G´day,

Blind Date was launched last month in front of 100 people, one of
whom was the local mayor who conferred on Jan the Dutch equivalent
of a knighthood. Not for being smart enough to own the first
Visionarry afloat, but for 40 years of helping blind people sail.

The owner, builder, design team and virtually everyone who has seen
the boat agree it looks stunning. So much better looking down on a
floating boat than up at one in the shed.

The most gratifying thing for me was the weight, since confirmed by
a second set of scales. 1,700 kgs/3,740 lbs. The rig and rudders
will take it to 2 tonnes/tons. As far as I know, there is not
another sailing boat in the world boasting 2 queen size beds, full
headroom and a covered cockpit for 8 people which weighs as little.
Add in a 50´/15m waterline and the fact that it is mostly cedar,
glass and plywood and Jan and Rudolph have achieved a remarkable
craft.

Almost as remarkable was Blind Date´s appearance on
www.sailinganarchy.com apparently the world´s most read sailing web
page. The remarkable thing was not that it appeared so much as it
was entirely without prompting on our part. I suspect this is near
unique in the boating media.

I hope to be kiting on Blind Date next week. I should have some
more pictures and impressions then.

Youri and Miriam, the builders of the production Elementarry in
Belgium have rightly decided that a perfect mould is more important
than sailing a less than perfect prototype, so the first boat will
not be sailing till later this summer. The plugs are flawless, and
we have come up with a slew of ideas for making construction
lighter, faster and cheaper. The 100 kg/220 lb proa which can go
from trailer to sailing in 10 minutes is closer than ever.

The Visionarry we have been building in Coffs Harbour is scheduled
for launching next week. It has to go over some high trees, then
down a narrow, shallow, unmarked channel through a breaking bar,
which should add a touch of spice to the occasion.

Pictures of all the above and more details will be in the next web
update.

Regards,

Rob