Please select your home edition
Edition
Allen Dynamic 40 Leaderboard

The Twelve Days of FiveO Christmas - Vote for your favourite

by Dougal Henshall 7 Jan 2022 12:00 GMT
Which photo should become the cover of the book which tells the 505's history? © Christophe Favreau / www.christophefavreau.com

There were exciting times to be enjoyed over the festive season as the 5o5 class grabbed the media spotlight with the '12 days of 5o5 Christmas'. The premise was simple, for instead of calling birds, pipers a piping and French hens, there were twelve superb Christophe Favreau photographs, one per day, with each one showing the 5o5 off at its best.

The photo publicity also had a wider purpose, as the object of the exercise was also to help select a front cover for the book telling the 68 year story of the 5o5, which will be published in August at the World Championship in Cork.

Vote for your favourite photo to be used on the cover

It is the true international aspect of the 5o5 Class that has been one of two major sticking points with the production of the book, as this is not about the story of the book in the UK (though there was surely enough material for a tome focused on events here), nor of the boat in France, nor Australia, but instead how the boat has evolved and been sailed in all nations.

Few would know that the class was strong in both South America and across the various nations of the South African continent, but their story had to be told, just as the tales from Tangiers to Santa Cruz, Adelaide to Mounts Bay need to be recounted.

The other difficulty came with the book being dedicated to 5o5 crews everywhere, from all nations, across all the years and from every part of the fleet. A great idea, except for the fact that way into the 1980s reports seemed to indicate that the helms sailed the boat single-handedly, with there being nothing in the way of any mention of the crew.

It has doubled the time the book has taken, but there are very few instances where a helm's name is mentioned but with the crew ignored. In the 1950s and 60s, FiveO crews helped define the role of the performance dinghy crew, so their names must be a part of any history of the class.

It was mentioned earlier that there was enough material for a UK-specific book, ditto from all of the main sailing nations. The final problem is that when all these are brought together, the book will weigh in at something over 3kg, for as well as being a fantastic story, the 5o5 is extremely photogenic, so photos will be glossy and (where possible) in full colour.

See the larger photos - Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6,
Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12 - and then vote for your choice.

Related Articles

Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects! Posted on 10 Jul
Understanding sMRT Alert with Jack Sharland
Man Overboard Devices have come a long way in the last few years Man Overboard Devices have come a long way in the last few years with more features packed into smaller devices, but with all these features it can sometimes be difficult to understand what they all do. Posted on 9 Jul
The Ocean Race Europe Video Preview
We speak to Phil Lawrence, Peter Rusch & Pip Hare to find out more The Ocean Race Europe will take place between 10 August & 21 September, following a debut event in the summer of 2021. The racing is in IMOCA yachts, the same as the Vendée Globe, but this time with 4 crew and an OBR who will document the action on board. Posted on 8 Jul
Foiling Frenzy at Fraglia Vela Malcesine
The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! The Moth Worlds at Lake Garda are something else! Regardless of where sailors are in their careers, or the reputation they have, everyone wants to be there and have a tilt at the title. Posted on 7 Jul
The oldest video footage of Moth sailing
A look back into our video archive, to when the name of this class first settled down We delve into our video archive to find the oldest possible videos that show Moth racing. Are these International Moths, British Moths... or was the name still Olive, Inverloch 11ft, National Moth or Brent One-Design?! Posted on 6 Jul
The power of tech
What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? What is the cost of safety? How do you measure it? More importantly, how do you appreciate it? Posted on 2 Jul
An evening with the Scaramouche Sailing Trust
Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy Sailing hasn't always been a sport for inner-city state schools like the Greig City Academy (GCA). But they've shown it can be accessible to everyone, with amazing results. Posted on 2 Jul
Jazz Turner completes Project FEAR
Drama right to the end in her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles Jazz Turner has completed Project FEAR, her non-stop, solo, unassisted navigation of the British Isles in her Albin 27 yacht. A flotilla of supporters met her in Seaford Bay, which grew and grew the closer they came to Brighton Marina. Posted on 1 Jul
Project FEAR is in the final few days
Charity circumnavigation almost over, in record time, with a record total raised Jazz Turner is expected to reach home (Brighton Marina) on Monday 30th June or Tuesday 1st July. She has sailed round the British Isles - all round Ireland and the Shetland Islands - without any assistance in 27 days so far. Posted on 28 Jun
Funding for clubs transforms sailing opportunities
During the latest RYA Participation Webinar we heard from UK clubs about their experiences During the latest RYA Participation Webinar we heard from a range of UK clubs, walking through their case studies, and then heard from experts in finance who talked us through the opportunities and pitfalls of acquiring funds. Posted on 26 Jun