D-1 (Dazcat 1) 35 year old rocket machine goes racing...

When D-1 found her way back to us in her 30th anniversary year, this rocket-ship that launched Daz's career had been out in the wilderness for a bit too long. But, the decision was made not to leap into a full refit/ update. Instead, the plan was to sail her, see what worked well and what broke, or needed upgrading. That was at the end of 2019, just before COVID, followed by plenty of stop-start and not a great deal of progress until later in the 2022 season when the younger team members and their friends decided to take it on. They started to push both the boat and necessarily, progress updating it. You might imagine, given the context, that these young sailors would have an easy deal of it, but you'd be wrong. Yes, they've been well mentored, but it's a 'hard' mentoring, where they have been encouraged to find their own solutions as well as doing everything on an absolute shoestring budget, no easy handouts. It's an inspirational story of passion, determination, learning and the heart-warming support of the boating and multihull community. D-1 turned 35 in 2023 and this is her 35th birthday story, beautifully lived and told by Luca Stonehouse (Naval Architect at the Multihull Centre) and Peter Russell (Marine Engineering placement from Plymouth University, at the Multihull Centre). In this epic they sailed with friends Jack and Tom, who is (very usefully it turned out) a trainee sailmaker at Highwater Sails. D-1 helped the young Darren Newton to learn more than how to design a great boat. Life skills, excellent seamanship, the power of community and standing firm for your passions and principles. 35 years on and D-1 is still able to deliver on all counts, a proud symbol of all that Dazcat still represents today. Thank you to Team D-1 for taking on this amazing challenge and sharing it with us so honestly. Here's hoping you find that sponsor for this year! Very much thanks also to all of those who showed them kindness and support through this epic adventure. **EDIT** One of the titles in the video says it's the 2024 Nationals and RTI. It isn't - it's the 2023 racing!