Opinion: The Olympics will never be the pinnacle of offshore sailing

Like many thousands of sailors I was glued to my computer watching the finale of the Route du Rhum, mostly on the least spectacular media off all – an online tracker with several-minutes delay. There was huge suspense, and as you will likely know the race was won by Francis Joyon (FRA) – a 62 year old veteran offshore sailor who was competing in his 8th Route du Rhum.

This was offshore sailing at its best. The older of the two, and the underdog, won, while François Gabart (FRA), one of the favorites with a much better-financed campaign, placed a very close second. In fact, we now know that Gabart could have abandoned the race early on because of several breakages (foil, rudder, etc.). Yet he stayed in the race, and nearly won it. He reminded us all of the life lesson of never giving up.

Joyon, with an older, slightly slower boat, also had his share of bad luck. For example, during his neck-and-neck duel with Gabart in the final miles of the race he was pulling off a fishing net hooked to his starboard rudder. This amazing finale brought clarity in my thoughts about offshore sailing and the Olympics, namely that…the Olympics will never be the pinnacle of offshore racing.

See the full article here:

https://www.sailingillustrated.com/single-post/2018/11/20/Opinion-The-Olympics-will-never-be-the-pinnacle-of-offshore-sailing

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