The Olympic Regatta was held in the Chinese port city of Qingdao during the 2008 Olympic Games. The sailing venue, with its strong currents and light air, was a challenging one for competitors. The water itself had seemed polluted to most sailors in the early regattas held there in 2007, with a large brown pool in one location of the racecourse. All competitors were wary of any contact with the water, but by the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the water was somewhat cleaner, and the shore facilities drew high praise from all participants. Great Britain won the regatta, earning four gold, one silver, and one bronze in the 11 events, while Australia was second with two golds and one silver; 18 countries won at least one medal.
The America's Cup sputtered in court for much of the year as the Swiss defenders and the potential American challengers argued their dispute over the terms of the next competition, to be held in 2009. After a finding favourable to the challengers was issued in November 2007, the Swiss team Alinghi appealed. A 3–2 finding by a New York state appellate court the following July reversed the previous finding and reinstated Spain's Club Náutico Español de Vela as the challenger of record, thus giving the Spanish team the right to negotiate the terms of the next challenge. The American team Oracle appealed the decision to the New York Supreme Court.
The Newport–Bermuda Race, in which 201 boats participated in June, produced some unlikely results. Winning on corrected time in both the ORR (U.S.) and the IRC (British) handicapping systems was a boat from the 1960s—Sinn Fein, a Cal 40—and a skipper from the 1930s—septuagenarian Peter Rebovich, a retired elementary-school teacher sailing with a family crew. It was Sinn Fein's second consecutive win of a St. David's Lighthouse Trophy. In second place in both systems was a 1986 11.6-m (38-ft) McCurdy sloop, Selkie, sailed by the designer's daughter, Sheila McCurdy. Conditions were light and upwind for the entire race.
In Britain the Commodore's Cup was resuscitated, attracting 15 three-boat teams from six countries to compete. Britain's Red Team (Fair Do's VII, a Ker 46, Erivale III, a Ker 39, and Quokka 7, a Corby 39) won the event after some close racing.
At the Acura Key West Race in January, Barking Mad was the winner in the marquee Farr 40 class, in which a total of 25 boats competed. In April, 33 boats from 10 countries participated in the Farr 40 world championship in Miami Beach, where Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino took the title for the third consecutive year.
Box rule boats continued to gain popularity, led by the Transpac 52s (TP52s), which competed at each of the six venues on the Audi MedCup circuit. In smaller boats, the Moths continued to lead the world in the application of hydrofoil technology. At the Moth world championships, held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in Dorset, Eng., all 79 boats “flew” around the course at double-digit speeds. International 14s featured lifting foils on their rudders, and the foil technology was being backfitted into other dinghies, notably the RS600 class. In March a new sailboard speed record of 49.09 knots was set by Frenchman Antoine Albeau on a canal in France. At the other end of the spectrum, there was a new record for the smallest sailboat to complete a transatlantic passage: Frenchman Franck Andreotta, in a 172-cm (5.64-ft) sloop, made the voyage in 48 days.
Several other sailing records were achieved during the year. In January the record for a solo nonstop circumnavigation was set by François Joyon of France, who sailed his 29-m (95-ft) trimaran IDEC around the world in 57 days 13 hr 34 min, averaging 15.84 knots. In June ICAP Leopard, a 30.5-m (100-ft) supermaxi, set a transatlantic record for a monohull yacht with powered winches of 7 days 19 hr 21 min. Frenchman Lionel Lemonchois and his 21.3-m (70-ft) maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 set several passage records: New York City to San Francisco via Cape Horn (43 days 38 min); San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan (11 days 12 min 55 sec), and Hong Kong to London (41 days 21 hr 26 min).
The America's Cup sputtered in court for much of the year as the Swiss defenders and the potential American challengers argued their dispute over the terms of the next competition, to be held in 2009. After a finding favourable to the challengers was issued in November 2007, the Swiss team Alinghi appealed. A 3–2 finding by a New York state appellate court the following July reversed the previous finding and reinstated Spain's Club Náutico Español de Vela as the challenger of record, thus giving the Spanish team the right to negotiate the terms of the next challenge. The American team Oracle appealed the decision to the New York Supreme Court.
The Newport–Bermuda Race, in which 201 boats participated in June, produced some unlikely results. Winning on corrected time in both the ORR (U.S.) and the IRC (British) handicapping systems was a boat from the 1960s—Sinn Fein, a Cal 40—and a skipper from the 1930s—septuagenarian Peter Rebovich, a retired elementary-school teacher sailing with a family crew. It was Sinn Fein's second consecutive win of a St. David's Lighthouse Trophy. In second place in both systems was a 1986 11.6-m (38-ft) McCurdy sloop, Selkie, sailed by the designer's daughter, Sheila McCurdy. Conditions were light and upwind for the entire race.
In Britain the Commodore's Cup was resuscitated, attracting 15 three-boat teams from six countries to compete. Britain's Red Team (Fair Do's VII, a Ker 46, Erivale III, a Ker 39, and Quokka 7, a Corby 39) won the event after some close racing.
At the Acura Key West Race in January, Barking Mad was the winner in the marquee Farr 40 class, in which a total of 25 boats competed. In April, 33 boats from 10 countries participated in the Farr 40 world championship in Miami Beach, where Vincenzo Onorato's Mascalzone Latino took the title for the third consecutive year.
Box rule boats continued to gain popularity, led by the Transpac 52s (TP52s), which competed at each of the six venues on the Audi MedCup circuit. In smaller boats, the Moths continued to lead the world in the application of hydrofoil technology. At the Moth world championships, held at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy in Dorset, Eng., all 79 boats “flew” around the course at double-digit speeds. International 14s featured lifting foils on their rudders, and the foil technology was being backfitted into other dinghies, notably the RS600 class. In March a new sailboard speed record of 49.09 knots was set by Frenchman Antoine Albeau on a canal in France. At the other end of the spectrum, there was a new record for the smallest sailboat to complete a transatlantic passage: Frenchman Franck Andreotta, in a 172-cm (5.64-ft) sloop, made the voyage in 48 days.
Several other sailing records were achieved during the year. In January the record for a solo nonstop circumnavigation was set by François Joyon of France, who sailed his 29-m (95-ft) trimaran IDEC around the world in 57 days 13 hr 34 min, averaging 15.84 knots. In June ICAP Leopard, a 30.5-m (100-ft) supermaxi, set a transatlantic record for a monohull yacht with powered winches of 7 days 19 hr 21 min. Frenchman Lionel Lemonchois and his 21.3-m (70-ft) maxi-catamaran Gitana 13 set several passage records: New York City to San Francisco via Cape Horn (43 days 38 min); San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan (11 days 12 min 55 sec), and Hong Kong to London (41 days 21 hr 26 min).
John B. Bonds
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