Visit to RS Sailing and Ovington Boats

West Coast Sailing Takes Over The United Kingdom

George and Phil recently packed their bags and headed to the United Kingdom for some sailing and vendor visits. The boys flew into Edinburgh and spent a week driving south through Scotland, Wales, and England. Yes, they did manage to drive almost 1,300 miles on the "wrong" side of the road and not cause too much chaos. In addition to the castles, rolling fields, back roads, and pubs, they stopped at Ovington Boats in Newcastle and RS Sailing in Southampton. Both Ovington and RS are industry leaders in dinghy manufacturing and produce some of the best small boats in the world.

Ovington Boats - Newcastle, England

Based in Newcastle upon Tyne in the north part of England, Ovington is a known around the world for building high quality dinghies and performance sailboats. Their collection of more than twelve production boats includes the 29er, 49er, Musto Skiff, and VX One. George and Phil met with Chis, Nathan, and Nigel to talk about the company, walk through the building process, and discuss plans for the future. Their facility is impressive and the attention to detail really comes through in the finished product. We're proud to work with Ovington and offer the best 29ers here in North America.

RS Sailing - Southampton, England

From youth trainers to performance skiffs, RS Sailing offers a small sailboat for every need. We've worked with RS for a number of years to help grow the brand in North America and get more people on the water. Headquartered outside Southampton, the RS Sailing facility is awe inspiring. From design and marketing down to warehouse and order fulfillment, the RS team works hard to service sailors around the world. Innovation and big plans for the future are apparent at RS, as is a history of more than 20 years of producing awesome small sailboats. Check out some photos from their headquarters:

Sailing the RS Aero - Hayling Island Sailing Club

Hayling Island is located just east of Portsmouth and home to the Hayling Island Sailing Club. There are literally hundreds of RS boats at this club! The RS team rolled out the red carpet, providing boats, gear, and a chase boat. George and Phil suited up in drysuits and headed out to bomb around in the new RS Aero, trying out each of the three rig sizes. The boat has been demoed all over the UK, but our boys were the first North Americans to give it a spin. Initial reaction with nothing short of pure exhilaration! They also had the opportunity to sail the new RS Venture keel with sailability package.

The sailing industry is a global one and we have the privilege of working with great people around the world. It can be hard work and not without it's share of problems, but at the end of the day we love what we do and wouldn't have it any other way. We are blessed with unique experiences, great business partners and friends, and the opportunity to support the sport and way of life we love each and every day. A word of thanks to everyone at Ovington and RS for letting us visit, showing us around, and keeping us motivated to keep working hard. The future is bright for dinghy sailing!