Sail1Design Editor

Antilles School Wins Baker US High School Team Racing National Championship

May 25, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

Miami, FL– 5/24/2021 Antilles School of St. Thomas, USVI prevailed in the 12-team Baker TR National Championship held at Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, FL this past weekend. Conditions were excellent both days, with a full round-robin sailed on Saturday in a NE wind 15-23 knots, and on Sunday the NE winds were down around 9-13 knots. Sunday’s double-round robin for the top 4 was not to be, as a 3-team tiw-breaker for 4th place ate up all of the morning sailing. In the end, Antilles sailed calmly, worked together brilliantly and topped home team Ransom Everglades in a best-of-three sail-off to claim the title. Their team is a worthy championship group. Finishing 3rd overall was Severn School from Annapolis, MD.

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: Fleet Manager/Adult Sailing Director

May 25, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

Lakewood yacht Club is hiring a full-time Fleet Manager/Adult Sailing Director. The Fleet Manager/Adult Sailing Director is responsible for the general care and operation of the Club’s fleet of boats and adult sailing programs. Primary responsibilities include creating and promoting opportunities for members to sail, coordinating regattas, maintaining club owned boats, managing charters, and coaching. The position is year-round with flexible hours including evenings and weekends. The position reports to the LYC Waterfront Director. For more information and to apply, please see our full job ad HERE.
Lakewood is a private, member-owned yacht club that offers its members a broad spectrum of sailing and boating activities that include award-winning youth and club racing, as well as cruising activities. From the shores of Clear Lake in Seabrook, Texas, which was named the best city to live in Texas, the Club proudly hosts world-class regattas, various social activities and community events. Our Clubhouse offers fine and casual dining and ample areas to unwind after a day on the bay or in the office. Make Lakewood your home away from home where you can relax with friends, enjoy one of our planned social events or rendezvous, spend a peaceful weekend in paradise or test your sailing prowess competing in one of our exciting regattas.

The Club is open to our members Wednesday through Sunday with specific hours for our dining and bar service. Click here for dining and bar hours.

Lakewood Yacht Club’s mission is to provide an exclusive yachting environment for the benefit of our members. The club endeavors to satisfy diverse social and recreational needs while fostering a spirit of camaraderie. Member participation ensures that the club provides services and facilities that cater to their mutual interests.

2021 505 East Coast Championship Results & Report

May 24, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

2021 505 East Coast Championship, West River Sailing Club, May 20-23

A small but very competitive fleet met at West River Sailing Club in Galesville, MD for the 2021 East Coast Championships. The two-time World Champ (and West Coast interloper) team of Mike Holt and Carl Smit, in their first outing in their newly acquired “East Coast boat” faced off against former World Champ Ethan Bixby sailing with Chris Brady, and former North American Champs Mike Zani and Peter Alarie, back sailing together after a 25 year hiatus.

Regatta PRO Heidi Bay and her team set Day 1 up on WRSC’s middle course in a light southeasterly. With the top mark against a point headland and multiple current streams across the course, the boats that decided “right is right” started off strongly, with Holt and Smit taking a solid lead despite their West Coast crew weight.

One of the unique features of the 505 Class is daily debriefs after each day of racing, with the day’s best boats openly sharing insights on the day’s difference makers. Holt and Smit preached patience and letting the boat respond to changes in pressure as one of their top keys from the day, and teams had an immediate opportunity to implement this technique the next day.

Day 2 featured a wildly shifting westerly on the inside course. Locals Barney Harris and RJ Bay rallied to second overall on the back of a 1-2 day, with Holt and Smit suffering a rare off day to spend most of their lead. Zani/Alarie and Bixby/Brady had consistent finishes to create a 4 way battle at the top of the leader board, with other teams coming into contention as well.

Sunday’s fresher WNW breeze sent the fleet to the outside course for more classic open water 505 sailing. Inconsistent pressure and big shifts made for interesting racing that awarded decisive and aggressive strategy. Zani and Alarie made their best play for the series win, scoring 1-1-3 on the day, closely followed by Bixby/Brady with 2-2-2. Holt and Smit, however, did just enough to hold on to a 1 point series lead.

The next stop for the fleet is the Wickford Regatta in RI on June 5&6. The Class will be hosting its 2021 North American Championship in Newport this fall, so expect to see a bunch of teams getting an early look at Narragansett Bay 505 conditions.

