T The Optimist is a children's dinghy with a daggerboard and single sail. The design is very simple being basically a box of made Glass Reinforced Plastic with a thwart made of wood to help support the mast. Considering the awful design (famously "a sailing bathtub") it has surprisingly good handling characteristics. Many (nearly all) sailing schools have a number of Optimists and they are the first boat most children will sail single handed. Length: 2.33 m Beam: 1.16 m Sail: 3.60 m² Weight: 42 kg Born in 1951, presented at Paris Boat Show in 1952, Vaurien was designed with the aim to supply a boat available to all the Centre nautique des Glénans trainees,. The plywood dinghy was priced at FRF 55 000, only one quarter the cost of the cheapest dinghy, the 9 m² Sharpie (a solo yacht), and the price of two bicycles. Length: 4.08 m Beam: 1.47 m All up mass 95 kg Mainsail 5.06 m² Headsail 2.50 m² Spinnaker 8.1 m² The 420 is a dinghy for two people with a trapeze, designed by Christian Maury. Length: 4.2 m Beam: 1.71 m Maximum draugh: 1.06 m Mast heigth: 6.1 m Total sail area: 10.25 m² + spinnaker 9.02 m² Weight: 100 kg Designed by the American architect Hobie Alter, Hobie cat is the most known sport catamaran and also the most supplied in the world. Its strong point is its polyvalence, that's why it is used as well in the greatest competitions as in the sailing schools. The series is large and extends from 13 to 21 feet. Hobie cat 16 data: Length : 5.11 m Beam: 2.41 m Sail: 20.26 m² Weight: 145 kg International Moth is a 3.36 m long dinghy, 2.26 m beam ; her mast of 6.25 m maximum heigth carries a 8 m² sail. Since 1978, the Tour de France à la voile (Sail tour around France) is a team competition race on a monotype every year in July while 4 weeks along the French coasts. 1999 is marked by the issue of a new international monotype: the Mumm 30. Length: 9.43 m Beam: 3.08 m Draugh: 2.10 m Ballast: 906 kg Open to all sail ships (Catamarans or monohulls with a crew of 4 , Open 30 with 3 people, Mini 6.50 m in double), the Transat des Alizés is a race for non-professional sail lovers. "Crossing the Atlantic under the sun with the trade winds, on a serial ship in safety, with a formidable atmosphere and without the care of organisation, this is the aim of this race" The Transats Ostar, the English alone transat is created in 1960 at the initiative of the newspaper Observer. It occurs every four years between Plymouth (GBR) and Newport Rhode Island (USA). Sir Francis Chichester on " Gipsy Moth " wins the first cette edition in 40 days 12 hours 30'. Eric Tabarly follows in 1964 on " Pen Duick II " and again in 1976 on " Pen Duick VI ". Open to IOR jauge monohulls of a LOA comprised between 16 and 26 metres, on a long road of 4400 milles, the transat Lorient-St Pierre-et-Miquelon-Lorient starts up on 3 May 1987 from Lorient, with a stop planed of 5 days and a second start on 18 May from St Pierre-et-Miquelon: on 10 ships registered, 6 are classed on arrival. On 12 May, Pierre Felhmann crossed at top the arrival line of the1st stage sailing in 9 days 5 hours 49 minutes 33 seconds, Eric Tabarly crossed the line 6 h 18 mn later. On return, Tabarly and his crew won the second stage in 10 days 1 hour 31 mn. In the general file, Pierre Felhmann went ahead Eric Tabarly. Founded in 1978, Route du Rhum (the Rum way) is an alone transatlantic race open every 4 years to multihulls and monohulls of a maximum length of 18.28 m (60 feet) in class 1, 15.24 m in class II and 13.72 m for class III. The Admiral's Cup is known as the "World Championship of Offshore Sailing," Teams consist of three boats entered by National Authorities: in 2005, it will be a Mumm 30, a Swan 45 and an IRC 50 feet boat. Lady Be is a French Beneteau 456 used by Peter Blake winner of the Fastnet 1983, renamed Morning Star. Her hull made of kevlar measures 46'7 in (14.23 m). Diva 1985 Germany winner The first race in August 1925 is a regatta from the isle of Wight to the Fastnet rock, off the south-west coast of Ireland and then back to Plymouth ; she became one of the most famous race. Running every two years, the Fastnet is organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC); 1979 stays in the collective memory as the year of the tragedy when the biggest-ever fleet of 303 was caught in a storm which led to 17 deaths. Following the disaster, new rules are introduced (trisails and VHF radios mandatory, qualifications for competing, number of competitors limited to 300).Since 1957 the Fastnet race has been the final race of the Admiral's Cup competition. The Kenwood Cup is from 1978 one of several races in the biennial Clipper Cup series; competition includes four Olympic-style triangles and four windward-leeward courses during nine days around Hawaii.

The Sydney-Hobart race used to start since 1945 the day after Christmas with a growing success: 9 sail ships featured in 1945, 371 on the fiftieth anniversary. The yachts have widely evolved: the first winner took fourteen hours and twenty-two minutes to reach Hobart, the record of 1975 holds always in 2 days, 14 hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds. It is a race rulled by handicapping system and only five yachts have won both line honours and handicap trophies in the 55-year history of the race.
The week of Kiel The historic harbour on the Baltic Sea, former hanseatic city, capital of Schleswig-Holstein, welcome sail lovers and champions coming from all around the world to compete in series of regatas on the Schilksee river.
	Born in 1882, the week of Kiel oppose at this moment navy officers to merchants. The event attract more and more lovers before being transformed into regatas where emperors, kings, managers, didn't hesitate to compete with the best sailors.