MDL Hamble Point Marina Hosts Fairey Owners’ Club Celebration

On June 22, United Kingdom-based, MDL Marinas’ Hamble Point Marina hosted the Fairey Owners Club’s celebration of 60 years of the elegant Fairey Huntress motor cruiser.

To honor this classic, 17 boats and 65 members of the Fairey Owners Club gathered for a lunchtime BBQ outside MDL’s head office at Hamble Point Marina. The boats on display included one of every model from the Huntress to the last Fairey Marine production boat, showcasing the complete history of the company.

“We were delighted to be able to celebrate this amazing anniversary at Hamble Point, where it all began 60 years ago,” said Chris Davey, treasurer of the Fairey Owners Club. “The Huntress was really the starting point for modern motor cruisers, and it is a reasonable statement to say that most planing powerboats, RIBs and race boats can trace their DNA back to that initial constant deadrise hull form launched in 1959 by Fairey Marine.”

The Fairey Owners Club combined its summer rally and concours d’elegance to form this unique celebration and awards event. Trophies were awarded to various people in recognition of the work they do to keep their aging boats underway.

The Fairey Huntress was developed by Fairey Marine from a Ray Hunt ‘Deep V’ design in the late 1950s in response to the demand at that time for fast motorboats. This single engine motor cruiser soon became synonymous with style and performance after being launched onto the world stage with a starring role in the 1963 James Bond film, “From Russia with Love.”

Following this, Fairey Marine, originally based at Hamble Point, was at one time the world’s largest boat manufacturer outside of the United States, selling up to a thousand boats a year across the range.

MDL Marinas manages 18 marinas in the United Kingdom and one each in Italy and Spain. In addition, the group offers members 120 destinations through its Freedom Berthing program.