Invitation to National 12 class 80th Birthday Dinner at Brightlingsea
by Tom Stewart 26 Jun 2016 15:07 BST
21 August 2016
N12 Burton Week 2011 © Jeremy Carey
1936 to 2016
National 12 Sailors past and present are invited to the class's 80th Birthday Dinner at Brightlingsea Sailing Club on the 21st of August.
In 1935 the YRA - now the RYA - recognised the need for a simple to sail boat to encourage dinghy sailing for the masses. The legendary designer Uffa Fox drew the lines of the first boat Uffa King and 200 sets of plans were sold and some 175 boats built in the first year.
In the past 80 years the class has developed from clinker hulls and wooden masts to high tech winged wonders with carbon spars and self-draining hulls. The class has held a Nationals and the Sir William Burton Cup race every year excepting for during the Second World War.
These days the class celebrates all aspects of 12 sailing with a strong vintage scene, an older boats division as well as the state of the art modern fleet.
The class will celebrate its birthday at the National Championships which will be held at Brightlingsea Sailing Club from 20th to 23rd August with the big race itself held on the Sunday the 21st.
Following the Burton Race there will be the Burton Dinner and Prize Giving which will double as the class's birthday party. All 12 sailors past and present are invited to the dinner and of course where possible to bring a boat and enter the Sir William Burton Cup.
Entry forms and the NOR are available now. For dinner bookings please contact Janet Bloor at