From Palma lockdown to Bandol 2022 European Championships!
Mark Branagh, who many of you know from BMComposites, reached out to The Islander to tell us with much excitement about the emerging OK class in Palma. Like many of us who work on larger yachts, Mark appreciates the joys of dinghy sailing, simplicity, affordability and close racing in a one-design boat.
Boatbuilders Luis Portella and Javier Estarellas used their time during the 2020 lockdown by building 2 x OK class dinghies – a class they were nostalgic about. Javier built a glass fibre version, but it was Luis’s wooden version that caught the attention of other RCNP club sailors. Mark was one of them and decided to buy his own OK dinghy in Bandol, France. In this port community between Toulon and La Ciotat, this class is very popular, and they hosted the European Championships last October. Considering the limited training time they had prior to the event, Luis, Javier and Mark booked respectable results, all finishing in the 30s of an 80-boat international fleet!
Javier is now Chairman of the Spanish OK class and is set to promote it in Palma. Currently, there are seven boats with four more boats coming from Denmark, two from the UK, and two kit boats ready to build. There is also a lot of interest in the secondhand market, making for a predicted 15–20 boats by Spring 2023. This may even be an underestimate…..
The OK class is very lucky to be supported by RCNP and they seem very happy to set up races at weekends, and have even offered the use of a rib for training sessions. The feeling is that the club is genuinely positive about this emerging class. There is already talk of the OK class having their own start in the Princess Sofia and Palma Vela regattas, as well as holding the 2024 European championships here in Palma Bay.
Local interest in the OKs has been quite surprising and many yacht crew, captains and people in the industry are getting excited about being involved. We would love to see more people get involved; those who are serious about racing, improving their dinghy racing skills, and keeping fit in both mind and body.
Mark and Javier have teamed up with several others in the group and Olympic Finn sailing experience to explore the possibility of designing and building OK dinghies to suit our fantastic local sailing conditions here in Palma. A process like this would usually take time, but with their combined technical skills and vast experience, they feel they can come up with something pretty quickly. Please get in touch if you would like any information about joining the class
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