landing when trapezing or sitting on the gunwhales of your dinghy.
The very best mainsheet on the water. Go on, treat yourself this Christmas.
Protect your spars from stone chips and other damage when travelling to events with the padded mast bag from LaserPerformance.
Electronic compasses are class legal in the Laser class these days. The Prism provides superior accuracy, and a massive display all in an ultralight, compact package.
Still not sure what to get the sailor in your life? We would be very happy to talk you through some options based on the type of dinghy they sail and your budget. Just drop us a line via email info@sailingfast.co.uk or by phone on 01324 861 756.
A 12’6 Red Paddle Co Voyager paddleboard on display attracted a lot of visitors to the Sailingfast stand at the 33rd Annual Scotland Boat show at the weekend.
Thousands of people spent the weekend at the country’s premier boat show at Kip Marina in Inverclyde at the weekend.
Sailingfast and sister company Paddlefast were among the exhibitors in the Royal Yacht Association (RYA) Scotland Marine Pavilion at the three-day show. They caught the attention of visitors with the display of two Red Paddle Co paddleboards. The 12’6 Voyager board and 10’8 Ride board from the 2020 range were available for sale.
Duncan Hepplewhite, director of Sailingfast based in Central Scotland explains:
“Despite the typical Scottish weather, we’ve had another successful year at the show. This was our third year taking part and with the growing interest in paddleboarding, it was the perfect platform to showcase some of the 2020 paddleboards. Given their size, they were quite the attention grabber.
“Most people who visited us on the stand were asking about the paddleboards. They were interested in what they were and how they might give paddleboarding a try if they hadn’t already.
“It was really encouraging to hear that some people had seen our social media activity and knew about the special offers available and the fact we have the new 2020 paddleboards in stock already.”
Visitors could benefit from a special container offer when signing up for a WASZP to be delivered in early spring, saving massively on the shipping costs. The deal is still running for orders placed by the end of October.
Additionally, as the retailer for Topper and Laser Performance in Scotland, Sailingfast is well positioned to provide advice on dinghies to sail.
Duncan comments: “We have an excellent understanding and experience of the various dinghies available in both ranges. So, we were able to provide advice to those interested in a dinghy to sail in terms of what will or won’t suit someone’s local sailing area and their crew set up – be it with kids or single handed for example.”
In total, about 50 visitors to the stand entered the prize draw and the winner received a Zhik z-cru jacket and other sailing goodies.
While on the stand, Duncan’s wife and business partner, Emma Hepplewhite spoke to people about the buzz she got when she tried foiling recently and her plans to do it again soon:
Emma says: “Some say foiling is the future of sailing – it’s fast, exciting to sail and makes for edge of your seat viewing. There’s a reason the America’s Cup teams are doing it, and the Sail GP guys are using the WASZPs for training in the various ports on the tour. The WASZP is a one design foiling dinghy which means it hasn’t been retro fitted for foiling, as is the case with a couple of other classes. And the latest carbon foils are also affordable.
“Scotland’s Boat Show is a key event for both of our businesses each year, raising the profile of sailing and paddleboarding and making it more accessible to everyone in Scotland. With 2020 being Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters, we are looking forward to an even more exciting and memorable event next year.”
ENDS
About Sailingfast and Paddlefast
Sailingfast was established in 2002 and the business expanded and launched Paddlefast. The business is owned and run by husband and wife team, Emma and Duncan Hepplewhite.
Visit the website for more information and to see the range of products and services.
For interviews and further information please contact:
Stephanie Melrose, Smell the Roses PR
Mobile: 07944 865925
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Sailingfast and Ovington Boats are delighted to announce new developments to their long-standing partnership.
Since 2010, both companies have grown and worked closely together, this new development will further cement the partnership as Sailingfast comes onboard to support key products.
Sailingfast will take on responsibility for promoting key classes in Scotland, working with class associations and supporting the sailors.
Sailingfast owner, Duncan Hepplewhite, has a unique knowledge of the 29er, having raced it and worked with Ovington Boats at the 29er European, Worlds and World Sailing Youth Worlds between 2012 and 2016.
Duncan Hepplewhite comments: “Sailingfast was established in 2002 with the aim of supplying the very best products and keeping sailors on the water. Our partnership with Ovington Boats and their reputation for making the very best boats sits perfectly with our ambitions. We are delighted to be working with Ovington Boats and have some very exciting plans for the future.”
