Banger Racing, Back Racing and No Racing
by Mark Jardine 14 May 20:00 BST
Inaugural FM Sailing Colander Cup - Oliver Davenport in his Firefly © Sue Warne
A real mix of news and events this week in sailing have caught my eye.
We start with racing on the cheap at the Colander Cup, then focus on a return to racing for the Aussies at the Youth Worlds, moving on to a complete lack of racing at the Women's ILCA 6 and Men's ILCA 7 Worlds, and then looking at how SailGP should be back out on the water in New York.
Colander Cup
Reading the report for this event made me smile. I've heard people bemoaning how much it costs to go racing nowadays - and there's no doubt if you want to spend a lot of money on your boat, then you can do - but the Colander Cup at Northampton Sailing Club proves that you don't have to.
In fact, to compete in the Colander Cup you had to have spent less than £300 on your boat. The great thing is that if you look at the photos and results you can get quite a bit for that amount. There are some nice looking boats sailing, and a lot of sailors enjoying themselves for very little outlay.
The concept came about when friends Isaac Marsh and Fresh Abendstern were chatting.
We chatted with Fresh back in February during the Dinghy Show to find out his thoughts:
"Isaac and I came up with an idea for a new kind of event that we don't think has been done before. A lot of people have thought it could be good.
"Essentially it is banger racing. Maybe that is a bit mean to some of the boats, but really it's about loving the boats - the maximum boat value is £300. We want people to be spending as little as possible, getting out on the water, enjoying themselves and having fun.
"We've each done our time, spending lots of money on boats, and realistically we are probably going to continue doing that, but we felt there is not much out there for people who want to sail on a shoestring budget and get their kicks that way."
Isaac added his take after the event:
"The idea came about when Fresh and I were brainstorming our own 'Top Gear'-style challenge. As our ideas evolved, we realised much of what we were talking about echoed the fun we used to have at the grassroots level - some of our fondest sailing memories.
"That's when it hit us: we had a real opportunity to give something back to the sport by showcasing a different side of racing - one that's accessible to everyone, regardless of budget. We wanted to create an event that brings sailors together from all parts of the fleet, encouraging participation from both youth and adults alike."
Well they've certainly done that, and I love it when ideas like this become a reality. The old Laser I club race cost me £700, so I wouldn't be able to compete in that, but there are plenty of good second-hand boats available which do qualify, so I can only see this event and concept going from strength to strength.
Aussies return to the Youth Worlds
We've written a lot about Australia not sending a team to the World Sailing Youth World Championships, and how important it is to the health of sailing itself to have the top nations all represented there. In 'Whisper it quietly...' we discussed the importance of the event, and how it should be regarded alongside the Olympics and America's Cup in terms of importance to sailing.
I'm glad to say that there has been a change of heart in Australian Sailing, and a team is being sent to the 2026 event. I interviewed Alistair Murray last year while he was President of Australian Sailing and we discussed why there was no Australian team, and his views on youth pathways. While I agreed with him on some points, the omission from the Youth Worlds seemed counter-productive to me. I know many people have been working quietly behind the scenes to facilitate this change, and we thank them for the effort they've put in.
Yes, it's often a long way to travel for Australian sailors to get to events like this, and the cost is significant, but sailing needs global representation at youth level to thrive in an increasingly competitive sporting landscape. Aspirational events like the Youth Worlds can help competitive sailors in the sport, whereas if they don't see opportunities at big events they will take their talent and participation elsewhere.
ILCAs skunked
Spare a thought for the sailors and race officials at the Women's ILCA 6 and Men's ILCA 7 World Championships in Qingdao, China. They're now three days into the event and haven't completed a single race.
This is an event which attracts some of the top singlehanded dinghy sailors in the world, including many Olympians and those wanting to make their mark in the two classes early on in this Olympic quadrennial cycle, so it's a real shame that the weather isn't playing ball for them. Fingers crossed conditions improve for the second half of the event.
Wing and a prayer
At the grand prix end of our sport, it looks like the SailGP organisers have identified the problems which have caused three wingsails to collapse over the past 12 months, and they're going to be ready to field a full line-up for the New York event in early June.
SailGP is really beginning to attract big crowds at events, so getting the show back on the road is positive for the circuit. Let's hope that the remedial work does fix the issue, as when these wings do come down it can be incredibly dangerous. It's lucky that no-one has been injured so far during one of these incidents, and the sailors looked visibly shaken afterwards.
The fleet of F50s is five years old now, and they're put under some incredible stresses when they're sailed to the limit, so constant monitoring and checking for damage is going to be essential.
We cover the news on all the events above, and much more besides, on Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com and I thank you for choosing to read and watch your sailing news on our channels.
Sailing can be expensive and complex, but as we've seen it can also be cheap and simple. The key thing is it should always be fun. Go out and enjoy your sailing regardless of how much your boat costs. At the end of the day it's you and the open ocean.
Mark Jardine
Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor