Roger has released the first video in a new series about visiting the US and getting some time on the water. If you enjoyed our recent video about the virtues of lug rigs in small boats, the ILUR on display in this video is an excellent example. Roger also visits various notable boating locations in the Chesapeake Bay area, including a gathering of dinghies and multiple museums and boatbuilders.
Roger Barnes, July 27th, 2025 – Dinghy Cruising in America
Episode 1 of a series of videos about Roger’s recent visit to the USA to sail dinghies, visit boatyards and generally hang out in port towns.
AVEL DRO, my own boat.
Avel Dro is an Ilur designed by François Vivier, and built of clinker plywood by Les Charpentiers Reunis of Cancale in 1994. I bought her in France in 2003 to import her into the UK, and more recently returned her to France again. The design is based closely on the traditional inshore fishing boats of Brittany in the early years of the twentieth century – hence her simple boom-less lugsail rig and lack of a mainsheet horse, (sometimes controversial among my viewers). Although rare in Britain, Ilurs are relatively common in France. Modern Ilurs are slightly different from mine, as they have more built in buoyancy. The name Avel Dro is Breton, Avel = wind, Dro = to turn – so it means a whirlwind.
- Length 4.44 m
- Sail area 12.2 m²
- Beam 1.70 m
- Draught 0.25 / 0.86 m
INTERESTED IN DINGHY CRUISING?
- Read Roger’s book, The Dinghy Cruising Companion
- Join the Dinghy Cruising Association
Mark Riley says:
Always great to watch and listen to Roger, as we say in Australia, he is a good bloke.