Ask Olympic 49erFX champion Odile Van Aanholt to name the coolest boat of all time and she doesn't pick a cutting-edge racer. She picks the Sunfish, the little flat-hulled dinghy she first sailed solo at age six on a lagoon in Curaçao.
The Sunfish dates back to 1952, when Americans Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger designed it as a boat anyone could own, carry and sail. That simplicity stuck: a board-like hull, a distinctive triangular lateen sail, and a rigging system with just two lines. Estimates put sales between 300,000 and 500,000 boats, making it one of the most popular sailing classes in history. It's big in the Americas, with fleets scattered across Europe too, and a used boat can cost as little as $500 — around $5,500 buys you a new one. Top speed is a modest 10 knots, and the adrenaline factor is rated at a friendly 30%.
For Van Aanholt, though, the appeal isn't in the numbers. Growing up in Curaçao, the Sunfish was the local class — her father, himself a former Olympian, raced one every weekend with the other islanders. She remembers the nerve-wracking thrill of her first solo sail as a six-year-old. What she loves most is how the boat bridges generations: at local regattas, competitors in their eighties still line up against kids. That mix of nostalgia and accessibility is exactly why the class has survived seven decades.
The piece is part of Yachting World's 'world's coolest boats' series, where top sailors and industry figures nominate their favourites — from the bonkers to the brilliant — for a definitive top 100. Van Aanholt is a good pick to ask: she's the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 49erFX skiff, a three-time world champion, helmed the Dutch AC40 in the Women's America's Cup, and is building a new campaign for the LA 2028 Games.
For travellers, the Sunfish is a reminder that some of the best holiday experiences are the simplest. These boats are a fixture at beach resorts and sailing schools across the Caribbean and beyond, and plenty of destinations rent them by the hour. If you've ever wanted to try sailing without committing to a course or a crew, an afternoon in a Sunfish off a warm-water beach is about as easy an entry point as it gets. And in places like Curaçao, you may well find a local club regatta on a Sunday where you can watch — or talk your way into — a race with sailors of all ages.
