Hardly midgets

In the UK there is the still strong fleet of concours-standard IOR Quarter Tonners, re-purposed with simplified rigs and enjoying fun and close racing in IRC. In the US there is something of a steady rebirth of the original MORC class of ‘Midget Ocean Racers’. Proper pocket yachts, rather than outsized dayboats, Dobbs Davis revisits an old stomping ground…

We marvel at the French and other European teams who design, build and race the Mini 6.50 class yachts, darting around northern Europe and every two years making longer passages across the Atlantic. The class was started in 1977 by Englishman Bob Salmon and has seen constant evolution ever since. All the innovations in hull design, spars, rigging and sails, along with the steering and other systems that can keep one or two people functioning in gruelling conditions for days and weeks at a time, are nothing short of remarkable.