It may sound a bit like a premature April Fool's joke, but Australian circumnavigator and sailing adventure enthusiast Don McIntyre can certainly be trusted with projects like this: As he announced today (Monday), he wants to launch a new boat class, the Class Mini 5.80. This new type of boat, a 5.80 metre short self-build boat made of plywood, will be used to sail ocean races on the Atlantic and even around the world. The plan is to race across the Atlantic alongside the Mini-Transat as early as autumn 2021, and even around the world three years later.
Big plans for small boats
With this initiative, McIntyre wants to make "big adventures on small boats" possible and, above all, affordable. A construction plan should cost around 300 euros and the boat should be quick and easy to build thanks to its simple plywood construction.
"I love small boats for their simplicity and pure adventure," says McIntyre. "But I have no idea if sailors will be excited about this new development. I certainly am. We hope that boats will be built all over the world, and if that happens, we will support national associations and local races!"
Membership of the new Class Mini 5.80 will be compulsory for every self-builder and will cost 35 euros per year.
Back to minimalism
With his idea, the Australian is taking up the former idea of the Mini-Transat, the legendary regatta across the Atlantic in which around 80 single-handed skippers sail across the Atlantic every two years, largely without contact to the outside world.
The race across the Atlantic was first organised in 1977 as a "poor man's race" to enable ocean racing on small, affordable boats. Wolfgang Quix was the only German to take part at the time and sailed the 5.70 metre Waarschip "Waarwolf", an even smaller boat than McIntyre now has in mind.
In the eyes of the Australian organiser, however, the costs of participating in a Mini Transat on a Mini 6.50 are now exploding. Although you can buy used Pogos relatively cheaply, says McIntyre, you then have to put in a lot of work to have a competitive boat. Not everyone can do that. "Many are afraid of such a challenge, but still dream of an ocean race in a small boat. Now they can do it."
Tiny do-it-yourself models
The boats are to be 5.80 metres long, 2.27 metres wide and have a draught of 1.40 metres. The first prototype for McIntyre himself is already being built in Poland. The Australian has announced that he intends to sail across the Atlantic with it soon. "I'm looking forward to it!" he says.
In 2010, he had already sailed around 4,000 nautical miles across the Pacific on a small boat.
From transatlantic to circumnavigation
The enterprising 64-year-old has already drawn up an ambitious regatta calendar for his new boat class:
The first Transat race on the dwarf boats is due to take place in November 2021, followed by a race from Europe to the Azores and back in 2022 and another Transat in 2023, before a round-the-world race in stages is due to take place in four years' time. However, it remains to be seen how seaworthy the boat from the pen of Polish designer Janusz Maderski is and how many boat builders will be inspired.
In 2027, all owners of a ClassMini 5.80 will be invited to Europe to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Mini-Transat in 1977.
Retro adventures on trend
So Don McIntyre has big plans again. However, he has already proven that he is able to inspire sailors for extraordinary trips and deeds with the organisation of the Golden Globe Race 2018/19. 18 single-handed sailors from all over the world took to the starting line to sail around the world without technical navigation aids, just like 50 years ago. The next edition is already planned for 2022. And for 2023, numerous crews have already registered for the new "Ocean Globe Race", an anniversary regatta of the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973 devised by McIntyre.
How McIntyre will ever find time for mini-sailing on the Atlantic with all his events is questionable, however - especially as he originally wanted to sail in the Golden Globe Race himself.
The plans will be presented in detail at the Hiswa Amsterdam boat show from 11 to 15 March 2020 and will also be available on the class website from then on: https://classmini580.com
