As we all know Seabird class is the oldest design of sailing boat and if I am right it exists only in Mumbai. The new fleet of Seabirds built by XS Marines has revolutionized and revived club racing. Performance and feel has been improved vastly without sacrificing safety cruising standards. Be it Weekend triangle loop course or long races the boat performs magnificently especially in light winds. Thanks to the responsive feel and boat tuning it has helped our team attain many top finishes. These new boats have got back the competitiveness to Seabird class Regattas. I do hope XS Marines continue the improvements / quality upgrade and keep the Mumbai sailing Heritage alive. Cheers.

I sailed the new lightning MARLIN and following are my views on the same:
1. Outstanding international finish
2. Amazing speed and feel in spite of old sails
3. Very dinghy like response and need active inputs by Helm and Crew
Negative:
1. Rudder not as responsive as the boat performance. Boat feels like a dinghy but rudder response feels like the older boats, not feather touch feel.
2. The steel fittings on storage are sticking out and keep scratching the crew all the time, need to be magnetic instead.
3. The Main Sail sheet system again feels like old boat hence maybe the rudder response feel slow and heavy.

Overall 4 star out of 5

– Sanjeev Chaudhari – Active sailor and member of Royal Bombay Yacht Club