Nathan Batchelor, UK Sales Manager at Ovington Boats Ltd explains “Sailingfast plays a key role in the Junior and Youth classes north of the border and is perfectly positioned to help Ovington Boats support and grow our Optimist and 29er fleets in Scotland.”
Ovington Boats based in North Shields, England, have a world-wide reputation for their high-performance boat building.
During the 2012 – 2016 period Duncan and his wife Emma (co-owners at Sailingfast Ltd) raced the VX One at club and national level.
For all your Ovington spares and new boat requirements please contact the Sailingfast Team.
The Dinghy Specialist: dedicated to supplying your dinghy spares, we want to make it easy for you to get the best equipment in the market as quickly as possible so you can concentrate on sailing fast!
Sailingfast and Ovington Boats are delighted to announce new developments to their long-standing partnership.
Since 2010, both companies have grown and worked closely together, this new development will further cement the partnership as Sailingfast comes onboard to support key products.
Sailingfast will take on responsibility for promoting key classes in Scotland, working with class associations and supporting the sailors.
Sailingfast owner, Duncan Hepplewhite, has a unique knowledge of the 29er, having raced it and worked with Ovington Boats at the 29er European, Worlds and World Sailing Youth Worlds between 2012 and 2016.
Duncan Hepplewhite comments: “Sailingfast was established in 2002 with the aim of supplying the very best products and keeping sailors on the water. Our partnership with Ovington Boats and their reputation for making the very best boats sits perfectly with our ambitions. We are delighted to be working with Ovington Boats and have some very exciting plans for the future.”
Nathan Batchelor, UK Sales Manager at Ovington Boats Ltd explains “Sailingfast plays a key role in the Junior and Youth classes north of the border and is perfectly positioned to help Ovington Boats support and grow our Optimist and 29er fleets in Scotland.”
Ovington Boats based in North Shields, England, have a world-wide reputation for their high-performance boat building.
During the 2012 – 2016 period Duncan and his wife Emma (co-owners at Sailingfast Ltd) raced the VX One at club and national level.
For all your Ovington spares and new boat requirements please contact the Sailingfast Team.
Day one of the Silvers Marine Scottish Series 2015, the largest sailing event in Scotland organised by the Clyde Cruising Club
Racing on Loch Fyne from 22rd-24th May 2015
GBR193, Zhik, Duncan Hepplewhite, Loch Lomond SC
Credit : Marc Turner / CCC
For further information contact
Iain Hurrel
Mobile : 07766 116451
Email : info@marine.blast.com
For a full list of Silvers Marine Scottish Series sponsors visit http://www.clyde.org/scottish-series/sponsors/
Family business, Sailingfast in Avonbridge, has secured funding of £47,259 from Kelvin Valley & Falkirk LEADER to replace an old shed with a brand new office building.
Sailingfast was established in 2002 and the business expanded and launched Paddlefast in 2014. The business is owned and run by husband and wife team, Emma and Duncan Hepplewhite.
Duncan Hepplewhite, director of Sailingfast explains: “For the last 11 years my wife and I have worked from the shed which has no central heating or electricity. It can be very challenging through the Scottish Winters. This funding will make a huge difference to our working environment. It will also enable us to employ more people and to continue to grow our business.
“Business Gateway alerted us to the Kelvin Valley & Falkirk LEADER fund. We set about putting together an application, a time-consuming process. Emma & I were delighted to be awarded a significant sum which will make all the difference. Hopefully, it will also help us to raise the profile of sailing and paddleboarding and make it more accessible as a hobby for everyone.”
Ian Howarth, Chair Kelvin Valley & Falkirk LEADER LAG Committee comments: “Kelvin Valley & Falkirk LEADER are extremely pleased to grant support this local business that will assist them to be able to employ people, offer better services to their customers and successfully grow.”
The new building, based between Falkirk and Linlithgow, is expected to be completed in September and on completion, the company will look to employ people to manage the shop and help with administration and marketing.
