British International 420 Class Association

Training for racing sailors of the future

The 420 is an established performance two person trapeze and spinnaker racing dinghy.

There are 56,000 worldwide. This popular dinghy is sailed at school, club, open, national and international levels. There are many second hand boats available, active clubs and excellent tuition for all levels.

Built in buoyancy tanks make the boat very safe even when inverted. The 420 is the youth development boat in the UK and in 42 other countries and is the ISAF Youth World Championship boat. Despite the emergence of newer commercial driven classes and

asymmetrics, the 420 is still the top youth training boat. The majority of UK Olympic sailors were members of the 420 Youth Squad.

HOW TO GET STARTED

You can talk to the 420 class co-ordinator in your area for advice on clubs, crews, events, and secondhand boats. Or you can join a sailing club near your home, preferably one already with 420s - just ask them.

If you are looking for a boat, get a copy of the Class Association guide to buying and checking out a secondhand boat (free for members) - or look in Yachts and Yachting, or the 420 web pages.

SPECIFICATION

Length 4.2 m

Beam 1.63 m

Mast 6.26 m

Sails Main 10.25m2, Jib 2.8 m2, Spinnaker 9 m2.

Bare hull weight 80 kg min

Sailing weight 100 kg min

The ideal competitive combined crew weight is 17 to 23 stone (110-145Kg).

JOIN UP

Join the 420 Class Association. For about �20 per year you will receive the 420 magazine ‘On the Wire’ a handbook, tuning guides, etc and you will be eligible for National and Inland championships. As a member of the British 420 Class Association you will join a great social group. The UK Class Association sends over forty 420 sailors to represent Great Britain at international events every year and has an excellent results record.

TRAINING

Training is provided at several levels. It is expected that sailors sailing a 420 have already experienced sailing a dinghy, but need not have trapezed, or sailed a 2 man / 3 sail boat before. Many 420 sailors come from Optimists, Cadets, Toppers or Mirrors. Typically they are aged from 14 to 19 as this is predominantly a youth boat.

There are 2 class coaches who provide coaching at national level, but are there for advice to all Association members:

Bunny Warren, tel 01297 22223, mobile 0378 517118

Bethan Raggatt, tel 0410 426004, email [email protected]

The following training is typical in a year:

Regional training run by the regional organisers
RYA Youth Squad weekends by invitation (selection from Youth Nationals at Easter)
Championship Club Scheme sponsored by VOLVO - ask your local club
National Class Training camp at the UKSA sailing centre in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This is excellent for both for new entrants into the class, and for experienced 420 sailors.
Sailors may also choose to arrange for coaching in small groups in their local area - this is usually organised by a group of local sailors.

For further details of training events, and if you would like to advertise a training session, or place your name on our up to date coaches list please contact:

Jennie Fitzjohn, tel 0118 935 2661, email [email protected]

TYPICAL SAILING PROGRAMME

The John Merricks Tiger Trophy - Feb

Youth squad training - Feb / March

Selection weekends - March / April

RYA Youth Nationals - Easter

RYA Youth Squad training -April / May

Open meetings - May to Sept

Youth Spa Regatta, Belgium - July

420 Worlds - July

420 Junior Europeans - Aug

420 UK Nationals - Aug

Late season training camp - Oct half term

Inland championships - Oct

RYA Winter training - Nov / Dec

This page was last updated on 17-Jun-2001 13:40. 420 UK Webmaster, Mike Greenland, [email protected]