International 110 Class

August 15, 2011

Inverness Yacht Club on Tomales Bay is an old school club at a young 99 years old, and they have one of the only old school fleets of International 110s on the West Coast. The 110 may be old (it's a 1939 Charles Raymond Hunt design), but it was way ahead of its time. Think of it as an early two-person Wylie Wabbit.

A mixed fleet of 110s, Flying Scots and newer designs start all at once. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Most are made of plywood with an unusual flat bottom and topsides for ease of construction. Some of the newer ones are fiberglass, but all must meet the class minimum weight of 910 lbs. A small swept-back keel with bulb and a spade rudder take 1939 streamlining to the max and keep them upright. With a short rig and small sail plan they work very well in often windy conditions like Tomales Bay. A spinnaker was added later, then a trapeze and later a chute launcher - just like a 505 - and with that the boats made it to the 21st Century.

The shape of things to come. The keel and rudder on the 110 were ahead of their time. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Inverness is home to fleet 56, and one of the leaders is Milly Biller. Her pink 110 has been tearing up Tomales Bay for a while now. "The boat belonged to my father, and I inherited it. We started out racing at Richmond YC with the old set up. I remember having to go forward to get the kite ready in a wooden box nailed to the foredeck. Now I'm trying out an asymmetric chute for a test to see if the fleet can upgrade once more."

Milly Biller and Bill Pearson stalled out and looking for wind. They would end up with a win by only seconds over Malcom and Todd in Sunday's race. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Fleet 56 tries to have 10 or more boats on the line for races, and most live on trailers at the club, but if you have a 110 sitting in the yard you are more than welcome to give Tomales a try. The racing is tight in the shifty, tough conditions of Tomales Bay where even the locals can get confused.

Robert Caldwell and Jim Noble looking for the fickle breeze. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

To find out more about old tech using new tech visit the following websites. Boat info: www.raceonedesign.com/directory/one-design-classes/international-110 Fleet 56 at IYC: www.mfife.com/fleet56 Even Hawaii has a fleet: http://hawaii110fleet.blogspot.com And nice lake sailing in Connecticut: http://international110fleet46.blogspot.com.

Some of Fleet 56 pose for the camera. ©2011 norcalsailing.com

Some recent videos shot on Tomales Bay about the fleet’s testing of asymmetrical kites in the last few weeks and posted on YouTube by Phil Macafee: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlw9V5CmsNs and www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsPePUKrkhs.