Olympians are different from you and me. In the final analysis, that’s what being Olympian is all about. For whether we like it or not, the vivid clarity of an Olympic medal is one of the few ways that sailing can gain a place centre stage in any national attention. Even then, it’s a place in the spotlight that’s held only briefly. Yet while some nations’ need for having sailing in the public eye is even more dependent on the Olympics than that of many others, the fact is that, in their shared search for universal publicity and worldwide acceptance, sailing generally is much more dependent on the Olympics than the Olympics are on sailing.

To the winner, the glory. Ireland's Annalise Murphy returns to Dun Laoghaire and national fame in 2016 with her Olympic Silver Medal won at Rio de Janeiro

Thus in creating “Olympic-friendly” classes, we find ourselves on a course that leads to facing the reality that – except for the outstanding exception of the ILCA/Lasers – being involved with the Olympics is not good for a boat class. Since being ejected from the Olympic lineup, both the International Dragon and more recently the Olympic Finn have been thriving, each in their own merry way. By contrast, the Olympics-aimed Nacra 17 catamaran – while a very commendable ideal - falls somewhat short of being a sailing household name, and is not a feature of the average or even elite sailing club dinghy park.

The People’s Boat. The ILCA 7 has Ireland’s Finn Lynch (National YC) lined up for a place in the 2024 Paris/Marseille Sailing Olympiad, while Eve McMahon (Howth YC) will be racing the ILCA 6. The universally popular ILCA has become accustomed to major international events seeing the host country provide all the boats, and World Sailing hopes to see this policy extended to every Olympic sailing class by 2032

WORLD SAILING’S VIEW FOR 2032

Thus the divide between everyday sailing and Olympic expectations is now more than a divide – it’s a chasm. And if World Sailing’s recently published vision for the global development of our sport is fully implemented by its target time of the 2032 Games in Brisbane - a sea-based location which will lend itself particularly well to this ambition - the image of our sport as hoped for by the global authority will become this:

• Sailing is widely recognised in the Olympic Movement for its pioneering work to make the sport at the Games more sustainable and accessible.
• Sailors compete using supplied equipment, manufactured using higher than current standards of sustainability.
• Sailors and teams use their platforms to advocate for action on climate change.

REMOTE FROM THE REALITY OF EVERYDAY SAILING

In other words, not only are top national awards in sailing already Olympic-dominated, but the demands of the Olympic Movement are becoming such that they seem to aspire towards an image and actuality of sailing that is remote from the reality as experienced by ordinary sailing enthusiasts.

Of course, it can be re-asserted that the very definition of “Olympian” in its broadest sense is that it is something happening at remote heights of excellence that are stratospheric in their relation to everyday ground-level sport. But nevertheless the point about many other Olympic sports is that they are a supreme version which is nevertheless easily - and obviously - directly related to the same sport as enjoyed by less gifted participants in an often unglamorous setting.

Annalise Murphy with her 2016 Medal. Ordinary sailors could identify closely with her achievements, for after the Rio Olympics, she ensured that the ILCA she had been allocated in Brazil was brought home permanently to Ireland for display in the Lexicon in Dun Laoghaire

In this “lower” level of sailing, the personal pleasure of these “ordinary” folk – people like us - is going afloat in usually privately-owned boats, enjoying hugely varied craft whose functions range from the determinedly non-racing right up to the highest levels of Corinthian competition, with a central core to their enjoyment being the fact that it is a fascinating vehicle sport, with all the personal boat maintenance and tuning which that involves, a scenario which ensures that they see their boats as much more than “sports equipment”.

PLEASE DON’T MENTION “VEHICLE SPORT”….

This is something which World Sailing prefers not to acknowledge, at least as far as the Olympics are concerned. The document from WS was released a month ago, but perhaps it’s a comment on its immediate relevance that other things have since dominated our attention here, even though we had quickly noticed some remarkable oddities in it. Yet even after further digestion, those oddities are still there, on a different planet as it makes clear in its introductory statement to this document. Download the full pdf here.

STRENGTHENING SAILING’S OLYMPIC POSITION

The background to the new document reads thus:

World Sailing has published its Olympic Vision strategy which is aimed at strengthening the sport's contribution to the Olympic Movement.

Produced with the support of global consulting firm McKinsey & Company and following extensive consultation with Member National Authorities (MNAs), World Sailing classes, the World Sailing Board and Council, and athlete representatives, the Olympic Vision document addresses sailing's place in the Olympic Movement.