Pos,Sail, Boat, Skipper, Yacht Club, Results, Total Points
1. 9072, Carl Smit, Carl Smit, Carl Smit, 2-1-3-2-3-[7]-3-4-1- ; 19
2. 8965, Quahog, Mike Zani, Tiverton YC, [8]-2-5-1-4-3-1-1-3- ; 20
3. USA 8715, Pressure Drop, Ethan Bixby, SPSC, [6]-4-1-5-5-1-2-2-2- ; 22
4. USA 8643, 10% for the Big Guy, Barney Harris, WRSC & PRSA, 1-7-6-4-1-2-[9]-7-6- ; 34
5. 9165, Boaty Mcboatface, Curtis Hartmann, Eastport YC/WRSC, 5-3-2-7-6-4-[8]-8-5- ; 40
6. 8951, Toxic Masculinity, David Kirkpatrick, Sail Newport, [9]-6-8-3-2-5-7-3-8- ; 42
7. 8930, 8930, Duane Delfosse, LSYC, 7-[9]-9-9-7-6-5-6-4- ; 53
8. 8883, Jane’s Addiction, Michael Renda, WRSC, 3-5-7-8-8-10-11-10-[16/DNF]- ; 62
9. 8814, Sojourner, Lin Robson, SPSC, 4-8-10-6-10-11-6-9-[16/DNF]- ; 64
10. USA 9041, Bench Mark, Henry Amthor, Hampton YC, [16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-11-8-4-5-7- ; 83
11. 8767, Anbu B Team, Matthew Breton, WRSC, 10-10-4-10-9-9-[16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS- ; 84
12. 90951, , Robert Hoffman, WRSC, [16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-12-12-10-11-9- ; 102
13. USA 9095, Highway 95 Revisited, G Nelson, West River, [16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS- ; 128T
14. 9139, Wild Thing, Jackson Montague, WRSC, [16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS- ; 128T
15. 8987, Lookadatla, Peter Scannell, monkstown bay sailing club, [16/DNS]-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS-16/DNS- ; 128T

We’re Back! HS/College Sailing and the Long Path Out

May 22, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

By Airwaves writer Katie Bauer
College and high school Nationals are taking place this year after a Covid-induced hiatus in 2020. College championships are currently underway in Annapolis, MD, and high school championships will commence May 22nd and 23rd in Miami, FL. This is an exciting time for students and their coaches since sailors appreciate any opportunity to compete at a high level, however, actual participation in the races is not a foregone conclusion for everyone as the pandemic’s effects have disparate consequences for those involved.

Ken Legler is the Head Coach at Tufts University in the Boston area. He has held this position for over 40 years and has seen the school win 20 national championships (across a variety of categories) during his tenure. Considering he was previously head coach at the US Merchant Marine Academy, this year’s venue of the US Naval Academy seems well suited for him. Tufts University administration made the decision about whether its athletes could compete, and when sailors were granted permission, Ken was happy.

According to Ken, it’s been a tough year. His top woman skipper is not in school and therefore unable to compete. His coaching model relies on being able to race Flying Juniors and 420s every weekend, but since regattas have been reduced by 75% this spring, his practice plans had to shift. The thought of Nationals is therefore a welcome reprieve from the harsh reality of what his program has been dealing with. Though he admits, “It’s not as special winning or doing well with so many great teams not here.” Ever the pragmatist, he concludes, “Then again, we would have had more trouble qualifying had they been.”

Rob Hurd is Waterfront Director at Tabor Academy, an international school on Buzzards Bay. When not coaching sailing, Rob teaches Physics and Nautical Science, serves on the Interscholastic Sailing Association and New England Schools Sailing Association boards, and runs a boys’ dorm on the school’s campus. All of this activity gives Rob a broad perspective and allows him to understand why Tabor is not competing in both high school Nationals this year.

Because Tabor is a boarding school, there are extra considerations when it comes to the safety and security of its students. If an individual in its community gets Covid, that can affect the entire boarding population. Travel to Miami for the Baker would mean a series of negative PCR tests upon return as well as having to quarantine for 5-7 days, which does not seem fair to seniors in the final days of their high school careers.

In spite of new regulations, Rob is optimistic. Tabor saw healthy interest in its sailing program this year, which he theorizes could be due to the pleasant conditions that freshmen experienced out on the water last fall. He’s simply glad they “got the bug.” As for the Baker, he calmly said, “We accept it and we chose to move on. Growth and improvement as well as getting kids on the water are the goals this year.” Instead, they’ll hope to qualify for the Mallory in Cleveland as that will be post-graduation and therefore safer for campus.

