Nic Compton
In the Windsong class, John Owles set out to design the fastest lug-rigged dinghy he could imagine; the prototype planed at 12 knots in 20 knots of breeze.
It was just after sunrise when I arrived at Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk, England, to witness the birth of a new racing class. Despite the early hour, people bustled on the foreshore in front of the massive, rustic boathouse. Four new dinghies were on trailers being readied for launching. Although they were built of wood, there was no mistaking the shallow draft and flat run aft of a hull designed for planing. The carbon-fiber spars and modern rigging also pointed to the boat’s racing pedigree. And yet when the boats’ sails were hoisted they revealed a surprise: a lug mainsail. Unless your name is Nigel Irens, the lug rig seems to have few fans among contemporary race boat designers, so the launch of a new racing class driven by this supposedly archaic rig was not to be missed.