The Tempest is a one design two man high performance keelboat with a trapeze. It was designed by Ian Proctor for the 1965 trials for the new Olympic Keelboat, which it won convincingly.

In sailing at the 1972 Summer Olympics the Tempest class was used alongside the Star class as an Olympic racing yacht. The Gold Medal was won by Valentin Mankin and Vitaly Dyrdyra of the Soviet Union. Alan Warren and David Hunt won silver for the UK. For the 1976 Olympics the Tempest class was used in place of the Star class, but subsequently the Star class forced abandonment of the Tempest. The Gold Medal was won by John Albrechtson and Ingvar Hansson of Sweden.

The Tempest is unusual for a keelboat in having a trapeze, which with its planing hull and large sail plan is remarkably fast on a reach and speeds in excess of 15 kts are not uncommon in moderate winds.

The class has since progressed with the times, including a new deck and cockpit layout and changing the construction from GRP to a foam sandwich. In the last few years the rules have allowed a bigger spinnaker, longer spinnaker pole and the use of epoxy resin in the construction of the hull.

Tempests are sailed actively throughout the world with major fleets in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, United Kingdom, North America and Australia. In the UK, they are sailed at Ullswater and Carsington.

Photos: Class Association.

Link: www.tempestclass.com