Dinghy racing is a competitive sport using dinghies, which are small boats which may be rowboats, have an outboard motor, or be sailing dinghies. Dinghy racing has affected aspects of the modern sailing dinghy, including hull design, sail materials and sailplan, and techniques such as planing and trapezing.
The Topper is an 11 foot 43 kg (95 lb) sailing dinghy designed by Ian Proctor. The Topper was a one-design boat until 2023 when a new version was produced, and is sailed mostly around the British Isles. It was recognised as a World Sailing Class. The boat previously constructed from polypropylene, and now roto moulded, is popular as a racing boat or for sail training. The class association (itca) organise racing events, which range from small travellers to major championships. The RYA run squads alongside the events; in these squads young sailors who are given specialist race coaching.
The Laser is a class of single-handed, one-design sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength and crew weight. Bruce Kirby designed the Laser in 1970 with an emphasis on simplicity and performance.
The 49er and 49er FX is a two-handed skiff-type high-performance sailing dinghy. The two crew work on different roles with the helm making many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew doing most of the sail control. Both of the crew are equipped with their own trapeze and sailing is done while cantilevered over the water to the fullest extent to balance against the sails.
The Laser Radial or ILCA 6 is a popular one-design class of small sailing dinghy, originally built by Laser Performance. It is a singlehanded boat, meaning that it is sailed by one person. The Laser Radial is a variant of the Laser standard, with shorter mast and reduced sail area, allowing light sailors to sail in heavy winds. The International Class is recognised by World Sailing.
The Laser 4.7 or ILCA 4 is a one-design dinghy class in the Laser series and is a one-design class of sailboat. All Lasers are built to the same specifications. The Laser is 4.06 m long, with a waterline length of 3.81 m. The hull weight is 59 kg (130 lb). The boat is manufactured by ILCA and World Sailing approved builders.
The OK Dinghy is an international class sailing dinghy, designed by Knud Olsen in 1956.
The Byte is a small one-design sailing dinghy sailed by one person. It was designed by Canadian Ian Bruce, who also commissioned and marketed the Laser.
Sail Melbourne is an annual sailing Regatta run by Yachting Victoria at various yacht clubs around Port Phillip Bay. Sail Melbourne is a Grade 1 ISAF event.
Tom Slingsby is a successful Australian competitive sailor. Slingsby's first successes came sailing Laser dinghys, where he won three consecutive world championships and the 2012 Olympic gold medal. Slingsby was the strategist for the America's Cup-winning Team Oracle USA in 2013. In 2016 he skippered the winner-of-line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race line. Following this he skippered the Australian team in the inaugural SailGP competition.
Paul Martin Goodison MBE is an English Olympic gold medal-winning sailor.
The Splash Dinghy is 3.5 m in length and all boats are identical, thus, as is typical in One-Design classes, the sailor's ability rather than equipment is emphasised fleet racing. The boats employ an un-stayed mono rig with a sail area of 6.3 m2, which makes the class easy to handle by sailors ranging from 45 to 80 kg. This, combined with the low hull weight of 55 kg, allow the class to serve as a stepping stone between the Optimist Dinghy and boats such as the Laser Radial, suiting sailors in the age range from 13 to 21 years.
LaserPerformance is an Anglo-American dinghy manufacturer. LaserPerformance manufactures many sailboats including: Laser, Sunfish, Bug, Laser Vago, Laser Bahia, Club FJ, Club 420, Z420, Vanguard 15, Dart 16, Funboat and Optimists.
The Laser World Championship have been held every year since 1974, organized by the International Sailing Federation.
The Laser 4.7 World Championships have been held every year since 2002, organized by the International Sailing Federation. The event is open to young under 18.
The Women's Laser Radial World Championships have been held every year since 1980, organized by the International Sailing Federation. Laser Radial is an Olympic sailing class. The event was held together with the Men's Laser Radial World Championships between 1989 and 2010.
The Laser Radial World Championships have been held every year since 1989, organized by the International Sailing Federation. Laser Radial is an Olympic sailing class. The event was held together with the Women's Laser Radial World Championships between 1989 and 2010.
The following were the scheduled events of sailing for the year 2016 throughout the world.
Laser European Championships are annual European Championship sailing regattas in the Laser and Laser Radial classes organised by the EurILCA.