Meanwhile over in Annapolis, Ken is either out on the water or grabbing sustenance at Chick & Ruth’s. Competition is fierce but a man’s got to eat. Stay well, Ken, and good luck to all the sailors out there!

College of Charleston Wins College Sailing Women’s National Championship

May 21, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

ANNAPOLIS, M.D. (May 20, 2021) – Racing concluded today in the College Sailing Women’s National Championship hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy. After two days of challenging racing in light breeze, the College of Charleston came away as the winners of the national championship and the Gerald C. Miller Trophy.

The racing over the last two days brought light winds and shifty conditions. The first day was all about boat speed and the Boston College sailors excelled at this winning the day – although closely followed by the College of Charleston, Tulane University, Stanford University and the U.S. Naval Academy – in the top five.

The sailors completed 10 races in each division on the first day of competition and 6 races today for a regatta total of 16 races in each division. The sailors raced in Navy’s Z420s and Georgetown University’s Club Flying Juniors (FJs) on the Severn River. The Annapolis Yacht Club, Severn Sailing Association, Eastport Yacht Club and the Annapolis Sailing School supported Navy by storing boats and hosting four schools on their property each day to allow for proper distancing.

Going into the racing today the top five teams were close on the scoreboard. Boston College was leading the College of Charleston by 27 points, but today the conditions were shiftier and more dynamic and less about straight line speed, so the competitors saw less consistent finishes.

In the second to last race of the day Boston College was only one point ahead of Charleston and Tulane was trailing by only six points. The regatta came down to the last race and any of the three teams could have won it. In the end Charleston came out on top only one point ahead of Tulane and Boston College finished three points behind Tulane.

Boston College won the Ann Campbell Trophy for finishing in third place overall.

“We had a battle out there,” says Greg Wilkinson, head coach for Boston College. “We have a young team of women sailors and they did a great job, we were so glad to be in the position that we were in and it may not have been the result we wanted, but it was perfect sports on the water.”

“I am very happy for the ICSA to be able to have a proper double handed national championship and Navy worked very hard to make this happen and they did an excellent job,” says Wilkinson.

Sailing for Boston College was Colleen O’Brien ’24 with Michaela O’Brien ’24 in A-division and Libby Redmond ’24 with Katelyn McGauley ’24 in B-division.

Winning the New England Women’s Trophy is Tulane University finishing in second place overall.

“Our team is thrilled to have closed out the championship strongly today,” says Charles Higgins, head coach for Tulane. “We wanted to stay loose and confident knowing it would be a long day, and the ladies really put together a terrific performance.”

“This is a great step for the program, and it took our whole team to get to this level,” says Higgins. “We’re certainly excited about the direction the program is headed.”

Sailing for Tulane was Ciara Rodriguez-Horan ’22 with Grace Siwicki ’22 in A-division and Caroline Benson ’23 with Andrea Riefkohl Gonzalez ’24 in B-division.

The College Sailing Women’s National Champion and winners of the Gerald C. Miller Trophy is the College of Charleston. This is the third time that the team has won this title.

“We are stoked,” says Ward Cromwell, head coach for Charleston. “The regatta was really well run under the circumstances and despite Boston College’s boat speed and the threat of Tulane our team kept their heads in the game. These were not our conditions, but our crews did a great job of keeping the skippers focused.”

Sailing for Charleston was Paris Henken ’22 with Lucy Klempen ’24 in A-division and Marian Frances Williams ’21 with Roxanne Snyder ’23 in B-division.

No awards ceremony was conducted due to COVID restrictions, but trophies for the first place finishers in each division are awarded to Colleen O’Brien ’24 and Michaela O’Brien ’24 from Boston College, who won the Madeleine Trophy, for the low-point A-division team. They finished with 84 points, eleven points ahead of the second place pairing from Navy.

Caroline Benson ’23 and Andrea Riefkohl Gonzalez ’24 from Tulane University won the Judy Lawson Trophy, awarded to the low-point B-division team. They finished with 85 points, six points ahead of the second place pairing from Brown University.

College Sailing National Championship racing will continue with the LaserPerformance College Sailing Team Race Nationals which will take place June 2nd-3rd and the Gill College Sailing Coed Dinghy Nationals will run June 7th-8th also hosted by the U.S. Naval Academy.

