When one boat is for everyone: the little, big Meteor. PHOTOS

We do not know if its designer, the Dutch Van De Stadt, when he designed it in 1968, had such a rosy and long-lived future in mind for her. But this great little boat whose name is Meteor still has thousands and thousands of fans around the world on its side, and it is still being produced from new in Italy. You can find them at sea or on lakes, in sailing schools or at regattas, this 6-meter sailboat has initiated so many people into sailing and there is never a Meteor regatta that has less than 20-25 boats at the start, at the last National Championship there were as many as 60 entries: not bad for a monotype born in 1968.

The 46th National Championship of the Class was organized by Circolo Nautico of Torre del Greco, in collaboration with Club Nautico della Vela and Lega Navale Italiana section of Naples, and ended with the victory of Pierpaolo Pucci’s Serbidiola (CdV Marina di Massa) with his son Enrico at the helm, followed in the overall standings by Pietro Corbucci’s Scirocco System Plast (Y.C. Marina di Cattolica) while in third place was Lorenzo Carloia’s boat Amarcord C.V. Castiglionese, a two-time national champion.
Four disabled crews were also among the participants, demonstrating the great hospitality of the Meteor Class. Among them we met the story of Massimo Mercurio Miranda, a young man for whom the Meteor really means a lot, namely the rebirth of his life.

photos by Antonella Panella

A BOAT FOR EVERYONE

Maximus, who became blind four years ago, decided to learn to sail. It is a special example of how sailing and the sea are able to restore motivation and zest for life even when due to secondary clinical situations, visual impairment occurs in adulthood, forcing the person to rebuild his or her existence from scratch. It has long been known how sports, practiced by people with disabilities, can significantly contribute to the improvement of their mental and physical conditions, perfect social integration, and contribute to the acquisition of new skills. He sold his motorcycle and helmets, changed jobs and returned to Naples.

In March 2017, he attended the first autonomous sailing course for the blind on Lake Garda. In May of that year he participated as a coxswain in the International Homerus Match-race Championship in Salerno, qualifying in second place, an experience he repeated the following year with the same result. After these experiences, and other minor ones, the natural transition was that of every sailor: to become owner of Macchèse, his Meteor, with which to race and compete in fleet races,on “equal” terms with the able-bodied. His debut, at the Macchèse sail setting, could only be at the 46th National Meteor Championship. By choosing to be an owner of his own boat, Massimo has shown that with stubbornness and patience but above all a positive spirit, one can achieve incredible results, first and foremost due to oneself (Antonella Panella).

THE DNA OF A GREAT LITTLE BOAT

Since 1984 is Meteor has also been recognized as a monotype by the Italian Sailing Federation, confirming the technical value of this boat for sailing. It is also employed not infrequently in the world of match racing. Several thousand were produced, which is why it is still one of the most famous small sailboats in Italy and beyond. Its strengths are its marinity, its low cost, both of purchase and operation, and the possibility of carrerr and thus easy access to the sea from the lake and vice versa. Under sail she suffers a bit from light breezes, although she is equipped with a genoa that as soon as it rises a little in the air makes her powerful and maneuverable. It has a fairly spacious cockpit and can also be suitable for nautical camping Unmistakable is its design with an enclosed, upright transom, hanging rudder, forward slings and an L-shaped keel that for the period in which it was conceived was decidedly “futuristic.”

Project: Van de Stadt (1968)

Hull length: 6 m

Displacement: 770 kg

Mainsail: 9.55 m²

Genoa: 12 m²

Jib: 8.35 m²

Tormentin: 4.05 m²

Spinnaker: 26 m²

www.assometeor.it