Southampton Boat Show. Not just the yachting dream
Southampton Boat Show is the big deal on the Solent this week. We love it with its fabulous yachts afloat on the pontoons alongside a busy working port. As ever, the Old Salts at Sarum HQ are reminding us (again) that the two best days for a yachtsman are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. Shame! In fact, this rather depressing thought got us pondering whether this could really be true. For certain owners, unfortunately it would certainly seem so, especially if one is cynical enough to view Southampton Boat Show as a lifestyle show simply peddling the yachting dream of azure seas, blue skies, warm winds and beautiful people.
Not so at Sarum Hydraulics. In fact, in the Old Sarum world of dreaming about bikes, cars and boats, it has to be said that you can have a massive amount of fun with even a very cheap sailing dinghy or plastic kayak and we think Southampton is very much a show for everybody. Piles of money spent does not necessarily equate to lots of fun in the boat world. Get out on the water. Fun is the word!
Scratch below the surface and you will find that if you still want to live the dream, there are some truly wonderful boats on offer to make it your reality. We were excited to see that our old favourite Rustler is still going strong with a new 42 foot version of the classic 36 foot blue water cruiser. The owners of Rustlers seem to be serious folk; we know one local 36 owner who does a long distance single handed cruise every summer. The Solent to the Outer Hebrides this year, the Azores last year and Southern Ireland in 2013. With Bear Island up in the Arctic still on the radar for this guy, these really must be the ultimate cruising yachts.
Sarum was also interested to see some serious looking Dutch “Stadtship” blue water sailing yachts from the hands (or at least screens) of legendary naval architect Van de Stadt. They are built in aluminium with the hull in a self-colour finish. The French adore aluminium hulls for their rugged sail-anywhere yachts and across the Channel you see lots of true ocean goers with thousands of miles under their keels. The Dutch have obviously embraced them, so let’s hope that the British see the light on this wonderful material.
Of course, British craftsmanship is always the big thing at Sarum, and having already been lucky enough to see the beautiful classic yacht Polly Agatha in Yarmouth earlier in the year, we were very excited to find that she was actually a brand new 45 foot pilot cutter design from Cockwells of Falmouth. Just exquisite!
Finally, Spirit Yachts of Ipswich are still steadily building their stunning sailing yachts with a timber superstructure varnished up to a beautiful mirror finish. These are found racing in classic yacht regattas all over the world, and we think they truly are a wonder to behold. Dream or not, could you ever tire of such a masterpiece?
If you love boats as much as Sarum Hydraulics do, visit the blog again next week where there will be more to follow as MD and fellow boat junky JF heads off for round 2 this weekend in Southampton. Otherwise follow our beautifully crafted hydraulics on www.sarum-hydraulics.co.uk.