A-Class Catamaran
The A-Class catamaran is one of the most exciting and high-performance sailing boats in the world today. The class has been active in Kinsale since 2007 and it races on Saturdays only. These small 18-foot long, singlehanded, twin-hulled trapeze boats are not for the unitiated. Weighing in at just 75kgs, powered by just one sail of nearly 14 square metres in area and mostly built of advanced composites including carbon fibre, A-Class catamarans are extremely powerful, really fast, fairly delicate and definitely for the more athletic amongst us.
The A-Class has consistently proved itself in the international scene whereby the World and European championships are frequented by some of the best sailors in the world. However, it has always taken the dedication of a pure A-Class sailor to win the Championships. This demonstrates the high level of performance within the class and it leads to amazing numbers of entries for such events. The International A-Class Rules allows 80 to 100 entries to each event, this results in each country needing to sail pre-selection events.
Due to a minimised construction protocol with adherence to length, width, sail area and minimum weight it has been possible for the numerous designers to develop a boat of outstanding performance. Modern materials such as Carbon and Kevlar are being used for mass production of the hulls and masts, a potential of development which has been recognized and approved by modern industries, whereas others are still satisfied using glass-fibre hulls and aluminium masts.
Second hand boats start at about 6000 Euros and a brand new boat with all the extras can run to nearly three times that. The Kinsale fleet is a friendly bunch always looking to attract new members by offering trial sails in these amazing boats. The fleet doesn’t launch from the club in Kinsale town but from the beach at Castlepark across the bridge on the other side of the Bandon River.
The A-Class Catamaran Class Captain in Kinsale is Colm Dunne and his contacts are:
Tel: 086 2516101
Email: yachtservicesireland@gmail.com
The A-Class Catamaran Class Racing Calendar, Official Notice Board, Racing Results and Class Open Meeting Information can be accessed by clicking on the menu to the left.