Old 15s never die! They simply sail away… Article by Simon Thompson FFI webmaster Flying 15s continue to spread and here is a tale of how some older boats from Australia found a new home in Canada, providing enjoyment to a group of women at Saltspring Island SC. Their boats are all older 15s from Australia, who assisted in getting these boats across the sea. The video featured covers their establishment at Saltsprings SC, as does the document attached. Here are their experiences in their own words: Cruising – we sleep in our F15s – we organize small boat cruises once a month – it’s amazing as all F15s plus some very cool wooden boats from 1800s. Racing – we race every Friday with our Coach, and once a week with the sailing club races and have had our first informal two-day race series- will be doing this once a month starting May – Sept. We chose F15 because it is easy to sail!! And once we get more skilled, it is challenging to sail well! And it doesn’t flip over (easily). The F15 race n’ cruise team is all women – when someone can’t participate due to grand kids or kids or community responsibilities or travel etc – then a few guys kindly help us make sure all boats are participating. In addition, a long term F15 and small boat sailor, Martin Herbert , has taken out pretty well every one of us fans showing us how much fun it is to sail a F15. He has been incredibly supportive in all aspects – maintenance, rigging, sail maintenance, sailing techniques, tips, inspiration – AMAZING resource. Jillian Oakes said “I bought my F15 Robyn Hopd from Lawrie Neish – a huge suppprter and promoter of F15s – Lawrie has produced numerous parts on his lathe – needed to keep the fleet sailing”. “Simon Wheeler bought Bluebird from Lawrie, and kindly lets us gals use it as well when he’s not sailing. “Having FUN is our mantra – we LOVE that our sails are from AUS – we sail them proudly with AUS large n’ clear thanking the amazing Australian sailors for their generosity. “The New Zealand F15 sailors have been incredibly supportive – letting us sail with them in Nationals, coming over to coach us, sending us tips – sooooo coooool to have so many gals sailing in NZ – very inspiring for us gals “[it would be] awesome if a Gr Br sailor was able to include n’ coach one of us in the Worlds. Nikki is a super competent international sailing competitor who would love to be included in the F15 Worlds in August! She just needs a boat and a partner and wouldn’t need much coaching! “Excited to hear from you.” So UK F15 sailors there is a challenge – a good crew ready to compete in the International Championship. Why not give them a friendly “wave” and get in touch on their Facebook page. Additional Videos: Kristi first time sailing solo: https://youtu.be/xqhaQ_TB0bc Nov 10 regatta first race: https://youtu.be/3l0XKQdoPnY Nov 24 regatta second race: https://youtu.be/NNlRDZ9VDoI
