Flying Eleven

The Flying Eleven is an Australian boat designed as a high performance racing skiff suitable for 12- to 18-year-olds. High performance sailing is fast becoming the goal of a great many dinghy sailors with the appearance of 49ers as an Olympic class.The Flying Eleven is a logical step in the transition between junior classes such as the Manly Junior or Sabot and prepares young sailors for classes such as Cherubs, 420s, 470s, 29ers, Moths, 13s or even 49ers.

History

The F11 started in 1964. The main classes available for training young sailors were the VJ, MJ, Moth, Heron and it appeared there was an opening for a class with:

The acceptance campaign then started and three different "models" of the Flying Eleven were taken to different clubs each weekend and sailed in all weathers. These three models were called the Open Sailer, the Self Drainer, and the Fully Decked Model. The fully decked model did not appeal to the go-fast boys and, although the self drainer was popular, the VJ self drainer was well established therefore the emphasis was put on a boat which, firstly, had to be expertly sailed to stay afloat and, secondly, would serve as a trainer for the open skiff classes — so the open sailer it had to be.