The Manly Junior is a junior racing dinghy class popular in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was designed in 1959 for younger sailors and the length (2.6 m) was originally designed so that the boat could be stored vertically downstairs inside

Manly Yacht Club Manly Yacht Club (MYC) is a sailing club in the suburb of Manly on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. History Manly Yacht Club was formed in 1950 as the Manly 14 ft Skiff Club. In the late 195 ...

(the founding club). To provide as much performance as possible in a short length, the designer, Ralph Tobias used a "snub" bow. Typically the helmsman is aged 10~14 and the crew 7~11 years old. It is amongst the smallest of classes with a "full rig":

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails ...

and

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

. The class has a strict set of rules on sail size, shape and hull construction. Some variation is allowed in the details of how the boat is rigged (position of fittings etc.). The class has made some significant changes since inception, in 1967 the buoyancy tanks were redesigned to allow the boat to come up after a capsize with little water on board. In the 1980s the class underwent a transition from plywood to fibreglass hulls. In 2000 false floors were added allowing the boat to completely drain of water after a capsize or swamping. Racing is competitive with many previous sailors going on to become world or

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

champions in other classes. The skill level shown at a State or National event is high with racing being completed in up to of wind. Many children however join in for the social side. Sometimes you will get two 11-year-old friends match up to have fun while learning. Other times the younger children look up to the older children as "

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

es". Club racing is often like a friendly "family" where the focus is on learning. Even at major events "Novice" (learning) fleets allow the less experienced to compete and enjoy the fun. As the sailors grow they often move onto

Flying Eleven (dinghy) The Flying Eleven is an Australian boat designed as a high performance racing skiff suitable for 12- to 18-year-olds. High performance sailing is fast becoming the goal of a great many dinghy sailors with the appearance of 49ers as an Olympic cl ...

420 (dinghy) The International 420 Dinghy is a sailing dinghy popular for racing and teaching. The hull is fiberglass with internal buoyancy tanks. The 420 has a bermuda rig and an optional spinnaker and trapeze. It has a large sail-area-to-weight ratio, and ...

laser dinghy The Laser is a class of single-handed, one-design sailing dinghies using a common hull design with three interchangeable rigs of different sail areas, appropriate to a given combination of wind strength and crew weight. Bruce Kirby designed ...

. A quick count would suggest over 30,000 children have been introduced to sailing via the Manly Junior fleet.

External links

Manly Junior Sailing Association of Australia
{{Sailing Dinghies and Skiffs Dinghies