Race for performance

he 420, with its brightly colored deck and lockers, quickly proved popular with people learning how to sail. Many families and clubs bought this pretty 4.20m dinghy for their holidays by the sea. It was so successful that its architect invited Francis Mouvet to optimize it so that it could also attract regatta racers – most often couples or siblings. 

The crews discovered the joys of the trapeze, where, “hooked into” a cable, with their feet on the rail, they had a completely new view, from up high, as well as groundbreaking sensations.

Francis Mouvet, a tireless promoter, who raced with his wife, designed the logo and created the Uniqua owners’ association. Although carrying more sail area, with better fittings, the “regatta” 420 was perfectly suited to lighter frames. 

Lucien Lanaverre, who built the boat at this time, was later joined by other renowned international yards, including Roga, Nautivela and Vanguard. The International Yachting Racing Union (IYRU) awarded this boat its global label, which opened up a range of opportunities. 

65 years later, the 420 is still used for the world youth championships, and is an essential springboard for future Olympic medalists… The dinghy had the wind in its sails, and a “big brother” was launched: the 470. 

The “four seven” was also designed by a French architect, André Cornu. Built in Pessac by Jean Morin, exhibited at the Paris boat show in 1963, the yard was struggling to keep pace, as demand was so high. Around 30 yards, across all the continents, went on to build it, and 10 years on from its launch, it became an Olympic series for the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976. Quickly and justifiably called “the middle ground dinghy”, it was more than just a tolerant and quick leisure dinghy. 

Young regatta racers were immediately attracted by this boat, which welcomed on board both passionate amateurs and future greats. As precocious as they were brilliant, Yves and Marc Pajot, trained in La Baule at the Léopards club, ended up vice champions of Europe in this series at the age of just 16 and 15. One year later, the two brothers won silver at the world championships, this time in a 505, a pioneering thoroughbred dinghy that would also welcome on board the elite of the dinghy sailing world, while also attracting amateurs who dreamed of being at the helm of a “Ferrari”! 

At the Cercle de la Voile de Paris on the River Seine in Meulan, where the Olympic Games sailing events were held in 1924, Marcel Buffet was the best ambassador for the “king of dinghies”. The magnificent “cinquo”, designed by John Westell in 1954, will however never make it to the Olympics, caught between the 470 and the Flying Dutchman. The 470’s incredible journey is continuing today, and it will be at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with mixed crews on board for the first time. Heavier, with a larger sail area, and easily identifiable with its red jib, the Ponant did not go unnoticed around the beaches and won over people looking to have fun on board a dinghy that was calmer.

This was the case of the Arcadia III, built out of mahogany in Nice in 1969 by Félix Silvestro, seen by the sailing world as a naval woodwork genius. During a trip to the United States, Jacques Médecin, mayor of Nice, met his counterpart in New York, who asked him: “How is Félix?” The councilor from Nice was embarrassed to say that he had never heard of anyone called Félix. He discreetly asked his advisers to find out about this “Mr Silvestro”, who was held in great esteem by the mayor of New York and the naval architect Rod Stephens, who described him as a true artist of wood… The Arcadia confirmed this. The mahogany planking hull on stainless steel floor frames looked like an inlay design, in line with the master’s technique known as “Mili Silvestro”. 50 years later, the hull is like on its very first day.

There was clearly a Tabarly “effect” after the young midshipman won the Single-Handed Transatlantic Race in 1964, and not just among amateur “Sunday sailors”! The polyester and balsa sandwich were increasingly well mastered, and the Dacron sails were increasingly refined. Aluminum made its appearance on the spars. At the start of the decade, the Dutch architect Ericus Gerhardus Van de Stadt launched the first true live-aboard cruiser-racing sailboat. It was 9.30 meters long. 

In England, the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC), which had been a key organization for years, became to some extent the home of cruiser-racing. John Illingworth, Rod and Olin Stephens, and Dick Carter were courted by owners, as their boats, which combined not only beauty and performance, but also robustness, a heavy build and seafaring ability, were at ease sailing upwind in breezy conditions. 

For day races, tacticians had control to effectively position their boat depending on the changes in the wind and their opponents’ positions. On coastal routes, the on-board navigator maintained their estimated position using a field compass and Crass navigation plotter… and during offshore events, while positioning systems such as Loran, Decca or GPS did not yet exist, the sextant was the only option for determining their positioning, provided that they had some visibility. These boats, which were “good rollers and good sailors”, were as effective when sailing upwind as they were fickle when the breeze came from behind under their spinnaker.

Like the Corsaire, designed by Herbulot, the Muscadet, which is 1m bigger and built in marine plywood by the Aubin yard, had the same “DNA”. Its angular lines and hard chine might have been mocked by some connoisseurs who swore exclusively by Herreshoff, Fife or Stephens, whose models featured lines that were both sleek and taut. The Muscadet, designed by the architect Philippe Harlé, was going to revolutionize cruiser-racing. A copy of the Admiral’s Cup, like an offshore racing world championship is launched involving different countries on board three boats. This event attracted the best regatta racers and was reserved for units between 6.50m and 9.50m, from the Groupement des Croiseurs Légers (GCL) light cruiser class and the Junior Offshore Group (JOG). The GCL included both Gérard Petipas, a Merchant Navy officer and crew mate of Tabarly, and Alain Maupas, the official skipper of Baron Edmond de Rothschild’s Gitana yachts. 

Live-aboard sailing was not reserved exclusively for a wealthy elite, and clubs flourished along the coasts, as well as on inland waterways. Leading events like the Cowes Dinard or Semaine Internationale de la Voile de Marseille (SNIM) opened up to both professional sailors and amateurs. These events featured the Muscadet, as well as the Super Challenger, designed by André Mauric, and even the Arpège, designed and built by Michel Dufour. Skippered by Laurent Cordelle, future naval architect and brilliant regatta racer, the Muscadet “Cul Sec”, with Philippe Harlé as the officer on board, won all the possible races. 

A few years later, this yacht, combining a rustic design with seafaring capabilities, competed in the Mini Transat, a single-handed beginners’ transatlantic race reserved for smaller 6.05m boats, and helped a number of leading skippers take their first steps, such as Jean-Luc Van den Heede… 

This marked the start of an era when young architects, who were as carefree as they were impressive, designed IOR prototypes and cruiser-racing sailing models that were both innovative and attractive. They included Jean-Marie Finot, Michel Joubert, Jean Berret, Philippe Briand, Britton Chance, Rob Humphreys and Bruce Farr… and they would have a lasting impact on live-aboard sailing.