Reply To: Anyone in Scotland still sailing?
Hi John,
I’ve been reading your posts on the UK OK Association website forum and am interested in seeing a renewal of interest in our class in Scotland. Good to see you have now “picked up” your orange OK and will proceed with the necessary work to get it back on the water. Hopefully you will continue to keep us up to date with your efforts via the forum.
Sounds like you are based around the Firth of Tay area on the east coast of Scotland so might not be so easy for you to get to Largs. However, if you can make it, the GBR OK members will be there in a couple of weeks for an event with the Finns over the week-end of 21-22 May. This would be a good opportunity for you to meet up with some of the blokes who have been exchanging views with you on the forum. You could also check out some of the current boats and take some photos of the rigs etc. to assist you with the restoration of your boat. The GBR members are very helpful and will offer any assistance necessary with your endeavours to “kick start” the local OK fleet in Scotland. Good luck with your efforts in this regard.
Here in Australia I’ve been sailing OKs for the past 40 years and have enjoyed every season. Our OKDIA activities over the years have given us the opportunity to meet many OK sailors from other countries at our International events. This is one of the unique features of our class as you don’t need to be a “superstar” to compete in our events. If you haven’t already done so you can catch up with our Australian activities on http://www.ok.yachting.org.au
If interested, have a look at our latest project with the timber “kit” boat via the link http://www.ok.yachting.org.au/default.asp?Page=52418
There are some photos of the finished hull to give you an idea of what can be achieved using this construction method to build a relatively low cost timber boat. If you do find some like-minded OK folk with some moderate wood working skills this could be a good way of building up a local fleet of amateur built boats. Might be another worthwhile winter project for “Dad’s Army” at the Royal Tay Yacht Club!
Cheers, Bill Tyler
AUS 692 – “Dining with the Devil”
