Standart yachts

What is different about the Standart landyacht class? Answer: They are not different they are all the same! This is not a riddle it is totally logical; the concept of the Standart Class was that there should be a ‘one design yacht’ where all pilots had the opportunity to sail on equal terms.

Standart yachts are manufactured (by Seagull Landyachts in France) to a strict specification and individual yachts are scrutinised prior to the races to see that they conform to the agreed specification.

The benefits of a ‘one design yacht’ are that pilots of Standarts race on equal terms with other pilots; no-one will arrive at a competition with a newly designed sail capable of beating all other competitors! So those engineers and designers who excel in designing faster lighter weight yachts in the other classes do not have an advantage here. Nor do those who constantly buy the latest equipment force others to continually play catch-up as they dig deeper into their pockets. Martin Leach was 4th in the World Championships in 2000, with a yacht which was 11 years old that would have been virtually impossible in any of the other classes which make continual advancements in the design of yachts.

The drawback of the one design are that the Standart was designed in the late 1980’s and whilst it has retained its aesthetic appeal it has obviously not increased its acceleration or speed. The yacht could easily be modified to sail faster and more efficiently if it had larger wheels and/or a better sail.

The yacht design is controlled by the members of the International Standart Sandyachting Association (Website here); the class association to which all Standart pilots are entitled to join. Recognising the potential improvements which could be made to the design, a vote of its members recently agreed tests could take place to find a new more efficient sail. When the trials have been concluded the members will vote on whether to accept a change to the specification or retain the existing sail, so control of the class remains in the hands of the majority of the pilots.

The Standart was slowly adopted by British pilots, however this changing with over half of the current competitors transferring to Standarts in the past three years. The standard of competition and friendly rivalry is helping to establish the class and the winning of the Bronze Team prize at the 2003 European Championships in Belgium by Ron Frewin, Martin Leach and Malcolm Menzies is proof of the commitment in this growing class.

There are two main options when sourcing Standarts. Present pilots may be a source for second-hand yachts as some pilots may wish to trade up to a newer model. As the class has been much more popular in France and Belgium there are more second-hand yachts available there; the sand yacht club at De Panne is usually a good starting point. For new yachts contact Seagull direct in France. Visit their website Seagull Landyachts (Martin Leach)