“The big boats get the glory, but the dinghy makes the sailor”
This quote, from the movie “Wind”, is much loved by sailing aficionados the world over. These small, agile crafts had their skills tested for centuries. The word derives from the Hindi for “small boat”, and was made known to English speakers through In the Elements and Practice of Rigging and Seamanship, published by David Steel in 1794. Steel’s encyclopaedia of naval knowledge could not have appeared at a more opportune moment; 1794 saw the first naval battle of the French Revolutionary Wars, and the book would become a mine of information for sailors in the decades that followed. Steel brought his readers detailed accounts of the construction and fighting strength of every type of ship in the Royal Navy, including 427 nautical references and 347 words that appear in the Oxford English Dictionary. We can’t help wondering if Napoleon might have won the Battle of Trafalgar if he had only found a copy and translated it into French.
In the midst of all this information on naval power, the reference to the humble dinghy might easily be overlooked. Described as “vessels used at Bombay, navigated sometimes by rowing and sometimes by sailing”, dinghies would not become popular for recreational sailing for another century. Today you may find a wide variety of craft, some inflatable and others made of rigid plastic and fibreglass. And while many dinghies now have outboard motors, large numbers of sailors still prefer to travel under their own steam with the aid of a traditional paddle.
By 2012 the Olympic sailing programme featured four dinghy events. There were no medals for India, but men and women from China, Australia and New Zealand all struck gold. In these cases, at least, the small boats were allowed their share of the glory.
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