LTHOUGH it was, for nearly 30 years, synonymous with the America's Cup, the 12 metre class is bigger and stronger than a singel trophy-however prestigious. The appeal of a classic design is timeless and works its magic without reference to any competitive glory. However, what the Cup did for the twelves was to project a dozen or so individual boats into yachting's Hall of Fame. Public awareness of boats such's Intrepid, Freedom and the winged-keel Australia II came via countless newspaperfrontpages and television sports stories.

At the dawn of the 20th Century European yachtsmen became concerned that boat shapes were becoming too diverse to allow effective racing. In 1906 a new International Rule was proposed, encompassing French, German end British racing rules and creating a uniform style. It was essentially simple, expressed by a formula that added length, beam, girth, sail area and freeboard together in various measures, dividing the result by two to give a simple numerical value. Designers had great freedom to play with the different parameters. So long as the resultant number came out as one of the four acknowledged classes of 6, 8, 10, or 12-metres.

Although the 6-metre survives as a rarefied three-man keel-boat and is much loved by its small number of devotees, it was the 12-metre that really took off as, believe it or not, an economical way for gentleman possesing means, but not fortunes, to go yacht racing.