“I picked the Mumm 30 partly out of respect for Bruce Farr,” says designer Mark Mills. “[Farr] was so competitive in IOR in my teens, then equally strong in IMS as well as dominating the Whitbread Round the World Races, while penning some of the most successful ‘big boat’ one-design classes ever. Through all those different briefs he managed to maintain a fidelity to light, clean, simple design, no matter what rule pressures applied.

“The Mumm 30 for me is the most distilled essence of the clean, light, simple philosophy. The first production one-design to bring non-overlapping jibs on swept spreader rigs to the mainstream, it was drawn to be fast, easy to build, and straightforward to sail.

The Mumm 30 remains a great deal of fun to sail. Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget

“It went well in all conditions but perhaps its finest achievement was 11 years of the Tour de France à la Voile, where the variety of conditions and distances challenged many of the world’s best sailors in one of its best boats.”

Mumm 30 stats rating:

Top speed: 28 knots
LOA: 9.43m/31ft
Launched: 1995
Berths: 4
Price: $85,000
Adrenalin factor: 70%

Mark Mills

Yacht designer Mark Mills is based in Wicklow, Ireland, and has drawn some of the most stunning and successful custom yachts of the past two decades, including the WallyCento Tango, Maxi 72 Alegre 3, and IRC winners Tiamat and Mariners Cove. Mills has also created one-designs such as the Cape 31 and New York Yacht Club’s IC37.

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