Crew 2 Hull weight 381 lb (173 kg) Beam 5 ft (1.5 m) | Draft 3 ft 3 in (0.99 m) LOA 15 ft 6 in (4.72 m) Upwind Sail Area 128 sq ft (11.9 m) | |
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The Snipe is a 15 1⁄2 foot, 2 person, one design racing dinghy. Designed by William Crosby in 1931, it has evolved into a modern, tactical racing dinghy with fleets around the world. The class is governed by the Snipe Class International Racing Association (SCIRA) and recognized by the International Sailing Federation as an International Class sailed in 26 different countries. There have been over 31,000 Snipes constructed worldwide.
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The global Snipe slogan is "Serious sailing, Serious fun".
The Snipe class has both developed and attracted some of the sailing world's top competitors. Four of the top olympic medalists in sailing (Torben Grael, Paul Elvstrøm, Robert Scheidt and Mark Reynolds) have competed in the Snipe. Five Snipe sailors have received the ISAF World Sailor of the Year Awards: Mark Reynolds, Robert Scheidt, Torben Grael, Anna Tunnicliffe and Santiago Lange.
The Snipe is simple, making it easy to sail and trailer. It can be sailed by all types of persons, no matter their age, their weight, or their sex. Co-ed crews are very popular in Snipe sailing. Perhaps because of the very limited evolutions of the boat allowed over the years, there is an excellent second-hand market.
History
During a meeting of the Florida West Coast Racing Association in March 1931, Bill Crosby promised to publish a new trailer boat design in the magazine "The Rudder". This was done on the July 1931 issue, and the new boat was called "Snipe". The first unit, named "Adelaide", was built in Pass Christian, Mississippi, by Jimmy Brown and father, and was issued sail number 1 of the class in September 1931, and is now in the collection of the Antique Boat Museum, located at Clayton, New York. By May 1932, 150 boats were already registered, and by the end of the year the number reached 250. In July 1936, the class was the largest racing class in the world.
Regattas
Regattas are held in most countries and local, regional, national and international championships offer great opportunities to compete at different levels of skills. Most regattas include open, junior, women, masters and coed categories.
The World Championships are the most important competitions, followed by the Europeans and the Western Hemisphere & Orient Championships. These regattas are sailed every two years.
Annual regattas include the North American Championship and the South American Championship in the Western Hemisphere and the South European Championship, Nordic Championship and East European Championship in Europe.
European Cup, Winter Circuit Championship and Iberian Championship are also international sanctioned competitions sailed every year.
The Snipe is also present at the following Multi-sport events:
Argentina
The most important regattas are:
Italy
The most important regattas are:
Portugal
The most important regattas are:
Spain
The most important regattas are the events that compose the National Circuit (Circuito Nacional). These include the most important competition, the Spanish Nationals, the second most important competition, the Spanish Cup, and the most popular local regattas chosen every year by the national assembly. When the "Iberian Championship" is hosted by Spain (every two years, alternating with Portugal), this regatta is also included in the circuit.
USA
The National Championship is the top regatta of the year, followed by the Atlantic Coast Championship, the Pacific Coast Championship, the Southwestern Championship and the 7 District Championships. The Winter Circuit Championship, which includes three events, one of them in the Bahamas awards the Zimmerman Trophy to the sailor who attends all 3 events and has the lowest score:
Other popular regattas are the Colonial Cup and the Frigid Digit Regatta (Severn Sailing Association), the Earl Elms Memorial Regatta and the Carolyn Nute Memorial Regatta (Mission Bay Yacht Club), Halloween Regatta (Atlanta Yacht Club), Ron Payne Memorial (Lauderdale Yacht Club), Comodoro Rasco Regatta (Coconut Grove Sailing Club), Briody Regatta (Newport Yacht Club), St John’s Tea Party Regatta (Florida Yacht Club), Winchester Invitational (Winchester Boat Club), Rocky Mountain Championship (Union Sailing Club), Riff Raff Regatta (Cowan Lake Sailing Association), Indiana Open (Indianapolis Sailing Club), Fire on the Water (Lincoln Sailing Club), Whittemore St John Regatta (Quassapaug Sailing Center) and Norm Tanner Regatta (Bow Mar Yacht Club).