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