Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms One for the sailing enthusiasts

Yes my boat was Bowman built for the 2006 London Boat Show. The moulds finished up with Rustler when Bowman went under. Rustler built a few but they proved expensive to build.

Great boats. Stephen Jones always seems to design quick ones.

My Aunt used to have a Starlight, and sailed it all over.

Great choice of video, making me feel full of nostalgia for those days and the Whitbread races that followed, the crews lived aboard and went sight seeing in the various ports, not just to the gym and press conferences as now and they looked after the boats themselves shore crew teams were still a way off.
I recall one edition where we hosted some crews at private BBQ s I have never seen anyone devour steaks like the (skinny) Russian sailors.
During the last Volvo stopover here we had a One Ton Cup revisited regatta at the same time and based in the viaduct by the Volvo boats, most passers by were more interested in our old one tonners and asked if they were the original Rainbow 11, Waianiwa and Young Nick etc . I guess the boats seemed and were more accessible then and were for a time household names in NZ .
Our antics after race with a petrol powered cocktail blender - not exactly subtle either.

Giles, Thanks for posting this great video. It takes me back to my social sailing days in Perth,Western Australia in the early 80's luckily with some of the boys who made it on to the Australia II crew. Interesting times in the land of Alan Bond then.

Fast sailboats of old gave the Royal Navy fits trying to catch her and one in particular had to be captured at anchor, armed, and renamed the Black Joke and then used to sail down and capture her sister ship. They were slave traders that the Royal Navy could not catch at sea.

Our Sailing Club has decided to run a "Virtual Regatta" and are using an online platform https://www.virtualregatta.com/

It might be just the thing for sailing enthusiasts suffering withdrawal symptoms.

We're still sailing here. True the club has played Mummy and cancelled the next race series ( I think we have an HR type on the committee) but individuals are free to go sailing and we'll organise some casual races between us. If you get within 2m of the crew on another boat you ave serious problems anyway.

The last craft I have seen out on the lake here was at least 10 days ago. A lone kayak paddler. That was when it was still permitted to exercise solo sport activities in the open. Now, if anyone went out on the lake, they would get a hefty fine and risk a gaol sentence. I have not even seen any of the usual police boats out on the lake. It is totally weird.

The reason watersports have been banned in France for the duration is more about not providing the emergency services with any unnecessary extra work. Nothing to do with proximity to other sailors etc,

Indeed, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Black_Joke_(1827) is a fascinating story of the Royal Navy in the early 19th century. I can quite imagine it inspiring stories like CS Forester’s Hornblower!