Fairey Owners Club members celebrated sixty years of the
Huntress motor cruiser at Hamble Point Marina on 22 June.
To honour this timeless classic 17 boats and 65 members of
the Fairey Owners Club gathered for a lunchtime BBQ, while
boats on display included every model from the Huntress to the
last production boat produced by Fairey Marine,.
“The Huntress was really the starting point for modern motor
cruisers, and it is a reasonable statement to say that most
planing powerboats, RIBs and raceboats can trace their DNA
back to that initial constant deadrise hull form launched in 1959
by Fairey Marine,” said Chris Davey, Treasurer of the Fairey
Owners Club. "We would like to thank MDL for its continued
support and making important events like this possible.”
The Huntress was developed from a Ray Hunt ‘Deep V’
design in the 1950s in response to demand for fast motor boats.New J Class Association technical director Chris Todter
(pictured below) is overseeing updates to the Class Rule.
"What we are seeking to do is minimise any arms race," he says.
"Racing has to be fair and fun or owners don't stay with the
class for long. The boats are so diff erent that the idea is to
improve the handicapping technology by scanning the hull
shapes of each of the boats and using more advanced CFD to
better know the drag and the actual righting moments of each
boat. We are working with a 20 per cent diff erence in
displacement, so we are trying to employ the best technology
to deliver the most accurate handicapping."
The fi rst J to be scanned is Topaz, but all of the active fl eet will
be scanned in the near future.A successful emergency appeal that raised more than £1m in
a week in July means the Jubilee Sailing Trust will continue to
operate in spite of fi nancial woes that had threatened the
charity’s existence.
However, the trustees of the charity off ering sailing
opportunities to the disadvantaged and disabled on the tall
ships Tenacious and Lord Nelson recognise the crisis raises
questions about the viability of their operating strategy.
James Crill, chairman of the trustees, described the appeal
response as “‘very moving”.
“We now need to sustain the momentum created by the
success of the Emergency Appeal and work hard to secure
the strongest possible future for our mission,” he said. “It is
clear that we cannot continue as we are, and need to make
some radical decisions. Amongst many, some of the
considerations include the number of ships in service, their
programme and our mix of activities.”
The Trustees have appointed a sub-committee to urgently
evaluate the various options for getting the organisation onto
a stronger footing going forward – both in terms of mission
impact and fi nancial standing. The trustees have also moved
to temporarily protect any new funds generated from
donations or voyage bookings. A more detailed statement
was due as CB closed for press.FAIREY OWNERS CLUB
Celebrating 60 years
J-CLASS
Hull scans for fairer racingJUBILEE SAILING TRUST
Donors raise £1m in a
week to save charity
MDLCBARCHIVESJUBILEE SAILING TRUSTTELL TALES