1959 Flying Dutchman Worlds at WYC

Archive footage from the Whitstable Yacht Club archives showing the 1959 Flying Dutchman World Championships. From the club history: In the 1950s the Rear Commodore, Slotty Dawes, introduced the first of the new Olympic trapeze dinghies, the Flying Dutchman, into the United Kingdom. Whitstable became the racing centre for the new boats and in 1959 the first ever World Championship held in the UK was here. It was the year before the Rome Olympics and was a dress rehearsal with all the top international crews attending. There was a large contingent from Russia and the communist Eastern Block. In the same year the Club hosted the FD National Championships, the Merlin Rocket Championships and Kent Week. This put Whitstable on the international yachting map. Slotty Dawes sailed in the Rome Olympics and was the first of many local sailors to race at world class level. For more information about Whitstable Yacht Club, go to: