All beginnings are difficult - and above all, one delay should follow the other,
which, however, should prove to be an advantage in the end.
Shortly after our return from Gibraltar, the global financial crisis that had been simmering since 2007 reached its spectacular and temporary climax with the collapse of Lehmann Brothers in mid-September 2008. This affected us insofar as a project for a 25' DSS sports boat, in which we wanted to participate, was cancelled. For the time being, nothing was going on - apparently for an uncertain period of time, as we soon realized.
In 2009 during the spring there were signals again. Australian Kevin Costin (everyone calls him Kos), a long-time friend of Hugh Welbourn, began building the 25' DSS sportboat for a New Zealand airline pilot living in Hong Kong, which had been awaiting realization since 2007.
Hugh told us what the brief from Paul Murphy the client was:
"I want the fastest possible sportsboat in the size of about 25 feet." What sounded like a joke was meant seriously.
We liked that and hoped to commission another example of this boat. However, we already knew then that this could take time, because Kos wanted to build the foiled "Welbourn 25" in his "spare time". Completion was scheduled for January 2010.
I had to be there (absolutely) and planned a trip to the east coast of Australia, where I would meet Kos and Hugh. Unfortunately, the planning was too optimistic and the test was cancelled. It was disappointing, of course. But at least the shell of the 25' was in the rough and it was interesting to see how the boat was constructed, examine it up close and have Hugh and Kos explain the features.
It turned out that the delays also had their good sides. We were able to see how the boat was finally completed and how it sailed and we learned a lot about DSS thanks to the interpretation of photos and clips accompanied by Hugh's comments.
In the end we were actually really happy. On the one hand, the financial crisis gave us a bit more weight as a client at the Welbourn design office, because most of the other projects were frozen, and on the other hand, after a few more months, we saw that the "Welbourn 25" didn't quite live up to what was supposed to make us successful on the lakes of Central Europe.
The topic "Foils" is still very new for many - we are happy to share our knowledge and experience with you.