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505 Classreturns toChicago

The International 505

class will return toLake Michigan for the2010 North AmericanChampionship; racing

will be held at Belmont stationJune 24-27th. This event willmark Lake Michigan’s second505 North AmericanChampionship. Waukegan YachtClub hosted the event in 1978.

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By Craig Thompson and JB TurneyPhotos courtesy of Marine Media Alliance

Chicago 505 Fleet 13 Members John Loeand Craig Thompson blast on a heavy airreach. Three Fleet 13 boats competed atthe 2009 Worlds.

Photo © www.marinemediaalliance.com

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The 505 will bring an

exciting level ofperformance and sailingskill to Chicago’slakefront. First designed

by John Westell in 1953, the 505 haschanged with the times and has beenat the forefront of sailboat materialsand technology throughout its years.The two-man, single trapeze, andcenter-board dinghy specifies aminimum weight of roughly 280 lbs(127.4 kilos) with all equipment lesssails. Unlike many high-performancedinghies, the 505 continues to use asymmetric spinnaker. This makesdownwind sailing challenging andtactical as both “wire-running”(reaching) and running can beeffective tactics. High-tech Kevlarand technora sails are common alongwith carbon booms and spinnakerpoles. Many of the boats areconstructed with Kevlar and carbonover a nomex honeycomb or foamcore and epoxy resin tohold the structuretogether. This makesthe boats capable ofhandling punishingloads and lastingdecades longer thanLasers or 470s.

Along with thematerials that 505manufacturers andsailors use inconstruction, the classhas maintained an openmind when it comes torigging. Essentially,you can rig your 505just about anyway youwant. This freedomdoes not necessarilymake the 505 complex;in fact many 505 sailorsrig the boat simply.The most importantthing about riggingyour 505 is, whateveryou put on the boat,make sure it works in25 knots of breeze.

While somefreedoms are allowedunder class rules, the505 is not a true

development class in the image of anInternational 14. Measurement is anintegral part of major regattas. Overthe years, the 505 class has madecareful changes to its rules, alwaysin an effort to maximize theenjoyment of sailing the boat.

The pure joy of sailing a 505 hasdrawn many of sailing’s greatest tothe class throughout its existence.Paul Elvstrom won the 2nd and 3rdWorld Championships, Cam Lewiswas a two time champion, ChrisNicholson a three time champion,Morgan Larson and Howard Hamlinare also winners among many othergreat dinghy sailors and 505champions. The 2009 505 WorldChampionship, held at St. FrancisYacht Club in San Francisco, waswon by Mike Martin and JeffNelson. Mike is the only man towin as both a crew and this year ashelm. Among the 2009 fleet weresailing legends Paul Cayard, Howard

Hamlin, 1981 505World Champion EthanBixby, 2003 RolexYachtsman of the yearAugie Diaz, and theabove mentionedmultiple WorldChampion ChrisNicholson. Thebalance of the fleet isfilled with CollegeSailors of the Year andmany college All-Americans. The fleetwas also filled withmany of the bestdinghy sailors fromAustralia, GreatBritain, and Germany.

Those ChicagoYacht Club memberswilling to lend a handor who simply want towatch will witnesssomething differentthan the Area IIIstandard. The 505class uses a gate-launch or “rabbit” start.This procedure uses thestandard 5 minutecountdown from theRRS. There is

505 Spec’sLength:

16'6" (5.05 meters)

Beam: 6'2" (1.88 meters)

Weight: 280 lbs (127.4 kilos)

Sail Area: main (12,30 sq. m.)

jib (4,94 sq. m.) main & jib 175 sq. ft.

Spinnaker up to (27 sq. m.)approximately (220 sq. ft.

original size)

Crew: Two people, one trapeze

Howard Hamlin and Paul Cayard act as thepathfinder for a start duringthe 2009 World Championshipsin San Francisco, CA.www.marinemediaalliance.com

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however, no fixed startingline. The signal boat isanchored to leeward of thestarting mark, and at the starta designated “pathfinder” (acompeting 505) rounds thestarting mark and sails upwindon port tack. The pathfinderis followed by a motorboat,“the gate-launch” (usually aRIB). To start, a racing boatsimply “ducks” the pathfinderand gate-launch, passing towindward of the startingmark. After a pre-determinedamount of time, the pathfinderis released and can race as hepleases. The gate-launch thenmay motor at the same speedand course until stopping anddrifting depending on the sizeof the fleet. After a pre-determined time, the start isclosed and any competitor thathas not passed through thegate is scored as DNS.

While this starting methodmay seem complex to theunfamiliar, in practice thesystem works remarkablywell. There are essentially norecalls, the Race Committeedoes not have to set a“square” line, and the

competitors love the system. The 505 class prides itself

on the great cooperativenessand resourcefulness of thefleet. Traditionally, campinghas been an option at events;obviously some compromiseshave to be made in our urbanvenue. The event organizersmay be looking for willingmembers to house visitingcompetitors due to ourobvious lack of campingoptions. There will be moreinformation available for thosewilling and interested closer tothe event date. We anticipateroughly 35 boats and 70competitors will be inattendance. Also, while the505 fleet is generally self-sufficient, we will be lookingfor volunteers to help withsome shore-side andpotentially race-courseoriented tasks. Again, we willhave more on the specificneeds closer to the event.

In the meantime, we aretaking our 505s to Florida toget in a little time on the waterwhile we are all frozen here inChicago. After we thaw out,Chicago’s 505s will be hitting

the water and we are alwayshappy to take those interestedin the boat for a ride. Pleasehave a look at our local fleetwebsite and the 2010 505North AmericanChampionship website formore information on 505s andthe upcoming event.

Event Chairmen: Craig Thompson (USA 7346)and JB Turney (USA 7611)

http://505na2010chicago.blogspot.comhttp://505fleet13.blogspot.com

Craig Thompson grew upsailing at Columbia Yacht Clubbefore competing for theUniversity of Rhode Island; henow lives in Oak Park..

JB Turney grew up sailing atChicago Yacht Club beforecompeting for GeorgetownUniversity where he earnedAll-American honors; he nowlives in Chicago.