New race format

The new Devoti-One to hold its first regatta on Lake Garda this weekend

The brand new Devoti-One class is set to hold its first official regatta on Lake Garda later this week. The hi-tech, high-performance singlehanded dinghy is attracting at least 10 entries from five countries for a three-day competition from 23 to 25 October, 2009.

Luca Devoti, the founder and builder of the class, is looking forward to a fun three days of hard but rewarding sailing out of Torbole, at the windy end of Italy’s famous and spectacular lake. “The Devoti-One is about ‘putting the fun back into sailing’, and the fact that we have delivered 20 boats after less than two months of production shows that many sailors agree with us,” he said. “To have 10 to 15 entries for our first event is great. We have sailors coming from Austria, Britain, Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic.”

Devoti says the class is not just about the boat, but about delivering a different style of racing. “Rather than just accept the usual things that we have come to expect from sailing, we want to try a few ideas, some of which we’ll be testing in Torbole:

- Fewer races - maximum of 5 over three days (one discard)
- Last race - Triple Points (so no one wins until it’s finished)
- Limited intervention by judges and umpires (they can only act on the protest of another competitor. If a competitor initiates a protest and loses, he is disqualified).

"We believe that these changes will make sailing more enjoyable, more accessible, less exhausting, less confrontational than the racing formats which govern most small-boat regattas these days. But we’re going to test everything, until we find the format that sailors really want, not the one that they are expected to conform to."

Technical Background to the Devoti-One

The hull was designed by leading British designer Phil Morrison. Taking the best materials and technology available to provide a unique sailing experience, the Devoti-One is built using carbon fibre and foam, constructed in CNC moulds, giving a stiff light hull. The carbon mast, boom and bowsprit maintain quality throughout and the boat has been extensively tested by a team of top sailors to make sure it’s a winner.
Upwind the Devoti-One is powered by a large 11 sqm fully battened mainsail that has enough power to be hiking early but easy to keep control when it gets fresher.
Downwind, using the 15 sqm gennaker, the boat is stable and easily driven with plenty of power to the highly manoeuvrable and lightweight hull. The all-up sailing weight of the Devoti-One is just 75kg.