Whilst a virtual boat show is not something any of us had envisioned pre-2020, it was brilliant for the sailing world that the event was able to go ahead and give us a good start to the 2021 sailing season. With 8,000 people registering and over 12,000 logins throughout the weekend, it was certainly well received and appreciated.
Rob Clarke, the director of sport development at the RYA said, ‘It was fantastic to see such great engagement with both the speakers and exhibitors and for the Dinghy Show content to be accessible to so many sailors all over the world. There is definitely a real buzz to get back on the water when we are able to!”
Amongst the events, there were definitely some great highlights, including a chat with Olympic Gold medallist Hannah Mills, who is preparing for Tokyo 2020, a presentation from Kate Fortnam at The Green Blue discussing how we can continue to help protect the environment, and the live final of the eSailing Winter Club Championship.
Additionally the RYA and Yachts & Yachting Club of the Year winner was announced! A huge congratulations to Port Dinorwic Sailing Club / Clwb Hwylio Y Felinheli!
In summary, it seems that the RYA Dinghy show was a great success! Moving forward it can be a great inspiration to other shows who would like to do something similar, and advertise the show to a worldwide audience. The virtual platform will remain available for a month, so if anyone had signed up but missed some of the talks, they can catch up here: https://ryadinghyshow.vfairs.com/en/login
