Interesting that the RYA has some sort of association with this exhibition.
Turn the clock back to late 99. We (Reefer Racing) are invited to attend a meeting in London to discuss raising the powerboat racing profile by the former RYA Powerboat Racing Manager by attending the Autosport 2000 Show. Others at the meeting included representatives from Formula 4 Stroke (Honda), JSRA (jet ski racing), V24, inshore circuit and others which I don't recall at the moment.
We were told that it would be a great opportunity to show powerboat racing in all its glory to the masses and were asked to supply video of our various companies/organisations which would be compiled and edited and be shown at the event. The boats from the various disiplines would be exhibited and a fair amount of time was spent on how the allocated space would be best utilised. We would have had the biggest boat there (The Reefer) and although it would not fit on the stand, it was agreed that it would be shown on the concourse. All the invitees agreed with the concept in general and left with what could be best described as guarded optimism.
A letter from the RYA soon followed and the 'contributions' expected of each of the participants was included. It became obvious that the participants were expected to foot the bill for this RYA 'initiative' which grudgingly we all did. Is was after the fact that I discovered the RYA contribution for this 'initiative' was the sum total of nil.
The final insult for us came as we were told we could not exhibit our boat as it was too big but at that time we had paid our money and I got to stand around there for two days with a model of 'Thunderbird' perched on the deck of a Honda 130 race boat.
And people ask me why I hate the RYA.
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I thought that having more patience was a result of my getting older. Turns out that I just don't give a sh*t.
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