The sun shone on Haslar Marina, Portsmouth as the MBY Readers' Sea Trial 2016 proved a great success
Our Readers’ Sea Trial Day proved a massive hit with MBY readers at Haslar Marina, Portsmouth.
Ripping across the challenging waters of the Solent with the sun in the sky and the spray on your face is not a bad way to spend a Saturday.
Boats trialled by the readers included the Axopar 24 T-Top, Broom 370, Botnia Targa 30, English Harbour Yachts 29, Nimbus 365 Coupe and the Sealine C330.
A group of readers head out on the Axopar 24
Our exclusive event gives MBY readers the chance to sea trial a range of models from different manufacturers. Local brokers were also on hand to advise on technical issues and help readers make informed decisions about their next purchase.
And readers who came along certainly enjoyed themselves.
“Just a short thank you for the brilliant day today. It was a really useful exercise for anyone looking to purchase another boat,” said Steve and Lynn Hillard.
“Thanks for a great day out, beautifully organised, pleasantly casual and nice people,” said Richard Lewis.
The Axopar 24 entertains with its speed and agile handling
“Thanks for a great day yesterday,” said John Newman, who was primarily interested in testing the C330, but also trying out different types of boat to make sure he wasn’t just buying another Sealine because it’s what he is comfortable with.
“The English Harbour Yacht 29 was much better in the flesh than in pictures and I was very impressed with the build quality and layout,” he said.
The English Harbour leads the group out of Portsmouth Harbour
Nigel Northeast meanwhile would like to express his ‘total thanks’ for such a well-organised event.
“It isn’t very often that we should have an opportunity to sample potential quality boats and I found it invaluable when researching my homework to be able to compare these possibilities for a future purchase in, hopefully, three years’ time,” he said.
Peter, Kim and Piers Angeli extended a big ‘thank you’ to Hugo and the MBY team and Haslar Marina, as well as the skippers and owners who lent their boats and gave their valuable weekend time to host such a successful day.
Readers inspect the engineroom of the Botnia Targa 30
“Inspirational decision to postpone the original date in July to what turned out to be a glorious British Summer’s day in August – not often you think you need sun cream, sadly a retrospective thought!” said Peter.
Watch out for a full report and pictures of the day and the comments of those who took part in the next issue of Motor Boat & Yachting magazine.
