Every year I go through the ritual of going through the calendars of all the different racing series I follow to see what's happening when and where. (I usually get to this mid-February after the rush at the start of the rallying season has died down.) Aside from my involvement in motorsports I also follow a lot of other series as well... and then there's the sailing. So many different events have 2 year, 3 year, or 4 year intervals, but 2017 seems to be when a bunch of them sync up and fall within the same year. America's Cup Superyacht Regatta: June 13th - 15th - Offshore racing north-east and south of Bermuda J Class Regatta: June 16th, 19th & 20th - Murray's Anchorage, Bermuda LVAC: May 26th to June 27th - Great Sound, Bermuda IMOCA Fastnet: August 6th - Cowes, Isle of Wight Transat Jacques Vabre: November 6th - Le Havre, France to Salvador de Bahia, Brasil Volvo Ocean Race Start: October 22nd - Alicante, Spain Class 650 Mini Transat: October 1st - La Rochelle to Las Palmas de Gran Canarias to Le Marin, Martinique. Aside from those there's of course a host of other events around the world, from the humble Le Figaro to the unparalleled St. Barth's Bucket. If any members here happen to be in the vicinity of any of these events, please snap some pics and share them with us!
As much as I love the technical side of sailing, and finding new innovative technologies, and new participants in it, I'm discouraged by the number of new young participants getting involved in the sport. I think they are all spending too much time on their I-phones, etc, to go out and physically challenge the waters. I sense a decline in sailing participation as happened when we went from 'Hobie' days. to windsurfing days, to jet ski days, and now what? I do find the new America's Cup boats exciting to watch, even while I was a bit put off by the total foiling aspect,...not feeling this was really translatable down to cruising sailboats. But I still watch them in awe. I think the French sailors are experimenting with many more technologies that will translate into ocean cruising boats. And regrettably with advancing age I'm becoming less enthusiastic with any preaching of the gospel of sailing, and may just have to change tacks and pursue another hobby.
I still enjoy yacht racing, even though I'm involved in Powerboat racing too. I'll jump at the chance to crew on a mad, lightweight carbon French planing boat under a huge assymetrical spinnaker or even a fat cruiser/racer. Just being out on the water and getting the best from a boat is still a joy. What I DO dislike are the protest-happy, flag waving rule-nazis who are ruining a gentleman's sport, even at club level. I think that's what put the kids off joining the sport, Brian. Kevin, looking forward to it all too. Can't wait.
And of course, we ve already had the thrilling finish of the Vendée Globe, probably the best event in offshore racing!
I think the connectivity issue is really only a small part of the problem. Accessibility is a much bigger thing keeping people (young or old) away from sailing. Sports in general are an expensive endeavor, and sailing is definitely on the higher end of the cost scale, especially when you consider that for most it's a sport that can only be practiced for a relatively short period of time in a year... a couple of hours on the water once a week (maybe twice, at best) for a few summer months. (As for young people spending too much time staring at phones instead of living life, that's hardly an age exclusive thing. I'm appalled at how many people my age or older I see each and every day that are literally unable to do anything without consulting their phone every few minutes.) Agreed. AC is like F1... fancy, impractically shaped conveyances that are fast as hell, but mostly irrelevant to the real world that the rest of us live in. Give me a monohull crossing an ocean any day of the week.
You and me, both! <-- Will work for free, sleep on the floor, non-drinker (so you'll have a DD for the drive home).
Have you seen this? Not exactly pretty, but wow... retractable foils, wing sail... if it does what it says on the tin, it's going to destroy the rest of the 650 field.
America's Cup tics went on sale this week... I think @YachtForums needs to cover the superyacht regattas mid-June at the very least. In light of that, I shall selflessly posit myself to be the boots on the ground... or perhaps the deck shoes on the teak.
I missed posting this last week, but the Newport dates for 2018 have been announced: http://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/ports/newport.html In-port on the 19th of May, and the trans-Atlantic Leg to Cardiff starts on the 20th.
I live near Newport. The VOR event in 2015 was amazing and the turn-out of people was very impressive. It gave me hope for the commercial appeal of racing. Can't wait to see them again next year.
I heard that the fleet of boats following the VOR boats out at the start of the leg was bigger than even the ACWS had when it was in Newport.
Vestas and 11th Hour Racing are joining forces for the 17-18 race. They're currently streaming a live press conference from Newport: