You've heard the rumours.... even seen the boat on the stand at the Dinghy Show.

Dinghy Sailing Magazine though has gone one better and become the first publication to sail the boat. The occasion was the French Olympic Regatta at Hyeres, a location that delivered almost perfect conditions for a quick sail with sunshine and 10-12kts.

David Henshall, who was at Hyeres covering the regatta for Dinghy Sailing Magazine, came ashore after sailing the D-One with an 'ear to ear' grin. He found the boat well balanced and stable enough to give confidence to helms who have yet to sail a single handed dinghy with a spinnaker. Yet, when a few gusts came through, the boat delivered just the sort of controllable excitement that should help make this new boat a success.

David went on to say, "one of the interesting features of the D-One is the full width traveller. For a whole generation of sailors, who have grown up using strops or hoops, they've got a really pleasant surprise, as they find just how good a well sorted traveller is at controlling a big rig. This was really noticeable when reaching without the spinnaker, which is normally a weakness in the new breed of skiff style boats. I found the combination of using the traveller, plus the inherent feeling that the boat is always wanting to 'get up and go' made for fast -yet pleasureable sailing. I felt at home in the boat within the first 5 minutes. I want to sail this again....."

We know that David had jumped at the chance of sailing the boat, even though it was still a pre-production model. Once the final versions of the boat start rolling off the production line this summer, DSM will be there to conduct a detailed test sail. We might even let David have another go!!!