Ali Meller truly embodies the enthusiasm which has propelled the 505 into a new era of prosperity. In the past few years the class has seen an unprecedented rebirth, and it is without question that Ali is responsible for much of this success. Ali Meller has demonstrated the highest qualities of class leadership in his tireless efforts to promote the International 505 at the fleet, national and international levels.

Why We Race 505s Instead of the latest fad dinghy.....

Sailboat racing is not just about the fastest boat. If what you really wanted was the fastest boat, a fast multihull, Yellow Pages Endevour, or Slingshot would do the trick. No high performance dinghy comes close to those speeds. The truth is we are looking for more than just speed in a a boat. As an analogy, my dream race car would be a Ferrari GTO or Formula One, not a dragster (which is much faster in a straight line).

We are looking for great racing, a boat that handles a wide range of conditions and a wide range of crew weights. We want a boat that lasts forever, that does not cost a great deal to race, that can be sailed hard in 30+ knots and is still fast in drifters, can race on the ocean, or in strong wind against tide conditions. A boat that is not just fast, but easy to tack and gybe so it remains tactical despite the speed. A boat you can take someone unfamiliar with high performance boats out for a ride in. A boat that you can carry a sandwich, a couple of beers, a screwdriver and a spare dry top in. A boat that you can practice in on the ocean on a windy day without requiring a crash boat to ensure you get back to shore. A boat that you can easily heave-to in between races to enjoy your sandwich and beer, or complete a repair. A boat that is easily adjustable so that we learn about sail shape and rig tuning, and we can easily optimize the boat for our crew weight and the conditions. A boat that is easy to launch and recover, and easy to throw on the roof of a car. A boat that is easy to self rescue if it capsizes. A boat that you can sail up to a dock and step out of. A boat that has multiple builders who compete to offer us the best boat at the best price. A boat that you can rig yourself - if you want - to try out some new ideas or just save a little money. A boat that you can even home build if you want to try some more different ideas or save more money. We want great regattas at the local, national and international level. We want to go to 100+ boat World Championships, and race against friends old and new from over ten countries. We want to be able to race competitively while still having full time jobs and families. We want to race against people who have won World Championships in the 505 and other classes, and against people who have done Olympic campaigns and gone to the Olympics. We also want to race against people who have never won a race or regatta (the 505 class doesn't care if you are a rockstar or a newcomer to dinghy sailing - you are more than welcome in the 505 class) Quite apart from the on-the-water stuff, we want to hang out with a great bunch of people at regattas, party most evenings and maybe even try to learn to party in the bar as hard as the UK 505 team (grin)

-- Alexander 'Ali' Meller