T2PTV filmed a show that will stream later tonight covering the racing with commentary and interviews from the two days of competition. Find the show on the T2PTV YouTube channel and here. Subscribe and ring the “bell” to be amongst the first to see the show.

Additional social media updates can be found on the College Sailing Facebook and Instagram pages.

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the College Sailing website and TechScore pages.

Women’s Final Results (16 races):
1. College of Charleston, 201
2. Tulane University, 202
3. Boston College, 205
4. Brown University, 224
5. Stanford University, 232
6. U.S. Naval Academy, 254
7. University of Rhode Island, 261
8. St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 283
9. Tufts University, 285
10. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, 290
11. Georgetown University, 300
12. Old Dominion University, 337
13. University of South Florida, 339
14. George Washington University, 365
15. U.S. Coast Guard Academy, 393
16. University of California Santa Barbara, 395
17. Jacksonville University, 409
18. University of Texas, 498

T2PTV filmed a show that will stream later tonight covering the racing with commentary and interviews from the two days of competition. Find the show on the T2PTV YouTube channel. Subscribe and ring the “bell” to be amongst the first to see the show.

Additional social media updates can be found on the College Sailing Facebook and Instagram pages.

To learn more about the teams competing in all of the events and to follow the racing and results visit the College Sailing website and TechScore pages.

Photo Credit: Will Keyworth, Spinsheet Magazine

S1D Marketplace Spotlight: Perfectly Matched 2011 Firefly Fleet of 24 colored boats For Sale!!

May 14, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

These extremely well maintained and perfectly matched Fireflies were built in 2010 and delivered in 2011. They are cored with closed cell foam and vinylester infused resin was employed with a vacuum bag in the building process. These boats have been far more durable than any other race fleet at MIT in our 85 years of existence. To see the full listing and to contact us, please see our FULL LISTING HERE.

Boats were built robustly and have a slightly modified rigging systems from conventional Fireflies. The luff of the mainsail was shortened, foot of the mainsail lengthened and vang is a gnav to provide ample space for the crew. A rudder blade drops in vertically into a cassette for easy usage.

The Firefly has been extremely versatile for competitions in both fleet racing and team racing because of the boats’ close tacking angles, ease of acceleration and responsiveness in both breeze and light conditions. Unlike other collegiate dinghies, the Firefly is not nearly as weight sensitive because of its very round hull characteristics. Heavier teams are not at a disadvantage in very light conditions compared to FJs and 420s. Light sailors can sail with finesse and remain very competitive in the strongest wind conditions imaginable as its tapered masts afford easy flattening of the mainsail with gnav tension.

No other boat has given us fantastic flexibility for the uninitiated rec sailor to sail solo with just mainsail, either reefed or not, as well as sailing sloop-rigged with full sails of main and jib or with a reefed mainsail and jib. Sails were made by North Sails and are 3 years old with no usage last year at all. See our FULL LISTING HERE.

Airwaves News: St. Francis Yacht Club (CA) Seeks Summer Sailing Instructors

May 13, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

St. Francis Yacht Club is looking for Summer Instructors!

St Francis Yacht Club, located on beautiful San Francisco Bay is looking for a core group of summer instructors. We are looking for Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced level coaches.

We offer Monday- Friday sailing camps for beginner, intermediate and advanced students June 14 – August 13, 2021.

We will offer 3 – three-week City Front Camps sailed out of our home club in San Francisco. These camps are all-day camps for beginning and intermediate sailors. Daily temperatures are in the mid 60’s with winds averaging 15-25kts. Class size is limited to 20 sailors, which are broken down into smaller groups to manage the age and skill level of the sailors.

Come spend your summer in San Francisco. There will be no weekend work required, so you will be able to enjoy your time off sailing or experiencing all the great opportunities this City offers.

We have a fleet of RS Teras, RS Fevas, Lasers, FJs, and 420s.

To apply, please see our job ad HERE

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: St. Francis Yacht Club Seeks Assistant Dockmaster

May 10, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

The St. Francis Yacht Club is one of the esteemed yacht clubs of the world, steeped in tradition but known for innovation. Our members are sailors, racers, cruisers and stewards of the sea. With a clubhouse on the shores of San Francisco Bay and a private island in the Sacramento Delta, our members enjoy on-water activity and camaraderie year-round.

St. Francis YC seeks a full-time Assistant Dockmaster. For more information and to apply, please see our job ad HERE.