For interviews and further information please contact:
Stephanie Melrose, Smell the Roses PR
Mobile: 07944 865925
LEADER is a European Union Community Initiative which aims to promote economic and community development in rural areas. LEADER uses a bottom-up, partnership-based approach to rural development which will improve the quality of life and help make rural communities more sustainable. The 2014-2020 Kelvin Valley and Falkirk LEADER Programme covers rural areas within East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk. The programme funds community organisations, charities, businesses and farms. Funding is awarded in line with our Local Development Strategy under our three priority themes: Theme 1: Heritage, Tourism and Leisure; Theme 2: Community Services and Facilities; Theme 3: Local Business and Employment. The Programme also has cross-cutting themes of Employability, Innovation, Low Carbon and Equal Opportunities. As of June 2019, the programme has awarded £2,271,053 of funding to local projects, which have levered in an additional £2.8 million of match funds that will be spent in our region.
The WASZP UK Class and Zhik are delighted to announce their exciting new partnership as we enter the 2019 season. The partnership will see Zhik becoming headline sponsors for the WASZP class in the UK.
“Zhik are a global clothing brand and with the WASZP is going from strength to strength, we are confident that the partnership will deliver an enhanced experience for our class sailors.” Says Victoria Payne (UK Class Secretary).
Sailingfast are heading south for the Topper Winter champs at WPNSA this weekend. Duncan learnt to sail in a Topper himself back in the dark ages (also known as the 1980s!) at Loch Lomond Sailing Club. There’s not much he doesn’t know about the Topper.
Come and chat to Duncan about the reasons behind the new Topper 6:1 kicker upgrades, replacing your mainsheet boom sleeve with one of our colourful ones, not to mention the new rules about sail numbering that come into effect. If you are feeling lucky, you might even ask about the upcoming RYA Dinghy Show deals which come into effect at the beginning of March.
The season is fast approaching and first on the calendar is the RYA Dinghy Show. Both Sailingfast & Paddlefast will attend this great event in the historic Alexandra Palace in London. Lots of special offers will be in place so it’s the perfect time to spruce up your boat or board or even treat yourself to a new one!
Duncan will be wearing his WASZP hat for the weekend, helping out Victoria, the class secretary, on the WASZP class association stand no C14. Come and find out about the series, training events and the WASZP Europeans which take place on Lake Garda in July. Still not convinced by all the videos on social media? We have test flights available for those still needing persuaded.
*****Sign up for a test flight with Duncan during the Dinghy Show and be entered into a prize draw for WASZP goodies .*****
The Sailingfast Team have been watching the WASZP International Games with great interest over the last few days as the battle for the top spots was very close. We are delighted that Brit Rory Hunter has done it and is bringing the WASZP International Games trophy home with him.
To see Rory’s post-championship interview with Marc from WASZP, click here.
We are celebrating the dominance in Seldén Mast product at last week’s 505 World Championships held in Freemantle Australia. The top 5 were dominated with Seldén product, in positions 1, 2, 3 and further results through the top 10. Mike Martin and Adam Lowry were super-fast throughout the regatta and were using an Alto section mast. Seldén have been a supplier of rigs for the class for many years from the early days of E to the current offering of Alto and Cumulus. The 505 class are constantly looking for the ultimate, consistent mast and for this reason they turn to Seldén.
Too early for the ‘C’ word?Hallowe’en is now behind us and Christmas is fast approaching! In my experience as a retailer you, the lovely customer, usually fall into one of two categories.
At Sailingfast, we want you to get the best deal and get your Christmas ducks lined up in plenty of time so you can sit back and enjoy a wee gluwein instead of panic-wrapping at midnight on Christmas Eve.
Sailingfast are delighted to announce we are teaming up with clothing brand Zhik. We will be stocking some key lines from their ranges in time for Christmas.
Zhik is now a well-established brand with a loyal following and without an outlet in Scotland, until now.
Sailingfast has a new mobile shop! Look at the fantastic graphics provided courtesy of Signpost Digital in Glasgow (thank you Stephen). It seems only right to show it off so we are taking the mobile shop on the road.
Here is the list of events we are planning to support or have a presence at over the next few months:
Sailingfast are delighted to announce a couple of sponsorship agreements with the Laser 4.7 fleet as well as the Scottish Optimist and Topper traveller circuits for the following year.
Sailingfast owner, Duncan Hepplewhite, comments, “We have always been proud to support junior and youth sailors as they progress through the classes. It’s great to have a couple of agreements set up so a wider number of sailors can benefit.”
