Good Times, Great Class!

by Lucas Masiello

(Originally published on sail1design.com)

This weekend, I had the opportunity to sail the Snipe Atlantic Coast Championships at Severn Sailing Association in Annapolis, Maryland. The Snipe class, a 16 foot, doublehanded dinghy, has active fleets all around the world and offers competitive, post-collegiate dinghy racing at the highest levels. The complexity of the boat and a variety of tuning options and sailing styles allows sailors of all weights and skill levels to sail competitively and thrive in the fleet. The fleet is incredibly tight-knit, and sailors often get hooked on Snipe sailing after college and stay active in the fleet for decades. As Annapolis Snipe Fleet 532 Captain Lisa Pline said after racing on Saturday, “The Snipe is a tactical, two-person dinghy that has enough controls in it that makes it sailable by a wide variety of weights and talents. As a light female skipper, I can sail it well, but it doesn’t have too many strings where I can’t easily sail it. Also, many one-design classes have this, but I love the family and friends aspect of the fleet. I have friends that I have now known for 40 years and still get to connect and sail against them, and now I sail against their kids.”

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