What’s the magic balance?

Sailing isn’t dying, but it is moving away from week-long marathons. Yachting World’s Matt Sheahan ponders, the two things no sailor ever has enough of are time and money. So, what’s the magic balance to creating a successful regatta?

Classic yachts and some of their regattas are something I keep getting drawn to. It’s never been my bag before, having always been far too interested in performance boats and the latest advances in technology. I try to justify this as anything other than advancing age. And this season I found a good reason at the British Classic Yacht Club event in Cowes. Now in its 24th year, this collection of venerable boats provided some forward-thinking ideas.

The growth of ‘bargain basement’ yachting has been drawing my attention too, especially the Sonata class that celebrated its 50th year with a great anniversary regatta. Many of those in the 29-boat fleet were drawn to the popular Mini Tonner design from the 1970s because you can pick them up cheaply and, with a relatively modest amount of cash to tidy them up, enjoy some competitive racing.

Having grown up racing against Sonatas when they were new, and thinking they were the bees-knees back then, I hadn’t sailed one until this summer when Richard Thomas, son of designer David, invited me aboard for an evening race out of Cowes. – Full story