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As many of our Clubs look forward to a future free from the COVID pandemic that has ravaged sailing and social programmes, the past month saw two totally different, yet equally absorbing, examples of extreme sailboat racing.
I cannot be alone in marveling at the tenacity, seamanship and competitive spirit of the solo sailors in the ninth edition of the Vendee Globe, watching the closest battle in the history of the race. From the winner’s 80-day circumnavigation to the last man home who endured 116 days of racing, the challenges were the same: sailor against sea, often in 60 knots of wind, on open oceans.
In Auckland, yachts contesting the 36th America’s Cup showed a different side to our sport; “spectacular” hardly does it justice. Wildly fluctuating performances from American and British challengers saw their elimination and at the time of writing, the battle is now raging between designers, aerodynamicists, materials technologists, boat builders, ground crews and riding crews of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s Defender and Circolo della Vela Sicilia’s Challenger. Match racing on close waters limited to wind speeds below 21 knots, these extreme foiling monohulls have exceeded 50mph, driven by crews of 11. As Star Trek’s Dr. Spock said, “It’s life, but not as we know it.”
Racing or cruising, I wish you all safe sailing when normality returns.
Sincerely,
David Mead
President
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