12 Square meter Sharpie (dinghy)
Encyclopedia
The 12m Sharpie was designed in 1931 by the Kroger Brothers. The peak of the class was in the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games
. To this day, the original design has been preserved, and the class is sailed competitively in the UK,Holland, Germany, and Portugal. The European Championships are rotated between these four countries every year.
The term 'Twelve Square Metre' evolves from the original sail area, though on modern sharpies due to modern sail designs has now reached to around sixteen square metres.
Past Australian champions to have passed through the ranks include Sir James Hardy, John Cuneo
, Rolly Tasker
and John Bertrand.
Rolly Tasker won Australia’s first sailing medal at the 1956 Olympic Games
in Melbourne
when he and John Scott
won a silver medal in their 12m2 Sharpie.
The 12m Sharpie is one of the potential Vintage classes for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games
.
There are still a small number of original sharpies in Australia
, though they have not been sailed competitively since the 1960s. In Australia, the original 'heavyweight' Sharpie has now evolved into the lightweight Australian Sharpie
.
Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad Sailing/Yachting is a Olympic sport starting from the Games of the 1st Olympiad (1896 Olympics in Greece. With the exception of 1904 and...
. To this day, the original design has been preserved, and the class is sailed competitively in the UK,Holland, Germany, and Portugal. The European Championships are rotated between these four countries every year.
The term 'Twelve Square Metre' evolves from the original sail area, though on modern sharpies due to modern sail designs has now reached to around sixteen square metres.
Past Australian champions to have passed through the ranks include Sir James Hardy, John Cuneo
John Cuneo
John Cuneo is an Australian sailor and Olympic champion. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where he received a gold medal in the dragon class, together with crew members Thomas Anderson and John Shaw....
, Rolly Tasker
Rolly Tasker
Rolland "Rolly" Tasker AM is an Australian sailor who won Australia’s first sailing medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. He and Malcolm Scott won a silver medal in their 12m2 Sharpie after the New Zealander Peter Mander failed to disqualify himself and Rolly had not officially protested...
and John Bertrand.
Rolly Tasker won Australia’s first sailing medal at the 1956 Olympic Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
when he and John Scott
John Scott (sailor)
John Malcolm Scott is an Australian sailor. He won a silver medal in the Sharpie class with Rolly Tasker at the 1956 Summer Olympics.- References :* at sports-reference.com...
won a silver medal in their 12m2 Sharpie.
The 12m Sharpie is one of the potential Vintage classes for the 2012 Vintage Yachting Games
2012 Vintage Yachting Games
The 2012 Vintage Yachting Games is the second post-Olympic multi-class sailing event for discontinued Olympic classes. The event will be held July 7–15, 2012 on Lake Como, Italy. The organization of this event lies in the hands of the Multilario, a joint venture of local yacht clubs at Lake Como...
.
There are still a small number of original sharpies in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, though they have not been sailed competitively since the 1960s. In Australia, the original 'heavyweight' Sharpie has now evolved into the lightweight Australian Sharpie
Australian Sharpie
The Australian Sharpie is a 3-person sailing dinghy which has evolved from the 12-square-metre class sailed in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Australian Sharpies are 19 feet, inches long, with a planing hull and a single mast. Sharpies race with a fully battened mainsail, a jib and...
.