National 12's at the RYA Dinghy Show: Eclectic Stand, Eclectic Response
by Jeremy Carey, National Twelve Owners Association 4 Mar 2013 13:27 GMT
2-3 March 2013
John Meadowcroft's carbon/nomex construction 'D.B.Cooper' on the National 12 stand at the RYA Dinghy Show © NTOA
First and foremost, thanks to all those who took the trouble to stop by the national 12 Owners Association Stand over the weekend, and we hope you were inspired by what you saw and heard.
With two such extreme examples of new National 12 on display it was no surprise that there was a huge amount of interest and we were kept busy from the start to the end of the show.. Both Tim Gatti's newly built and almost finished (by the end of the show the mast and sails were on!)clinker construction 'Gruffalo' and John Meadowcroft's carbon/nomex construction 'D.B.Cooper' were admired for both their high quality of craftsmanship and eclectic thinking within the class. How can two such extremes manage to sail together? That is the beauty of the national 12 class which encompasses and nurtures such diverse thinking in a friendly and supportive manner.
Beyond the exhibited boats our second hand boat list, displayed on the stand, held equal interest and we hope to be welcoming new owners to the class soon. If you missed seeing the list where we currently have a good range of boats on offer from vintage to full carbon contemporary designs, why not drop by our content rich website which contains not only the list but also all you need to know to get you going and an open forum where you can ask more about 12 ownership to our knowledgeable members: www.national12.org
At 12.30pm on Sunday Tom Stewart pulled the lucky name out the hat for the P&B sponsored 'Early entry Burton Week Draw'. Twelve owner Mike Hoyle will now be sporting a brand new made to measure Jib for the Championships which take place at the end of May in Brixham, Devon. Want to know about this years' Burton Week (12 Championships) why not visit our dedicated website: www.national12.org/burtonweek/2013/
If you would like to borrow a boat for our championships then visit the site where there is a dedicated page explaining how you might go about it and what boat might suit you.
To cap off what has been a superb weekend we look forward to the Hamble Warming Pan (16/17 March) and the first of the GUL National 12 series in three weeks time at Burghfield Sailing Club. This is a two day event, which starts with a half day of training to get those who have elected to stay warm over the winter back up to speed!