All photos by Donna Sue Marks
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to steer an International 505 at the 2026 Midwinters Championship in Clearwater, Florida as well as a follow-up “friendly” dinghy regatta at Davis Island in nearby Tampa Bay. As there was no racing last Saturday, I thought I might share that experience in this week’s newsletter.The 505 is a classic racing dinghy that has been around since the 1950’s. Technically a one-design, it is nonetheless a “development class” that has been updated regularly to keep pace with emerging technologies. Top boats now sport full carbon hulls (wet-laid or prepreg), carbon booms and twin spinnaker poles. The large symmetrical spinnaker (it was greatly