International Tempest

Description

The International Tempest is a 22-foot (6.7 m) high-performance, two-person keelboat designed in 1965 by Ian Howlett as a potential Olympic class and still actively raced worldwide. With its distinctive cold-moulded mahogany or modern GRP hull, narrow beam (under 2 m), deep fin keel (1.2 m draft), and large, fully battened mainsail paired with a working jib and spinnaker on a fractional rig carrying roughly 28 m² upwind, the Tempest is renowned for its exhilarating speed, sensitivity to trim and weight placement, and demanding yet rewarding handling—especially in a breeze where hiking straps and trapeze (for the crew) become essential. Originally selected for the 1972 and 1976 Olympics (where it was ultimately replaced by the 470), it remains a thriving international one-design class with strong fleets in Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, and North America, prized by skilled sailors for its tactical racing, planing performance downwind, and classic lines that combine 1960s elegance with genuine competitiveness more than half a century later.