Flying Fifteen


The Flying Fifteen is a 20-foot two person keelboat designed by Uffa Fox in 1947. In 2018 therefore the class is 71 years old.

History

The Flying Fifteen was quickly popular and the most famous Flying Fifteen is presented to the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Elizabeth as a wedding present. Uffa Fox and Prince Philip frequently sailed together at Cowes.
The Flying Fifteen has been modernized over the years, with Uffa Fox agreeing to changes towards the end of his life to improve the design specification and sail plan. By this time, the class had established itself in a number of countries, and when John Calvert-Jones traveled from Australia and won the UK championships, the stimulus was provided for the move to seek international status. Under the guidance of Tom Ratcliffe, an International Federation of Flying Fifteen Associations was formed by nine countries from four continents. The first world championships were held in Perth, Australia in 1979 and subsequently have alternated between the Northern and Southern hemispheres biennially. The first European Championship took place in Spain in May 2004.
Latest information about World Championship venues and results and countries where the Flying 15 is sailed are available on the Flying Fifteen International website http://www.flying15.org

Racing

The International Federation is firmly committed to the one-design ideal and is actively promoting tighter tolerances and improved measuring techniques. The Flying Fifteen is now much more tightly toleranced than in the past and it is now not unusual for boats up to or even over five years old to be fully competitive.
Racing takes place both at sea and on inland waters, particularly large reservoirs and lakes to which the Flying Fifteen is well suited. Although national and world championships are an important feature of the class programme, every effort is made to encourage racing at all levels. Club sailing is the backbone of fleets throughout the world and close racing is enjoyed by men and women, both as helm and crew, with all ranges of ability and age.

Events

World Championships

European Championship

RYA Clubs with large Flying Fifteen fleets

For a full list of clubs see http://www.flying15.org for worldwide fleets and http://www.flying15.org.uk for UK fleets.