Left: the Figaro circuit switched to one-designs in 1990 with the Figaro Bénéteau seen here designed by Groupe Finot/Jean Berret. This was followed by the current Marc Lombard-designed Figaro 2, to be replaced next year by the VPLP Figaro 3 (above). A big plus if the pool of sailors from the Olympic dayboat classes also compete in the offshore event will be to push more Olympic sailors into developing offshore skills – something that has become increasingly rare. It is one thing that the Volvo Race has got right with several sailors from Rio 2016 in the current race – most of them there only because of the event’s new requirements for a quotient of women crew and under-30s
baseball strikes and player cards in soccer. Not hard to guess where those on-screen graphic displays from Bermuda originated. ‘My committee is genuinely excited
been a regular topic at the meetings, with discussion about a long-distance race either multiple nights and days or just a long day race requiring navigation.’ Of course,
about a mixed double-handed event,’ said Honey, ‘because it is the first connection in anybody’s memory between what we do and a part of sailing that World Sailing finds really important – the Olympics and the World Cups. But the concept of an Olympic race where everyone disappears over the horizon would never be enter- tained if you weren’t able to take the viewers with you – and that has only really become possible in the last couple of years. ‘I think some of the other characteristics
in many other sports
Olympians have been able to compete in multiple events, such as the swimmers’ 400m, 800m and 1,500m freestyle. Now there is a possibility that sailing could, for the first time, offer a double gold medal for competing sailors. But… with the number of Olympic sailors in 2024 set at just 350, down from Rio’s 384, an additional event could only emerge if sailors have the same multiple event privileges as swimmers. World Sailing’s Oceanic and Offshore
Committee has been the driving force behind an offshore race concept. Chair- man Stan Honey is a hugely experienced offshore navigator and was also director of technology for the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda. Considered by many to be the father of on-screen automotive GPS navi- gation, Honey also invented the visual technology that displays the first-down line for gridiron, glowing hockey pucks,
of a one-design offshore race are also appealing; unlike our other sailing events, the first boat back into the harbour gets the gold medal – and that is easily under- stood by the broader audience. No point calculations, no discards, no double-points race at the end… And you could reason- ably schedule the finish for TV simply by moving the marks around. Plus the mixed crew will certainly be well-received. ‘The other thing that is perhaps less
tangible that makes the concept appealing is that it represents the type of sailing that most sailors in the world actually do. ‘A satellite terminal, probably KU Band
Vsat, and the cameras would all be light- weight battery powered. Vsat would provide plenty of bandwidth for internet- quality video and you could record higher- definition video onboard for post-produc- tion. You would want a boat with the pay - load to handle that, but I think any boat in the 9-12m range would be very achievable. ‘Multiple remote cameramen can control onboard cameras, tilted, zoomed and
focused and switched. You would probably also do a raw cut of interesting highlights from each boat from the last three or four hours, plus a fleet overview as well so if spectators tune into the internet feed at some random time they can get an imme- diate status update. You then add on aerial coverage from drones or helicopters and coverage from mark boats, ideally sited near a photogenic chunk of land. ‘Of course, whenever the subject comes
up, the first question asked is what boat… ‘Should it be an attractive but quite
conventional fixed-keel monohull, a J/111 or something, or should it be a very new high-tech new-fangled monohull like the Bénéteau Figaro 3? I think in the big picture the answer is… well, the answer is going to change with time! You might go to bid every four years and then the equip- ment will change with the times and with more experience of what works best. ‘It is a complicated event and it would be
expensive to stage, but the concept is that it is all manufacturer-supplied boats so that sailors from all countries qualifying both a male and a female sailor could compete without significant cost for their country. Sponsorship will be needed for a fleet of 20- plus boats with some sophisticated and not inexpensive satellite telemetry and media kit. Sailors also shouldn’t need to own an example of the chosen design so that the challenge then becomes getting enough practice in a similar kind of boat. Obviously access won’t be “level” across all sailing nations, large and small, but a boat type can be chosen that keeps things within reach. ‘It’s quite a bit different from anything
else that you do at the World Cup or the Olympic sailing level, but I think that is
SEAHORSE 35
FREDERIC AUGENDRE/DPPI
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