The gaze of Olympic redemption—Sailing news from the U.S. and beyond

by David Schmidt, Sail-World USA Editor on 2 Aug 2016 With just under a week left to go before the starting guns start sounding on the Olympic racecourses off of Rio de Janeiro for the XXXI Olympiad, one question remains higher on the minds of North American sailors than any other: will the American- and Canadian-flagged teams find Olympic redemption under the watchful gaze of the statue of Christ the Redeemer? If the answer is yes, poetic justice will be served; if the answer is no, it will not be for lack of effort, determination or commitment from either of these storied Olympic teams.

A bit of backstory for anyone who is just tuning in: The American-flagged sailing team has 59 Olympic medals to their credit (19 Gold, 23 Silver and 17 Bronze), making them the world’s second most decorated sailing team, just astern of Great Britain, which has a total of 54 medals, including an impressive 25 Gold, 18 Silver and 11 Bronze medals. Unfortunately, the U.S.-team suffered their first medal-ceremony shutout at the London 2012 Olympics since the Berlin 1936 Olympics, giving this legendary team serious reason to seek payback one quadrennial on.

The Canadian-flagged team has had a tougher go with Olympic medal ceremonies. The team has a total of nine Olympic medals (three Silver and six Bronze), but they have not had the honor of listening to their national anthem at a sailing medal ceremony since 2004, when Mike Wolfs and Ross MacDonald took a Silver medal in the Star class at the Athens 2004 Olympics.

In both cases, there is unfinished business left to contend. Fortunately, both teams have stepped-up their efforts considerably since the London 2012 Olympics.

The American-flagged team in particular has made a serious effort towards redemption, both for the XXXI Olympics and for the next few foreseeable quadrennials. This effort has included a significant upgrade to the coaching program, the development of a youth pipeline program, and a revitalized fundraising program, as well as a serious commitment to train hard on the waters of Guanabara Bay and to assimilate to life in Rio.

While the later point can make a big difference in terms of how comfortable each athlete feels, both on the racecourse and off, it’s the later point that has most sailors’ attentions, as Guanabara Bay is infamous for its tricky currents, tides and wind shifts-the tradecraft keys to ending medal-ceremony shut-outs.

Inside this issue, be sure to get the full Olympic download, including interviews with Team USA’s Bora Gulari and Paris Henken, the respective skippers of the Nacra 17 and 49erFX teams, and stay tuned for plenty more Olympic sailing news, once the starting guns begin to sound.

Meanwhile, on sailing’s larger stage, there’s plenty of great racing unfurling across North America in the next week or so. For example, the J/80 class will be contesting their Worlds off of the National Yacht Club in Toronto from August 4-7, the Hood River Yacht Club will be hosting the infamous Double Dammed Race on August 6, the Oakville Yacht Squadron, in Oakville, Ontario, will be hosting the J/27 North Americans from August 5-7, and the venerable St. Francis Yacht Club, in San Francisco, California, will be hosting the Hydrofoil Pro Tour from August 4-7.

Also, for fans of big-boat racing, the Beverly Yacht Club, the New Bedford Yacht Club, and the Low Tide Yacht Club will be hosting the Buzzards Bay Regatta, off of Marion, Massachusetts, from August 5-7.

There’s no question that the next few weeks will be an exciting time for sailing, but it’s also a time when sailing fans across Canada and the United States need to muster their full support for their national sailing teams. There’s no question that the lead-up to the Rio 2016 Olympics has been rough (read: tales of pollution, crime, under-preparation, and the Zika virus), but the time to debate the fairness of the course and the sanity of the venue has now sailed.

Instead, it’s time to send as much positive energy, encouragement, and enthusiasm as possible to our athletes, and to metaphorically keep our collective fingers crossed that the hard work and dedication that both teams have invested into this quadrennial (as well as the ones that will follow) will pay off in the form of full-scale Olympic redemption.

Go Team Canada and Team USA!!

May the four winds blow you safely home,