Sailing : what to expect during the Olympic Games
Sailing is an Olympic discipline since Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Despite Dragons, Tornados, windsurfs or other Olympic sail boards have followed the sailing modern evolution, it is clear that there was nothing concerning the replacement of many sailing boats !
Concerning sailing, the progress moves very fast, like a good wind guts in a sailing race. To win the race, it is necessary to stay close to the others boats.
That’s what happened in Sarasota, Florida (USA), the 4th of November, during a meeting of World Sailing Council members (International Sailing League).
The board confirmed for the Paris 2024 Olympics Games, and so in Marseille, 2 new supports for the sailing series : kitesurf (probably with foil, solid object with a shape such that when placed in a moving fluid at a suitable angle of attack the lift is substantially larger than the drag) and especially an offshore team sailing boat.
How to explain this sudden change ?
For many years, even if the media audience during the Summer Olympic keep rising, some sports like Olympic Sail are not popular anymore. The practice needs to be modernized or the audience needs more inside medias. Moreover, lobbying of some nations with offshore sailing race tradition, and you will obtain this result.
Anyway, it’s a good news for the Olympics Games, Sailing and… good for France.
If this submission is interesting for offshore practice ; what about the sailing boat ?
What does explain the submission N°058-18 of World Sailing Council for this new sailing boat ?
The sailing boat will be a mono-hull boat without foil, with a sloop rig and a size between 6 and 10 meters, able to support a wind between 4 and 40 knots. It will be sailed by a 2 peoples mixed team to offshore sail during 3 days and 2 nights.
Misses and misters constructors and marine architects, would you please draw the best and first offshore sailing boat for the Olympics Games… because Figaro 3 (new Beneteau foil monotype sailing boat) supposed to be chosen, doesn’t fit to the boxrule anymore.
Which sailing boat will be selected ?
It’s a bit early to say but we can imagine that Beneteau, JComposites, JPK, Pogo or GForce Yachts and are waiting in the starting-blocks to present their best model, at the World Sailing Council meeting in November 2019 where the next 2024 Olympic Games sailing boat will be selected.