Sailingfast have been UK stockists of Mackay 420s for a couple of years now. We recently received a container of 420s ready for sale within the UK.
Boats are securely stored at Sailingfast HQ in Central Scotland and are available for immediate delivery.
We offer various package options from hull only to complete packages (including sails and spars). We work closely with both Selden and Superspars for the spar options, and North Sails as well. In addition, we have a selection of used boats available.
If you would like to discuss a bespoke package and the range of options available, please contact the Sailingfast team for details either via email or on 01324 861 756.
The Sailingfast Team are delighted to announce the safe arrival of their newest team member, baby Eleanor Skye.
In honour of her arrival, we will be turning Black Friday PINK! We will be offering 15% off all online orders with the code PINKFRIDAY from today 20th November through until the end of this month.
Online orders over £100 qualify for free delivery* – so don’t delay, get your Christmas presents sorted fast before the offer expires!
You can order online at www.sailingfast.co.uk
*exclusions apply, offer valid from 20th November to 30th November.
It’s boat show season again and we have a range of tasty deals to sweeten the expense of committing to a new boat. Sailingfast are delighted to extend this offer for the duration of the Southampton Boat Show, provided your order is emailed in by Monday 25th September.
The inaugural Sailingfast Scottish Waszp Champs took place over the weekend. With 7 boats making the trip to Loch Lomond Sailing Club we all knew we were in for a fun weekend.The majority of boats arrived on Friday to stunning blue skies and 12-14 knots. There was just enough time for some boat-bimbling and a quick on-the-water session before the team went to the local pub for dinner.
A report from Optimist main fleet sailor Danny Scott, who came 3rd overall at the recent Junior Traveller event, sponsored by Sailingfast:
On the weekend of the 26/27th August, the Optimists travelled to Helensburgh to join the other junior classes for the first event of the Scottish Junior Travellers Series. There were 16 boats in the main fleet and 7 in the regatta fleet, with new faces in both.
Sailingfast is delighted to announce we will be title sponsor of the Scottish Topper & Optimist Traveller Series in 2017-8.
Sailingfast Manager Emma Hepplewhite explains, ‘We’re delighted to support the Scottish Topper & Optimist Traveller Series this year. It’s a great opportunity to get involved. Sailors can experience some fun racing and coached events at some cracking venues around the country.’
Greg Smith from Scottish Optimists adds, ‘The Sailingfast Scottish Topper & Optimist Travellers are a great way for club sailors to try racing at other clubs.’
Helen James, ITCA representative for the Scottish Toppers continues, ‘There is a great turn-out of 30 Toppers at the first Traveller at Helensburgh and many new faces. Welcome to the friendly class!’
Sailingfast and the 420 class association are pleased to announce a title sponsorship arrangement for the upcoming 420 Nationals. The Sailingfast 420 Nationals 2017 will run from 14-19th August at Helensburgh Sailing Club.
The Sailingfast team will be onsite throughout the week to support the sailors with spares and expertise to keep the boats in top condition for racing. In addition, Sailingfast are sponsoring the keeper prizes. The week will be split into the Sailingfast Scottish Open (14-15th August) and the Sailingfast National Championships (16-19th August).
The Sailingfast team that have a van going down to the Topper Nationals. The Topper Nationals is one of the UK’s premier sailing events and runs from 6th to 11th August at Pwlhelli Sailing Club. Duncan Hepplewhite, Owner of Sailingfast, will be available before and after racing if you wish to take advantage of the free delivery available on pre-orders.
This summer we’re packing up the chandlery shop into the van and joining you on the road, supporting events up and down the country. Our aim at these events, is to keep you on the water racing in the event of gear failure. However, you may wish to pre-order some essentials to be on the safe side.
To take advantage of free delivery to these events, please select the ‘collect from shop/event’ when ordering online and drop us an email to let us know which event you will be attending.
As we make our final preparations to head south to Alexandra Palace, London for the RYA
Suzuki Dinghy Show, we are delighted to reveal the Dinghy Show deals from the various brands we represent.
To take advantage of these special offers from the comfort of your own home, please contact the office on 01324 861 756 (the line will forward to our event mobile while we’re at the Dinghy Show) or via email info@sailingfast.co.uk and we’d be happy to put together a quote for you. Deals are available until the close of business on Monday 6th March.
