The earliest video recordings of Albacore racing dinghies
by Magnus Smith 17 Nov 13:00 PST
Our video archive is completely searchable and is updated each week with the newest sailing videos. Here, however, we take a moment to reflect on early sailing in the Albacore class, featuring footage from 1958 to 1977 that highlights the old technology, iconic clothing, and great hairstyles.
Our oldest footage comes from a professional Fairey Marine promotional film showcasing their line of dinghies (see 2m52s), produced in the late 1950s.
The most remarkable find is the National Championships from 1962, with the first video capturing the on-water action.
This video is paired with another that features shore activities from the same event held at Locks Sailing Club.
The concluding video, filmed in 1976-77, runs for an hour, featuring Albacores only briefly at 8m14s and 9m05s. While it may seem insignificant, the video covers various club racing events and open meetings at Burnham Overy Staithe in North Norfolk, UK, appealing to many who remember that time.
You can view it at youtube.com/watch?v=RxPQk7wpsAk, as we cannot embed the video here. If you’re short on time, feel free to skip several segments:
swimming – 11m00s to 14m23s
National 12 open meeting – 21m27s to 23m20s
prizegiving – 29m09s to 30m35s
International OK open meeting – 21m27s to 23m20s
vicar – 41m45s to 44m58s
rowing – 50m50s to the end
What about the rest?
Are you aware of any other archival Albacore videos? We would love to share these with sailors around the globe. You can submit video links for immediate evaluation.
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