A flying visit to the Dusseldorf Boat Show by Andy Horwood and Peter Sands

Having heard that the new Maxi 1200 was to be on display at the Dusseldorf Boat Show, Peter and I got talking about whether it was feasible to go out to the show and get a first look for ourselves. After a few drinks following the recent committee meeting, it seemed more and more of a good idea and before we knew it, flights and a hotel were booked for a ‘boys weekend’ away.

An early start on Saturday morning saw us at Heathrow for the 8 o’clock flight to Dusseldorf. Having taken off on time, we were looking forward to a full day at the show; it was then that the announcement came over that Dusseldorf airport had been closed due to snow and there would be a delay of around 45 minutes while they cleared the runway! After about 30 minutes the announcement came to prepare for landing and we began to look forward to the day ahead. No sooner had the wheels been lowered than the plane suddenly accelerated and climbed; more snow on the runway and a further delay. About another 30 minutes passed before it was announced that the runway was still closed and we were diverting the Hannover for more fuel! An hour or so on the ground at Hannover and it was announced that we were off, but as it was now snowing at Hannover the plane would have to be de-iced before take-off. After some rather alarming spraying with de-icer, we took off for the short flight to Dusseldorf. A final delay while they found some steps for the plane and we got off at last, only three hours late!  Continue reading →