You're never too old to go sailing, and it seems that there is no age cut-off for the tiny 8ft Sabot Class, normally reserved for children under the age of 16!

If you grew up sailing Sabots, or their Olympic counterpart the Optimist, you know just how much fun those little things are. One sail, two kids and a snap-lock bag full of lollies tucked away up the front. To the 12 year old sitting on the gunwales in 25 knots and a solid swell, it was the fastest boat in the world, yet at the same time his or her parents on the beach were completely at ease thanks to the safe characteristics and support network available at sailing clubs around Australia.

But those very same parents all had one common thought at one point or another….

"Could I fit in that little boat and sail it?"

The answer is yes, and men, women and teenagers of all sizes squeeze themselves into Sabots regularly in the USA, they even have national championships! The Naples Sabot as it's known in the US, is based on the Australian Sabot we are familiar with, except it uses a leeboard instead of a centerboard. Run every year, sailors over the age of 18 enter the 'senior' nationals and spend a couple of days racing around short courses, cramped into tiny dinghies based on their age and weight instead of experience.

It looks like a huge amount of fun for a tiny little dinghy, check out the highlights video from the 2015 Senior Naples Sabot Nationals, held in Alamitos Bay, Long beach California.

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