Who's the Best?

Chris Love 3 years ago

One thing that makes the sport of sailing so unique is that there are so many different variations that come out of its many classes. Opti racing with 200 other boats on the line is much different than dueling it out in a match race for the America's cup, but it's all still the same sport. Over time, new and different classes come along and gain strength while the powerhouse classes of yesteryear cool off.

What are the strongest and most competitive classes right now? What are the best sailors sailing nowadays? Why are these classes so strong?

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11 comments

Zach Runci 3 years ago

fair enough... number wise, but laser is also an olympic class for men and women, there are 3 different "sub classes", it is fast, athletic, hard to sail, AND fun!
by the way interesting fact about the sunfish, I had no idea.

Tom Charpentier 3 years ago

"what other OD boat are there nearly 200k made"

Over 500k Sunfish have been built in the last 58 years and they still have a pretty active class (albeit long ago surpassed by the Laser). Just sayin'

Zach Runci 3 years ago

I like what stan says about the tech, in fact I think I might have heard it from him before, but I have to say that the laser is the best boat and the fact that I have hull number 191485 pretty much sums it up. what other OD boat are there nearly 200k made. happy 40th laser!

Matthew C 3 years ago

Best boat is the MIT Technical Dingy. Stan Schreyer said it best "No one looks cool in a tech because no one's going fast so if you beat someone in a tech, it's because you just sailed a better race." Best class seems to be the TP 52 - Pesch said it all on that one.

Craig Thompson 3 years ago

Ive seen a CC mercury sail full speed (3knots) into the shore of the charles river. Hilarious.

Ben Spiller 3 years ago

don't forget the cape cod mercury.

Trevor Burd 3 years ago

yeah 5'ohs are pretty awesome too...I'm just glad I don't pay the bills

Craig Thompson 3 years ago

505

Tom Charpentier 3 years ago

In terms of which boats the best sailors are racing, right now it's probably the TP52 MedCup circuit with the AC in limbo and several teams (Desafio, ETNZ, and several other teams with lots of cup sailors like Quantum) jumping in.

The trouble is many of those high performance keelboat classes are here today, gone tomorrow. Case in point the Mumm/M/Farr 30, the 1D35, etc... Dare I say even the mighty Farr 40 might be nearing the end of its OD life cycle soon.

To me, the average midfleet sailor, what really makes a OD class successful is its ability to endure - to take root in different parts of the country and stick around for decades. They may not be the best actual boats (in fact most are far from perfect), but they provide high-quality OD racing and thanks to depreciation on the used market are cheap enough for newcomers to jump in with relatively little risk and strong confidence in the class future. It's no coincidence that these classes generally attract world-class sailors as well. In the US, these classes include the Laser (in its various flavors), Lightning, J/24, J/22, Etchells, Thistle, and of course the junior classics - Opti, Sabot, CFJ, C420. These classes are, have been, and will continue to be strong for years to come.

Trevor Burd 3 years ago

Right now, I'd say that Melges 32's are probably the strongest class due to their strict one design rules. Sailors have been drawn to OD's since the idea was first developed, and the M32 class is stronger than ever. The level of sailors at M32 events is pretty crazy as well, with teams like Pegasus, Mascazone Latino, Mean Machine along with other AC teams regularly showing up. The owner-driver rule makes it possible for a corinthian team to compete, but professional tacticians make the racing top-notch.

Ryan P 3 years ago

TP 52's have to be thrown into the argument, granted they are only for top dollar programs, but they have the best sailors consistently on the circuit (especially the med cup) the boats are pretty cutting edge and the class is still growing with Emirates TNZ just launching theirs and if Oracle doesn't win in court I'd expect them to be a full time program in USA-17.