People

By Guy D. Garcia

It looks a bit like a skinny dinghy with a spinnaker. But while sleek 12- meter racing yachts were battling the stormy seas off the western coast of Australia in the America's Cup trials these past weeks, a much more modest vessel was being launched in the calmer waters of a harbor in nearby Fremantle. The skipper of the miniature marvel is none other than Ben Lexcen, 50, the celebrated designer of Australia II, which won the America's Cup in 1983. Featuring a scaled-down version of Lexcen's revolutionary winged keel, the 14-ft.-long fiber-glass Mini 12 sells for about $3,000, is virtually unsinkable and can easily be handled by one person or two from a comfortable cockpit. "Sailing is pretty lonely on your own," says Lexcen. "Now you can take your girlfriend." Buoyed by early raves for his new boat, Lexcen has hopes of selling nearly a thousand. Considering how poorly his full-size version is faring this time around, Lexcen may have to settle for the glory of financial victory with Mini 12. As of last week, his Australia IV had lost two preliminary races to its Aussie arch-rival, Kookaburra III.