In a recent Sailing World issue, October 2012, there was a cover feature and article titled "The Eight Most enduring One Design Classes"   Featured in that article were the Highlander, Optimist, Lightning, Sunfish, Snipe, Dragon, International 14 and 505, but curiously the article did not include the 55-year-old Flying Scot.  I wanted to share here on FSSA.COM the letter I wrote to the editor about what I feel was an oversight.  I am sure you will agree.

Dear Editor,

I always enjoy Sailing World magazine, the stories, the features, and even the ads.  I was surprised to see in the October 2012 issue that when you listed 8 Enduring Classes, you did not include the Flying Scot® class.  The Flying Scot® is still being produced after 55 years, and is a very active class.  It is a great boat to sail for both families and racers.  We have about 100 active fleets around the country with new fleets added this year.  We race thousands of races a year, more than 60 at my home club alone, with 4 nationally sanctioned events, and have District Championships in each area of the country.  The Flying Scot® has been used in both the Mallory and Adams Cup Men’s and Women’s Championships more than once over the last 5 years.  It has also been used in the Sears and Champion of Champions, as well as the Special Olympics.  We have over 6,000 boats built to date, and have 1,300 members in the Flying Scot Sailing Association, with new boats built by a dedicated builder and sold on a regular basis.

At our 2007 North American Championships (NACs), also celebrating 50 years in the class, we featured over 100 boats on the starting line.  Since then, we have had a very respectable 65 – 80 boats at our NACs each year.   In 2007, right after our 50th anniversary NACs, Sailing World featured Flying Scot® as one of the top 5 enduring classes at our 50 year anniversary.  Not much has changed since then to make anyone think differently!
We hope you continue to see the Flying Scot® as an enduring class.  We have many more years of sailing and competition ahead of us in this fine one-design boat. 

Regards,

Diane Kampf, President

Flying Scot Sailing Association