Quanhai Li, World Sailing President (from China, he was elected for a four year term on November 2nd 2023-Ed), said: "World Sailing's Olympic Vision provides clear guidance for all Olympic classes and MNAs, and for World Sailing decision-making, with the aim of ensuring sailing programs, events and development initiatives align with the IOC's objectives for the Olympic Movement.

Chinese sailing’s Quanhia Li, World Sailing President for four years from November 2023. Photo WS

"Through this document, we have the opportunity to re-centre our focus for Olympic sailing on the areas of greatest importance with a clear goal in mind. This will help the class associations and MNAs to prioritise specific areas, work towards the targets and incorporate the guidance into their own strategies over the next eight years and beyond."

David Graham, World Sailing CEO, added, "World Sailing highly values our place in the Olympic Movement and the opportunity it gives us to contribute to the wider family of sports.

"The goal of the Olympic Vision document is to provide a clear direction which will enable MNAs, classes and others to work together for the benefit of the sport as a whole. I would like to thank our stakeholders for helping to shape the strategy and the World Sailing Council for their strong support in approving the document.

"World Sailing is committed to providing the best sailing program possible and to playing our part in strengthening the Olympic Movement."

At first glance, these are commendable aspirations and commitments, even if they have a whiff of the global virtue-signalling tendency, which may already be past its peak in other areas. But when we delve into the document’s details as produced by McKinsey in the popular all-singing, all-dancing, multi-coloured modern graphic style, we find some interpretations of the history of Olympic sailing which are so narrowly focused that it makes you wonder if we should treat its policy statements as similarly selective.

DIFFERING HISTORIC VIEWS OF OLYMPIC SAILING

Assuming that you don’t have the time and energy to delve through this seemingly-impressive display, we find for you the following brief paragraph from World Sailing working with McKinsey on the history of Olympic sailing:

“Sailing has been part of every Olympics Games since 1908 when the Royal Victoria Yacht Club, on the Isle of Wight, and the Clyde Corinthian Yacht Club, on the Cowal Peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, provided the venues. Only five countries entered, and Great Britain won all four gold medals contested. Sailing and the Olympic Games have both changed dramatically since then. The Tokyo 2020 regatta saw 65 national flags flying. Over the last three Olympics, an average of 16 different nations have been represented on the podium across 10 events.”

France’s Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) was the moving spirit in the re-birth of the Olympics, and was President of the International Olympic Committee from 1896 to 1925. Sailing was included as an Olympic sport from the revival of the Olympic Games at Athens in 1896, though it was not provided for in the 1904 Games at St Louis in the US.

The initial statement in this paragraph is accurate but less than complete if you’re a real Olympic sailing anorak. We can only think of an explanation in the fact that World Sailing is London-based and so too presumably are their consultants McKinsey, for there’s something of a London-centric flavour to the document. The reality is that when Baron de Coubertin’s ideal of a modern revival of the Olympics reached fruition at Athens in 1896 a good twelve years before the first British-staged sailing Olympiad, a fleet was assembled in Athens for Olympic sailing races, but the severe winds of a persistent meltemi made any sport afloat impossible for the duration.

WAS THIS WHERE OLYMPIC DISCOMFORT WITH SAILING BEGAN?

This may well have planted the seeds of sailing’s sometimes uncomfortable relationship with the Olympic movement. Be that as it may, by the next Games four years later at Paris in 1900, sailing was involved, albeit at locations away from the main stadium events in Paris, and at different times.

At Meulan on the River Seine from 20th-29th May, there were the inshore sailing events involving 55 boats, while the “offshore” events were off Le Havre from 1st to 5th August. One of the top boats was the gaff cutter Lerina, with a first women’s sailing Gold Medal for Helene de Pourtales of Switzerland.

She was originally of the American railroad billionaire Barbey family, so we’re into Henry James and Edith Wharton territory here, possibly spiced with a touch of Oscar Wilde, and linked in with the history of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway. It’s a line which has not, so far as we know, ever been sung about by Willie Nelson, but it was real enough to make a lot of money nevertheless.

FIRST OLYMPIC FEMALE SAILING GOLD MEDALLIST COULD BE CLAIMED AS AMERICAN

The fact that one of the first female sailing Olympic Gold Medallists could be equally claimed as an American might help the current moves to refresh enthusiasm for Olympic sailing in the US, particularly as the nationally authoritative Cruising Club of America has taken to highlighting the fact that of the two boats finishing in the initial Bermuda Race from New York in 1906, one had a female co-skipper – aged only 20 – in Thora Lund Robinson aboard the Gauntlet.

