Please select your home edition
Edition
Ovington 2021 - ILCA 1 - LEADERBOARD

Olympic dream a bonus of offshore sailing for Fielding

by World Sailing 13 Dec 2020 20:18 UTC
Jesse Fielding © World Sailing

For those who have sailed from childhood, like American Jesse Fielding, dreams of Olympic glory aren't always forthcoming.

Growing up in Newport, Rhode Island, USA, Fielding fell in love with sailing from a young age and started to gain offshore experience in the Newport Bermuda race, naturally a popular event for sailors in the area.

But with the addition of the Mixed Two Person Offshore Keelboat Event at Paris 2024, Fielding is now daring to dream of that Olympic medal.

He's teamed up with two-time Olympian Francesca Clapcich to form State Street Marathon Sailing Team, with the aim of qualifying the USA for the Games and, potentially, aiming for the podium.

And that passion for sailing that started as a 13 year old is something which still very much spurs him on to this day.

"For me, offshore sailing has been an adventure since I was 13 years old and my parents kicked me off the beach in a Sunfish by myself: lifejacket, water bottle, and a mission to come back before dinner was all I had," Fielding said.

"I fell in love that day and I haven't looked back since, really.

"I've been really lucky to cross some of the world's oceans and sail with some great teams and some incredible sailors that I've always tried to learn as much as I can from.

"I just always remember that day when I was 13 and thinking I just want to cross oceans for the rest of my life and spend as much time as I can on the ocean.

"I'm really fortunate that growing up and sailing small boats, I met older sailors that passed on a tradition of ocean racing and ocean sailing to me and a lot of sailors my age.

"Now I'm lucky enough to be able to participate in a lot of double handed sailing adventures with State Street Marathon Sailing as a co skipper."

Thoroughly enjoying the challenge of double handed sailing, Fielding has 2024 in his sights as both he and Clapcich continue their quest to improve as sailors and gain as much experience as they are able to before then.

"I think double handed sailing is the fastest-growing part of the sport right now for a host of reasons - the first being that it's simple, good, clean fun," he explained.

"It is much easier to get two people off a dock than 20, and at the end of the day, it's you, your partner and the ocean, and that provides all the challenge we've ever needed as sailors.

"[Double handed sailing at Paris 2024] a really exciting proposition and it's going to be an exciting race, there's no doubt about that.

"Over the last year I've fallen in love with offshore sailing in the double handed format.

"I've always loved ocean racing and coastal racing, it's always been really exciting for me to go point to point, change sails and try to figure out the answer to each small problem in the race.

"Being able to compete on a world stage for an Olympic medal in that genre, if one was so lucky to do so, is just an incredible opportunity for the sport and for lots of sailors that enjoy this discipline.

"Here at State Street Marathon Sailing, Francesca and I are really looking forward to 2021 and all the challenges that a new year brings.

"We're super fortunate to have launched our team in 2020, and we are really looking forward to continuing sailing our Beneteau Figaro 3s and hopefully doing some sailing in-class in Europe.

"Another year brings a lot of opportunity and we're excited for it."

Related Articles

World Sailing Nations Cup to make grand return
After a seven-year hiatus, World Sailing has officially opened the bid process for host cities After a seven-year hiatus, the World Sailing Nations Cup, the ultimate event to crown the world's top match-racing nations, is making its much-anticipated return. Posted on 18 Jul
Nominations open for World Sailing Awards 2025
Presentation to be held at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire on 5th November Many of the sport's biggest names will be in attendance at the World Sailing Awards 2025, held on Wednesday 5 November at a gala ceremony at the Royal St. George Yacht Club in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland. Posted on 16 Jul
World Sailing announces split venues for LA28
The boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port World Sailing has said it welcomes the confirmation of sailing venues for the Olympic Games LA28 the boards will be at Long Beach, with the dinghy events at the Port. Posted on 30 Jun
World Sailing launches the World Sailing Academy
A new online learning platform for the global sailing community World Sailing officially launched the World Sailing Academy, an innovative new online learning platform designed to provide comprehensive educational resources and training to sailors, coaches, officials, administrators, and the global sailing community. Posted on 17 Jun
Summer Youth Olympic Games equipment confirmed
Dakar 2026 will feature 2 sailing events in the Techno293 World Sailing is pleased to announce the selection of Techno293 as the equipment used in competition at the upcoming Summer Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, being held from 31 October to 13 November 2026. Posted on 29 May
Steering the Course kicks off to #AccelerateAction
World Sailing's global women's sailing festival gets under way soon The 2025 edition of Steering the Course, World Sailing's global women's sailing festival, gets under way on 23 May with a week-long focus on #AccelerateAction in support of this year's International Women's Day theme. Posted on 22 May
NYYC hosts 2025 World Sailing Mid-Year Meeting
Board conducted a series of productive strategic meetings The gathering brought the World Sailing Board and Council together in person at the Club's historic 44th Street Clubhouse in Manhattan—an iconic venue designed by Whitney Warren, renowned architect of Grand Central Station. Posted on 19 May
World Sailing Inclusion Championships preview
Event will bring together an expected 215 sailors from around the world, to Oman The Sultanate of Oman has been chosen to host the first edition of the new World Sailing Inclusion Championships. Posted on 14 May
World Sailing Annual Conference & Awards preview
This will be the second time the town has hosted a World Sailing Annual Conference. The coastal destination of Dún Laoghaire has been chosen to host the 2025 World Sailing Annual Conference and World Sailing Awards from 3-8 November 2025, bringing together over 400 international delegates. Posted on 9 May
Hannah Mills OBE to share carbon footprint success
At World Sailing Sustainability Session Great Britain's most successful female Olympic sailor and strategist for Emirates GBR SailGP Team, Hannah Mills OBE, will headline as guest speaker at World Sailing's upcoming Sustainability Session on renewable energy in the sport. Posted on 8 May
RS Sailing 2021 - FOOTERNorth Sails Loft 57 PodcastCyclops Marine 2023 November - FOOTER