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: The Hotchkiss School – Head Sailing Coach

May 8, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

The Hotchkiss School is looking for an accomplished and enthusiastic head coach to lead the school’s sailing team. For more information and to apply, please see our formal job ad HERE.

Hotchkiss Sailing began in 1931. A long tradition for sure, but one that is continually evolving, growing stronger and fostering team. Our motto is “Remember Why You Love this Sport.” We sail fast and we sail fair.

Sailing is a self-governing and self-disciplined sport. While we are not afraid to protest we do not use the protest as an offensive weapon. We sail within the rules but know them very well.

Sailing at Hotchkiss is a spring sport. We begin our season in Florida for a weeklong clinic organized and coordinated by the coaching staff. We use the days to practice boat speed and boat handling and the evenings to bond as a team and to learn tactics and rules. When we arrive on campus after our spring break we hope Lake Wononscopomuc is ice-free. We begin our lake practices the day after (or the day of) ice out. Needless-to-say, drysuits and several layers of warm clothes are necessary and required.

We practice four-days a week and compete on the weekends. Practices are designed to isolate a specific skill (mark rounding, mark trap, pass back, etc.) for each ability level or to race as a fifteen-boat fleet. We usually have 28-30 sailors on the team with 8 on the varsity team, 10-12 on the JV team and 8-10 on the instructional squad Our weekend regattas are either home or away with some of our competitions several hours away. We usually sail three or four other teams each weekend day in a best of three or five team race format. High school team racing is three vs. three.

We often have graduate sailors join us in Florida or for a day or two on the water. It is gratifying to see the interaction between an All-American college sailor and a young sailor on The Hotchkiss team! The greatest benefit the team members enjoy, as part of the sailing team is that of camaraderie. Team members, having the opportunity to travel, learn, and sail together as part of team racing competition, not only develop advanced sailing techniques but also form several close friendships. The advantages of training as a team are that skills are shared and the learning curve is accelerated among all team members.

Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan is Hiring a Sailing Captain!

May 4, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

The Sailing Education Association of Sheboygan (SEAS) is seeking a full time, seasonal captain to run an afternoon and evening outing for approximately 2 hours each on our Tartan 4000 sailboat. Primary responsibly would be to run the Tartan 4000 for evening cruises with a SEAS crew member aboard for assistance and a maximum of 6 passengers. For more information and to apply, please see the job ad HERE.

Airwaves Career Center Spotlight: KeelBoat Club Director, Annapolis Sailing School

May 1, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

The Annapolis Sailing School is seeking a Director for its KeelBoat Club (KBC). This is a full-time position during our principal season (April-October) and for the right candidate, dynamic growth opportunities exist to develop this into a full-time year-round position.

The KBC provides members activities such as access to School boats, from dinghies to large keelboats; Club regattas; and social events. The KBC Director will be responsible for managing all aspects of the KeelBoat Club as well as working with other senior Sailing School employees in managing the School overall.

Pay is competitive and a seasonal bonus is available based on clear measures of success. For more information and to apply, please see our full job ad HERE.

WHAT KIND OF SCHOOL ARE WE?

So what do we define as a successful sailing course? In order of priority: safety, fun, and learning. Generally, there are two kinds of sailors – racers and cruisers. We are not a racing school. Our education focuses more on safety and cruising. This does not mean we will not teach you how to get your boat to go fast; we simply do not prioritize it. The course is successful to us if you learn how to safely operate a boat and have a great time doing it.

WHY DO WE DO IT BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE. WHY TRUST US?

INSTRUCTOR : STUDENT RATIO
Our 3:1 student to instructor ratio is the lowest around. That means you get more tiller time and more bang for your buck.

SPECIALIZED BOATS

The Rainbow 24’ is the best boat around for basic sailing instruction. The Annapolis Sailing School, in coordination with famous boat designers Sparkman & Stephens, built it specifically for that purpose. Being the first in the industry has its benefits.

AN UNBEATABLE LOCATION

Not only are we located in the sailing capital of the country, just a little over 2 miles from downtown, but we also have the best spot in Annapolis. Located at the mouth of Back Creek, our marina is protected from the elements but doesn’t require a lengthy motor to get out into open water. With no long creeks to navigate, students, renters, and members are quickly on the Chesapeake Bay.

THE LONGEST RECORD OF TEACHING SAILING

Before there was the American Sailing Association, before there was U.S. Sailing. Before there were charter companies, there was the Annapolis Sailing School. Established in 1959, we have had a lot of opportunities to learn from our students. With this knowledge we have established what is known as ‘The Annapolis Way’ of teaching sailing.

