Sportsboat

The term sportsboat first appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s to describe trailer sailers that were optimised for high performance at the expense of accommodation and ballast.Many sportsboats are fitted with an extendible bowsprit of 4–8 feet (1.2-2.5m) length, which moves the tack of the spinnaker away forward from the hull and allows better airflow and a larger sail size.In the larger sizes, there have been a number of sportboats that have managed to achieve both accommodation as well as performance, including the Young Rocket, Stealth designs from Alan Carwadine and various Elliott configurations.Heavier designs such as the SB3, J80, Flying Tiger and Platu are competitive in handicap racing, but are significantly slower compared to the lightweight racers.The SB3 is one of the most popular sportboats of the modern era with over 600 sold worldwide (mainly in Europe) and it has been the largest class at the annual Cowes Week regatta with over 80 boats.The SB3 widened the appeal of sportsboats by preventing hiking and having a heavier keel providing more stability - making it suitable for a wider range of sailors and over 100 boats attend the annual class regatta which will be held in the UK in 2011 and Australia in 2012.Sailed extensively in the UK and Australia, fleets also exist in Belgium, France, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, and Spain (Majorca).The Association is fully affiliated with Australian Sailing and aims to regulate and promote the racing of sports boats at regattas throughout Australia.[11] During the 2011 Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac, the high performance monohull sportsyacht Kiwi 35 WingNuts turtled in an extreme storm,[12] killing the captain and one crew member.[16][17][18][19] WingNuts met then current offshore stability standards, which failed to adequately take into account the effect of the "radical" winged hull.: "Veteran Chicago-Mac racers have encountered similar conditions during previous races and understand that coping with severe weather is part of the challenge.Skippers must prepare their boats, train their crew, maintain a watchful eye for approaching storms and "the dearest friend (and most menacing foe) of all sailors -- the wind."