Back in the 1980’s, a group of skippers around Paris formulated a class, loosely based on a scaled down version of the then popular full-size Formula 40 boats, the basic rule for the Formula 40 multihulls being that they had to fit inside a 40ft container. This development (at 1/10 scale of 40ft) produced the Mini40 class, which since its introduction, is currently sailed in 8 countries worldwide. The class stronghold was initially France, with Germany, Austria and then the UK joining in. For a number of years, the Flevo Cup was held in the Netherlands, and it is hoped to resurrect this event again next year. The club with the largest number of Mini 40s racing is the Gosport Model Yacht and Boat Club on the South Coast and with the help and sheer dogged persistence of a band of stalwart supporters, has become the backbone of the UK multi activity.
The UK Association was formed in 1990 to coordinate the activities, and opted to promote the Mini40 class as the main class for racing in the UK, who formed the British Model Multihull Association (BMMA). During the 1990s the technical control of the class lay with the Federation Francaise de Voile (FFV), who worked closely with the BMMA to ensure that the development of the boats is guided by the will of the members.
New Zealand History
In the 90’s the class had support from several skippers such as Alan Hayes in Auckland and Bruce Ewing in New Plymouth building non-foiling cats and tri’s. In the 2000’s some foiling boats were built in Tauranga and Auckland, then the enthusiasm waived until recently with new boats been built and imported.