The Annapolis Way maximizes hands-on, on-the-water instruction, while providing students the necessary amount of theory. This allows students to learn skills physically while also giving them the theoretical basis to continue to learn on their own. We will be the first to say we can’t teach you everything about sailing, but we will provide you with the foundation on which you can continue to grow your sailing skills safely.

S1D Welcomes New Team Member LENAM i420 !!!

April 30, 2021 by Sail1Design Editor Leave a Comment

Sail1Design is thrilled to partner with Lenam, a Spanish builder of the International 420, and to help offer these boats to sailors in the USA. Lenam has a long history of boatbuilding and a great deal of experience in the i420 class, and recently the company has made a firm commitment to build very fast, no-compromise, highest-quality, most durable International 420’s on the market. These boats have competed at top i420 events in Europe and performed extremely well. More good news; the boats are priced very competitively, which is GREAT news for this class and our sailors in the USA.

To learn more about a Lenam i420, please contact Sail1Design and we will be more than happy to chat!

LENAM i420
The 420 is the most popular double-dinghy in the world. Designed in 1961, about 60,000 boats have been built in all these years.

In Spain, the class is at a great moment. The Cup and Championship of Spain hover around 100 participants each year, there are regattas with lots of participation in all the communities and titles and international recognition is constant.

Lenam Vela Ligera, licensed for manufacture since 1998 has contributed with more than 1300 boats to the 420 class.
At Lenam we make a 420 without haste, with passion. The whole process is studied in detail.

The 420 has a strict regulation regarding the materials to be used in its manufacture. Only polyester resin is allowed, while Sandwich-type construction, which is allowed on Optimist, Europa, Snipe…, is forbidden. From these premises, the quality of the raw materials used in the construction of the 420 Lenam is maximum. The NPG isophthalic gelcoat and the isophthalic polyester resin, both with the highest H.D.T (temperature at which the gelcoat and resin can degrade), allow an elongation and elasticity of the laminated materials unequalled, enduring the harshest sailing conditions and suffering less with collisions than other boats.

The glass fibre used is the mat with powder binder, which avoids osmosis problems and offers better chemical resistance properties than other fibres of lower cost.

These materials are much more expensive than other permitted materials, but they ensure an unsurpassed quality of finish and a longer life and competitiveness of the boat over time.

It has already been mentioned mentioned that solutions to give rigidity to the hull or sandwich-type deck with P.V.C. foam are not allowed in 420. What is allowed to give consistency to the hull and deck are omega-type reinforcements to be placed according to the criteria of the shipyard. And it is at this point where the 420 Lenam has an important number of original reinforcements, which perfectly combine its minimum weight and maximum rigidity. In addition, the 420 in general for its special shape with a bulky bow, must take special care to make it light in that area, which Lenam achieves with a particular design of omegas in bow, very light and consistent, which at the same time allow it to provide the hull with a center of gravity more backward than its competitors, a fundamental aspect in short wave conditions or with weighty crews.

Once the hull and deck have been laminated, they remain in the mould for a minimum of one week, in a post-curing process at a constant temperature, in order to achieve the necessary degree of rigidity and curing that will provide the definitive dinghy with a long life at full performance.

And if the materials to be used are very limited, as we have commented in the 420 rules, on the other hand the water lines of the class allow tolerances that give a lot of game. Lenam gives a very versatile response to all wind and wave conditions. The wave conditions can be very different depending on where you are sailing. For instance, the typicall Mediterranean wave, characterized for being short, is different than the waves you can find in the Atlantic. Because of the knowledge provided by sailors and monitors, the water lines of the Lenam give a very easy navigation and maximum speed in these so diverse conditions.

The position and draft of the centreboard and rudder have also been studied to optimise navigation.

The design of the deck, the only one of all the shipyards manufacturing the 420 that is in one piece, contributes to the perfect alignment of the key elements in this section, such as stay chain, bonfire, cockpit, centreboard box and rudder hardware.

The boat is presented with the best hardware and accessories, with the cockpit as “clean” and tidy as possible. Details such as the padded belts with no water absorption, the neoprene anti-slip system for the crew, the spi bags made of water- and sun-repellent fabric… everything to give the sailor the peace of mind of knowing that he is sailing in a boat in which everything is designed to give maximum speed and comfort to the 420!