Sailing Scenes

AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF HISTORY
We were recently asked by a competitor about photos we took during the Flying Dutchman UK nationals in 2012, which were held as part of Poole Regatta.
This made us re-visit that gallery and upload the shots to our current web site (https://bit.ly/TheFlyingDutchmen). Seeing the photos again is a reminder of what a great and photogenic boat the Dutchman is. More’s the pity that it’s no longer an Olympic class and is probably unknown to many of today’s skiffing and foiling youths.
Having been kicking around in the world of sailing for a few years (during which time we have had the pleasure of racing a Flying Dutchman), we think it’s a great shame that many of the young generation appear to know nothing about, and to have no interest in, how our sport came to be what it is. We have been lucky enough to meet, to get to know or sometimes to sail with some of the people who were instrumental in creating the sport we know today – such as Charles Currey, who had an enormous influence in the design of the Flying Dutchman even though it’s generally attributed to Uwe van Essen.
Rodney Pattison’s Olympic-gold-winning Superdocious was being raced in 2012 – but how many of today’s kids have even heard of Rodney or Superdocious? Far too few, we suspect. One might argue that their race training should include history lessons so they’re taught about the incredibly influential people that some of us had the privilege of knowing, such as Ian Proctor, Cliff Norbury, John Westell and John Oakley.
That’s unlikely to happen, but it doesn’t stop the Flying Dutchman from being a wonderful boat. We hope that we might yet see more of them one day.

KNOW YOUR TWO-MASTERS
Not everyone can tell the difference between a ketch and a yawl (sometimes it can be a challenge), but everyone recognises a schooner when they see one, don’t they?
Thing is you don’t see them very often these days. Most of the small number that have passed in front of our lens in recent years have been a fair size (and, coincidentally, flying a white ensign too). They might be relatively rare – and some people question the efficiency and practicality of the schooner rig – but they can still make a fine sight.