In particular, offshore shorthanded and doublehanded sailing continues to grow participation the fastest across the USA and Europe. Adding fuel to that fire was the recent announcement by World Sailing and the Olympics 2024 Committee that a new sailing medal competition will be held for a Doublehanded Mixed Offshore Keelboat Race during the Olympics 2024 in France.
The concept is a simple one, a male/female team sailing a 28-foot offshore sailboat start on the first day of the Olympic Games and sail for 40 to 60 hours over an approximate 250 to 300 nm offshore race course, starting and finishing off the Mediterranean port of Marseille, France. The entire experience will be televised globally and followed online via blogging and social media.
As noted above, US Sailing selected the J/88 class as the boat for the Chicago-Mackinac Race qualifying event for the 2020 World Doublehanded Mixed Offshore Championship being held in late summer/ early fall on the Mediterranean.
As part of an offshore team's preparation for the 2020 sailing season, here is a short three-part series with some essential tips-and-tricks for the novice distance racer and reminders for those salty offshore veterans. The Quantum Team teamed up with offshore expert Dave Gerber for these critical on-board processes and maneuvers:
- PART 1: Four simple on-board optimizations
- PART 2: Reefing your mainsail
- PART 3: Mastering Headsail Changes
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