Sailingfast will be exhibiting at two watersport-focused events on 25th and 26th February. The RYA Scotland-hosted events will be based at the Loch Leven Community Campus.
The Sailingfast team are very excited by the opportunity. We can promote various brands of dinghy and clothing to marine industry professionals. These guys are on the front line, teaching the sailors, windsurfers, paddleboarders and surfers of the future.
Sailingfast are delighted to announce an exciting partnership with the UK Laser 4.7 class. Sailingfast are keen to support both Elite Athletes like Lorenzo Chiavarini, as well as our Junior sailors, the future of the Laser Class.
Justine Rockett, class administrator and 4.7 parent tells us, ‘It’s great to have Sailingfast involved as a title sponsor. Not only do they have the spares needed, but they are also a great source of information and advice.”
*PRESS RELEASE*
The Sailingfast team strive to offer the very best products and service. Having listened to the feeback from customers, we are now in a position to launch an exciting new website.
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New toy arrives at Sailingfast HQExcitement levels went through the roof today as Duncan went through to Glasgow Airport to pick up a long thin wooden crate. This WASZP box of bits has travelled halfway across the world and the contents are now being assembled like a complex 3D jigsaw.
Sailingfast Support of UKLA Laser InlandsThe long-range forecast for the Hallowe’en weekend was looking decidedly good for paddleboarding. Less so for sailing! However, some undaunted Laser sailors took to Rutland Water to enjoy the UKLA Laser Inland Championship.
Sailingfast continued their support of the Autumn events. Armed with a fresh delivery of sails for the fleet and the winner of their sail competition. Entries continued coming in on Saturday at registration. We are delighted to announce the lucky winner was 4.7 sailor, Matt Beck.
Sailingfast is BuzzingSailingfast is delighted to announce that they will be adding the new foiling WASZP to their products line up.
The WASZP is the most talked about new dinghy in many years. It has been designed and built by Andrew McDougall, designer and manufacturer of the world-famous Mach 2 foiling moth.
Sailingfast is delighted to release details of the upcoming North Sails One Design winter discount. This year, the earlier you order, the better the discount available.
Sailingfast founder and owner, Duncan, says, “If you have been putting off getting a new sail, the best time to place your order is October. The discount comes to an end at the end of December so take the opportunity treat yourself to an early Christmas present”.
With the launch of the 2016 Ice Blue Laser, there is now a limited stock of Vela Grey Lasers left to buy. For September only, Grey Lasers will be on offer to Laser Fleet customers in the UK at a fantastic rate. In addition, Sailingfast can offer free delivery within mainland UK for any boats purchased through Sailingfast.
Laser Fleet Customer: Are you part of a Laser Fleet at your local sailing club? If so, then this offer applies to you.
Sailingfast are delighted to announce that we are returning to exhibit at Scotland’s Boat Show 14th-16th October. We will have on display some of the LaserPerformance Range and details of the corporate discounts available to organisations and companies that teach sailing.
info@sailingfast.co.uk
View Map
| XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chest (Centimeters) | 82cm -87cm | 89cm-95cm | 97cm-102cm | 107cm-112cm | 117cm-122cm | 127cm-132cm |
| Waist (Centimeters) | 66cm – 70cm | 71cm – 76cm | 77cm – 85cm | 86cm – 95cm | 96cm – 105cm | 106cm – 114cm |
| XS | S | M | L | XL | XXL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bust (Centimeters) | 78cm -84cm | 85cm-90cm | 91cm-97cm | 98cm-103cm | 104cm-109cm | 110cm-116cm |
| Waist (Centimeters) | 58cm – 69cm | 64cm – 70cm | 71cm – 76cm | 77cm – 83cm | 84cm – 90cm | 91cm – 97cm |
| Hips (Centimeters) | 82cm – 90cm | 90cm – 96cm | 97cm – 102cm | 103cm – 108cm | 109cm – 115cm | 116cm – 122cm |
| US Mens | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Mens | 4.5 | 5.5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| EUR | 36.5 | 38.5 | 40 | 41 | 42.5 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47.5 |
| Foot Length (cms) | 23.5 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28.5 | 29 | 30 |
| Foot Length (inches) | 9.2″ | 9.4 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 10.6 | 11 | 11.2 | 11.4 | 11.8 |
