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A person leans out of a small sailboat, holding the mainsheet as the boat tilts on a sunny lake with trees in the background.

One-Design Class Profiles

A row of small sailboats with colorful numbered sails lines up on the water, ready to race under a partly cloudy sky with trees in the background.

Back to the Future? A Look at the Lark Dinghy

By Rachael Silverstein Since the first inter-collegiate dinghy fleet race in 1930, small boats and fast racing have become a healthy addiction for young sailors across the country. In 1934, […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

Class Profile: RS Quest

RS Sailing would like to introduce the development of their latest sailboat, the RS Quest. Designed by RS Sailing and Jo Richards, the RS Quest is a 14’ 1” dinghy […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA group of six people sail on a sleek, black sailboat marked 'USA 17' across choppy water, with land and buildings visible in the distant background under a cloudy sky.

S1D Class Profile: Farr 280 vs C&C 30

In the past 5 years there has been an explosion of small high performance keelboats.  Going back to the J-70, Sailing World 2012 Boat of the Year, it was clear […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA person wearing a hat and life jacket sails a small white and blue Sunfish sailboat with a colorful yellow and blue sail marked '3951' on the ocean, with city buildings visible in the background.

One Design Class Profile: Sunfish

There may not be a more iconic or well-known sailboat than the Sunfish.  Since 1952, hundreds of thousands of hulls have hit the water in bays, lakes, ponds and rivers […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannThree people sail a white boat with a large blue sail quickly across turquoise water, creating splashes at the bow.

J/80 vs J/22: Which is Right For You?

The Johnstones have been a fixture in the sailing industry ever since the first J/24 came out of Rod’s garage in 1977.  Since then, J-Boats has produced boats of every […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral sailboats with hydrofoils race closely together on choppy water, their sails marked with country codes and numbers. Sailors lean out over the sides, and mountains are visible in the background.

Class Profile: International Moth

In sailboat racing, there are several categories; handicap, one-design and development.  Handicap allows for boats of different designs to compete against each other using a rating system to calculate final […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA small blue sailing boat named 'Flying Circus' with two people aboard and a large red sail glides across the water under a cloudy sky; shoreline and buildings are visible in the background.

Notes From New Zealand: The Javelin Skiff

Not Your Average Weekend Warrior: A look at the Javelin Skiff By Airwaves writer Sara Morgan Watters The Javelin Skiff is not your average double handed dinghy. At 14 feet […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral sailboats with purple and silver striped sails race on a lake. The sails have large numbers and letters like '22', '20', '24', and '23'.

Life After College: Sailing the Z15

By Airwaves writer Tyler Colvin The past couple decades has seen rapid growth in the numbers of athletes participating in college sailing.  In that time the level of sailing has […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA person operates an iceboat with a white sail marked 'DN 5156 US' on a frozen lake, passing by a bright red triangular marker; trees are visible in the background.

One-Design Class Profile: DN Iceboat

By Airwaves writer Eric Tobias Your sailing season doesn’t have to end just because it’s getting cold outside.  In fact, for many racers, when December comes around the season is […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA group of sailboats with numbered sails and country codes compete in a race on a body of water, with sailors onboard and a hilly shoreline visible in the background.

One-Design Class Profile: A-Cat

By Airwaves Writer Tyler Colvin In 1956, the International Yacht Racing Union (now the International Sailing Federation, ISAF) created a four-tiered developmental catamaran system with the categories as A-D.  It […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA small sailboat with a black and red sail glides over green ocean waves. Two people onboard are focused, wearing life jackets and caps, with the sky clear in the background.

One-Design Class Profile: Etchells

By Airwaves writer Tyler Colvin If any one-design class has a cult following, it would be the Etchells.  The boat was designed in the mid 1960s by Skip Etchells as […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral sailboats with transparent sails and red trim race closely together on the water, with sailors focusing intently. A bright red buoy floats in the foreground, and city buildings are visible in the background.

One Design Class Profile: 29er

Youth sailing traditionally has been in dinghies designed 60 years ago with very few updates or improvements.  The 29er changed all that when it was introduced in 1998 by acclaimed […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral small sailboats with white sails are racing close together on a sunny day, with trees and buildings visible in the background across the water.

Lido 14: A Class of its Own

By Airwaves writer Tyler Colvin  Hand building boats is an art overlooked by many.  Many of today’s sailing dinghies were originally hand crafted in garages, barns and basements before they […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSeveral small sailboats with colorful spinnaker sails, including green, blue, red, and yellow, compete closely together on the water during a sailing race. Sailors are actively maneuvering their boats.

One Design Spotlight: Club Flying Junior

Club FJ (Flying Junior): Youth Trainer Extraordinaire, by Airwaves writer Tyler Colvin Recognizable to many youth sailors who grew up on lakes, ponds, or on the west coast, the Club […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannTwo people wearing life jackets sail a small white sailboat on a body of water, with green hills and white buildings visible in the background under a clear sky.

Sail1Design SailTest: The Zim 15

By Airwaves writer John Storck Recently, I had the opportunity to take the new Zim 15 out for a test sail. The whole experience was pretty cool, as the Zim […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannTwo sailors wearing life vests and sunglasses compete in a small sailboat with the number 15, navigating choppy waters on a sunny day during a sailing race. White sails and other boats are visible in the background.

420 Class: Club, Collegiate = Win, Win

420 Class: Club Versus Collegiate   By Airwaves writer Tyler Colvin As one of the most highly utilized youth training boats in North America, the 420 was designed in the mid […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannTwo people sail a small white sailboat with a yellow sail labeled 'SENTIENT' and 'GAY GOOSE' on choppy water near a shoreline with trees and buildings in the background.

Elegy for the Vanguard 15: Good Things Do End, But That’s Okay…

Sail1Design would like to welcome John Storck to the Airwaves team! By John Storck III With the recent cancellations of both the NYYC Team Race, and the 2v2 Random Pairs […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannSide view illustration of a modern white sailboat with black sails on a gray background. An orange and purple '15Z' logo is displayed in the top right corner.

Introducing the Zim 15 – Moving Dinghy Sailing Forward

The drawing board: Over the past two and a half years the collegiate and post collegiate market has changed quite a bit.  While other companies worked to freshen up the […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannImage placeholder icon displaying a gray outline of mountains and a sun on a light background, commonly used to represent a missing or unavailable image.

One Design Profile: J/24

By Tyler Colvin Introduction and History: The Start of an Empire In 1975, Rod Johnstone built a keelboat named Ragtime in his garage in Stonington, CT.  Ragtime was the first […]

Tom Sitzmann avatarTom SitzmannA group of young sailors in small white sailboats compete in a regatta on a calm body of water under a cloudy sky, with many sails visible and participants wearing life jackets.

Meet the Optimist Dinghy

by Airwaves writer Emma White The optimist, originally designed by Clark Mills in 1947, became a registered One-Design boat in 1995; after a few modifications. It is roughly 8 feet […]

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