Melges Performance Sailboats Launches in the UK
by Melges UK 11 Dec 01:00 NZDT
World-renowned American sailboat builder, Melges, opened a new dealership back in January located in Port Hamble, Hampshire. Melges has been delivering high quality boats around the world since 1945 and has an experienced, knowledgeable team with a passion for sailing.
Melges UK is the newest international dealer of the Melges 15, Melges 14 dinghies, Skeeta foiling craft, Melges 24 and the Melges 625c RIB. It is headed up by Shaun Priestley and Isaac Marsh, who have strong dinghy racing backgrounds internationally. Shaun is also an experienced sailing coach, working with sailors at junior, youth and senior levels over the last 10 years. He works with the Bermudan sailing team and supported sailors representing Bermuda and Germany at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Boat of the Year
The Melges 15 was named Boat of the Year in 2022 by Sailing World. It's a two-person dinghy that is fun to sail and designed for family-orientated sailing. It's stable and forgiving so is accessible to sailors with a wide range of sailing abilities but is still exciting to race.
"The Melges 15 is a modern boat with exceptional performance for its ease of sailing", says Isaac Marsh, Head of Sales at Melges UK. "It perfectly ticks the weight category box for partners, younger teams, or friends that may be otherwise too big or small for the current asymmetric boats on the market. With the M15 being a Melges product, the build quality is outstanding, giving customers a product they can have complete faith in at a very affordable price."
"I'm excited by the opportunity of working with such a renowned brand and bringing more Melges boats to the UK," he added.
Coming to the end of our fist year with the Melges 15, boats have been sailed at various clubs and events over the summer, including:
- Weymouth & Portland National Sailing Academy
- Lymington Town Regatta
- Netley Sailing Club
- Leigh & Lowton Sailing Club
- Hamble River
- Northampton Sailing Club
- Bala Sailing Club - Bala Long Distance Weekend
- Ullswater Yacht Club - Lord Birkett Trophy
- Chichester Harbour Race Week - Hayling Island Sailing Club
- Bassenthwaite Sailing Club
You can take a close look at the Melges 15 and meet the team at The RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show at Farnborough on 22 - 23 February 2025.
A demo boat is also available to sail at Port Hamble, and you can find out more at melgesuk.co.uk or by emailing