Why?

Hi Ginge,

I have never sailed a Vortex but I race against them every week at my club.  Although my club has had the largest fleets of Vortexes in the country, since it was introduced in 2000, it is wrong for people to say they are mainly sailed in the north.

There have been small fleets at a number of clubs, all over the country, and many clubs that have, or have had, one or more members who sail them. 

The clubs include Yorkshire Dales, Filey, Wilsonian, Brightlingsea, Deben, Grafham, N. Herts., Draycote Water, Brampton, Burghfield, Calshot, Stokes Bay, Babbacombe, Bristol Corinthian, Poole, Alton, Teignmouth, Stone, Weston, Lymington Town, Spinnaker, Exe, Starcross, Bewl, Hayling Island, Gunfleet, Chase, Royal Corinthian, Glasgow, Chew Valley, Beaver, Glossop, Bough Beech, Queen Mary, Warsash, Glasson, Bexhill, Aberdeen, Sunderland, Pennine and Bala, just to name a few that I am aware of.

There have been about thirty members of my club who have sailed Vortexes, since 2000 and they have sailed a similar number of boats (some sailors have owned as many as three, at different times, and some boats have gone from the club, and then returned with new owners. Other boats have changed hands between club members).  Our current Vortex fleet is about eleven or twelve and nearly all have kites since they were introduced in about 2004/5.

The sail numbers started at about 1000 in year 2000, and reached about 1226 by about 2004/5, when Laser ceased production of the boat.

Ian  (Yorkshire Dales S.C.)