Tempest (keelboat)

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.

International Tempest

Class symbol
Development
Designer	Ian Proctor
Location	United Kingdom
Year	1965
Design	One-Design
Role	Designed for the Olympic Games 1972
Boat
Crew	2
Draft	1.10 m (3 ft 7 in)
Trapeze	single trapeze
Hull
Type	Monohull
Construction	GRP (Sandwich allowed)
Hull weight	480 kg (1,060 lb)
LOA	6.66 m (21.9 ft)
Beam	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Hull appendages
Keel/board type	Fixed 228 kg (503 lb)
Rig
Rig type	Bermuda rig
Sails
Mainsail area	15.24 m2 (164.0 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area	7.69 m2 (82.8 sq ft)
Spinnaker area	25.9 m2 (279 sq ft)
Upwind sail area	23.11 m2 (248.8 sq ft)
Racing
D-PN	83.4[1]
RYA PN	942
Former Olympic class

Tempests on full speed reaching. Left old size spinnaker, right new size.

Advertizement Sticker of the International Tempest Association

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.

The Tempest has an unusual aspect in that it is a keelboat but also has a trapeze, a rigging element usually only found on certain dinghies. As a result the Tempest is just as exciting to sail as fast dinghies, but is much more forgiving and is unable to be capsized. Due to the planing hull shape and large sailplan, the Tempest is remarkably fast when sailing on a reach, and speeds in excess of 15 kts are not uncommon in moderate winds.

Tempests are sailed actively throughout much of Europe with fleets in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom.

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. For the 1976 Olympics the Tempest class was used in place of the Star class. The Gold Medal was won by John Albrechtson and Ingvar Hansson of Sweden.

Since 2010 the Tempest is one of the Vintage Yachting Classes at the Vintage Yachting Games.