Chairman of Oyster dismasted on Arc!!!

Raced alongside this boat a couple of times earlier this year. Actually, to put that into perspective, we crossed the start line at about the same time. It is certainly a flying machine.
IIRC they took a higher route than most of the other entrants so probably caught the forecast bad weather.
 
Is everyone drinking the vinegar they are putting through the heads system?

Mr Matthews may have some character defects not liked much around here, and yes he has a succesful commercial venture in Ipswich of all places, but he has a boat which for reasons of his own he decided to build possibly to proto some new ideas. Who knows?
I cant say that I would have no sympathy with anyone who lost a rig in the middle of the Atlantic.
I hope he gets home alright, sharpens the designers pencil , and gets it right next time.
I for one love the Oyster range, and like seeing them on the water. The fact that they are a wee bit offish about letting me tramp round their product at the Boat Show is a legendary laugh. A tradition now.

3 wives the man had had,eh? Sounds just like me. Tee Hee.

Jim
 
Cape Verdes, specialist sail repairs

Called in Cape Verdes some years ago on way back from Cape Town, on a Challenge yacht delivery, with a torn mainsail.
Local guy (on run from wifey & 20 kids on state support in Bedford,UK) volunteered to be our 'agent' for repairs. Brought along the best sailmaker on the island.
Got main off track & laid it on the dockside for repairs to proceed. Imagine our horror & shock when he brought out his specialist 'tools' comprising a hammer & nail (to make the holes for sewing the thread of course).
Sudden & immediate rush to get main back onboard ensued, to be repaired over the next few days by ourselves.
 
Re: Cape Verdes, specialist sail repairs

Jim, nothing to do with vinegar. Just pointing our what a misnomer the ARC has become. Mr Mathews and his ilk are free to race whatever they want wherever they want.

The apparent fact that he was 'invited' further reinforces my view that this event has become more of a commercial stage than a genuine 'cruise in company'.
 
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Y not /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

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I thought the whole point of the arc was a sail in convoy of smaller cruisers say averaging up to 40' with a bit of a race thrown in.

72' yachts do not generally come under the first time needing a bit of confidence crossing I would not have thought.

As usual the big boys take over a once admirable event.
 
sounds like a large case of sour grapes to me .... just cause he`s got a bigger boat than you! ( do you actual sail at all in your "pursuit of pleasure"? ) I doubt it or else surely you would have more respect for ALL sailors wether they use 70 or 17 ft boats.
 
Your assumption that the ARC is for nervous first-timers is way off the mark: almost all skippers are very experienced and many have crossed oceans before. So is the idea that it's for little boats, 40 ft is considered small on the ocean circuit these days. Nor in fact do they sail in convoy but spread out over at least 1000 miles by the end.

And BTW the upper size limits are because of berthing space at the start and finish.
 
I am surprised, I really have got the arc wrong then.

I was not talking nervous new skippers, but first time crossers, I thought that was the whole point, sailing as a flotilla for the added support.

Then what is the point of it? If it is how you describe, what are the skippers paying the lolly for exactly? Seems to me given this information, an expensive way to be told what to carry and be forced to buy overpriced gear.

Am I really so badly informed?
 
Exactly my thoughts.
Do we now have permission to laugh at the dissenters on here when their own rigs come down round their ears?
Oysters have become successful by developing and producing quality products in this country, something to be applauded I reckon.
Anyway Mr Mathews owns a Stella, ergo he must be a good bloke.
 
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sounds like a large case of sour grapes to me .... just cause he`s got a bigger boat than you! ( do you actual sail at all in your "pursuit of pleasure"? ) I doubt it or else surely you would have more respect for ALL sailors wether they use 70 or 17 ft boats.

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Oh ye of little faith I sail a Bowman, so far from sour grapes I consider myself to be fortunate enough to sail a REAL ocean going boat.

In the latest US magazines Sail and Cruising the Oyster 72 is extolled beneath a picture of the now dismasted Oystercatcher xxv, this says nothing about a special carbon build . Is this the normal spec. if I were to order a 72? Somehow I think not, thank god!

It may sound like sour grapes but from a consumers point of view surely he is guilty of bad salesmanship at the very least.

As TCM pointed out, the 'real sailors' amongst us don't all wear Rolex watches and designer yachtie gear, what a shame that Oyster foster the impression that they are only interested in selling to the 'flash harrys' that cross their path at the boat shows. My daughter is a serious potential client but no more would she consider an Oyster, their loss I believe.

By the way I am currently sailing off the coast of Columbia, having covered some 7000 miles this calendar year...
 
The last time I viewed an oyster at LIBS I was totally disappointed in the quality of build and finish.

Having heard all the hype about their high spec, etc I was shocked.

Having just come from viewing the Bowman (which was much more reasonably priced) it was like visiting a completely different planet.

My colleague who was with me, check book at the ready (the main reason for me viewing) also had the same immediate reaction. The staff didn't seem to like being questioned.

We Sweden Yachts and even the Island Packet we felt were better quality products, although we didn't like the shape of the IP.

We both came away wondering what all the hype was about.
 
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Seems to me given this information, an expensive way to be told what to carry and be forced to buy overpriced gear.


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Pretty much spot on!

They also offer the added security of daily radio skeds - like these things would not be around without the ARC.

They offer daiy weather forcasts - know some people who are doing it this year - way off! Seems previous years were no better. What's wrong with Herb?
 
Re: Cape Verdes, specialist sail repairs

Hi Alant'

""Imagine our horror & shock when he brought out his specialist 'tools' comprising a hammer & nail (to make the holes for sewing the thread of course).
Sudden & immediate rush to get main back onboard ensued, to be repaired over the next few days by ourselves. ""

Tee hee!! LOL! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif Some people have all the luck. You managed to get the ONLY hi-tech outfit on the islands then. Can't think why you didn't appreciate it! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
""Oysters have become successful by developing and producing quality products in this country, something to be applauded I reckon.""

Tell that to my friend, who's Oyster Heritage has leaked since the first day he bought it - brand new!
 
"I am surprised, I really have got the arc wrong then."

No Woofy, you haven't got it wrong, at least, not from the ex-ARC owners/crews I've spoken to over the years. As it happens, only one crew had long distance experience and none had done a trans-At.

Of course like any sample, it could be wildly unrepresentative, but IMHO, the original aim of the ARC has now substantially changed for the worse.
 
One windy and wet SBS I was staggering, not through Guinness, but because of the bucking bronco pontoons past an Oyster and giving it a critical eye. Imagine my surprise that I was invited to "come aboard and have a look". I am not sure whether this was because I looked as if I had the requisite number of 000,000s, had been seen having a thorough look at a Wauquiez Pilot House creation berthed just in front, I berth my boat at Fox's (I didnt recognise the sailsman, sorry salesperson), or he was just bored at lack of custom. Any way I had a good look round. Incidentally Oysters are still in business, but Bowmans failed-perhaps their prices were too low!
The science of carbon masts is still imprecise. You only have to watch a fleet of Merlin Rockets on a very windy day to assess that. One of our Club members has had three carbon masts break in 2 years, usually where fittings are attached.
 
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