1900 Olympic Gold Medalling gaff cutter Lerina – one hot little boat, and not for racing by the faint-hearted

While any seasoned observer could see that Lerina was one hot little boat, unfortunately the only photo of the first woman sailing gold medallist that has come down to us through the ages is a rather stately and stiff portrait of Helene de Pourtales in all her formal glory. So we much prefer to think of her as being more akin to that much-liked Julius Price illustration of an Edwardian female helmsperson. It used to be hidden away in the billiards room of the more august yacht clubs, but happily has now been brought centre-stage for display in the dining rooms to general admiration.

When dressed in her aristocratic finery, Helene de Pourtales (nee Barbey, but without Ken) was an unlikely-looking Olympic Sailing Gold Medallist, but in action afloat she probably looked more like the famous Julius Price painting below………..

It’s not until the 1908 Olympics in Britain that the World Sailing Document gets on track. With the British yachting establishment taking charge of the sailing side for the 1908 games, it’s not surprising that there may have been an immediate bit of re-writing of history to suit the new scenario. This was to happen again in 1948 in the aftermath of World War II, when some of the very good pre-war but distinctly European and even German classes were dumped in favour of using new British designs such as the Firefly dinghy for single-handing, and the Swallow (in which our own O’Brien Kennedy had more than a hand in the design input) as the two-hander.

The International Dragon’s obvious pre-eminence as the three-man boat was offset by the British Olympic Council insisting that the selected UK helm, Eric Strain of Royal North of Ireland YC, should discard his much-loved winning boat, the Scandinavian-built Ceres, in favour of the new but heavier and slower British-built Ceres II, thereby condemning him to fourth place when – as 1947 Dragon Gold Cup winner with Ceres I – he would have been in line for at least a Silver had he been left with the boat he preferred.

Be that as it may, forty years earlier in 1908 the sailing Olympics – the first staged in an English-speaking country - certainly received more attention than before, and were firmly set into the programme thereafter, then onto a path which has inevitably led to the Olympian peaks of sailing diverging more and more from the sport at its more ordinary level.

In such circumstances, it is actually realistic for World Sailing to believe that by 2032, it will have turned sailing and its “equipment” into an ecologically acceptable activity, a world away from everyday club life. The only trouble is that in the final analysis, it’s not about equipment – it’s about people. In order to produce a high-performance stream to feed the ferocious personnel appetites of the Olympic monster, the national sailing authorities have to identify talent from the earliest possible age, and then divert it ever more tightly into their almost monastic High Performance Academies.

The contemporary sailing scene in Brisbane. Some very seasoned Irish sailors will be delighted to see that they’re still using the veteran Heron Class sailing dinghy, but in 2032 the Olympic sailing plan will see the introduction of a much less homely but more ecologically-friendly version of our sport. Photo South Brisbane SC

PIED PIPER OF OLYMPIC SAILING?

This can disrupt lives and damage families, and is something of which we have to be aware. In fact, it’s an almost contradictory proposition to be creating an ecologically-positive high-profile sector in our sport at Brisbane 2032 if those performing in the heart of it have a dysfunctional relationship with the mainstream.

As for being a parent, well, as one father has observed, it can be like having the Pied Piper that is Olympic Sailing coming along the waterfront, spiriting all the best young local sailors away forever. That’s as may be, but we surely have to face the reality that “ordinary” sailing and Olympic sailing should be two completely different categories when it comes to allocating national awards.

Irish Olympic sailing was well represented by 20 sailors when the Olympic Federation of Ireland and the Irish Olympians Association celebrated 100 years of Ireland's participation at the Olympic Games (1924 - 2024) on March 13th.

The evening marked the release of a special list of all 911 athletes (with 62 sailors) who have represented Ireland at the Olympics since Paris 1924 and will mark the start of a partnership with Trinity College Dublin to celebrate their Olympic athletes past and present.

Among the sailors who attended were David Wilkins, who represented Ireland at the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics, bringing home a Silver Medal with Jamie Wilkinson and Rio 2016 Silver Medalist Annalise Murphy. Also present were Maeve McNally, Conrad Simpson, Mark Mansfield, Curly Morris, Dan O'Grady, Sean Waddilove, Marshall King, Cathy MacAleavey, Mark Lyttle, Aisling Bowman, Garrett Connolly, Bill O'Hara, Denise Lyttle, Robert Dix, Ciara Peelo, David Wilkins, Annalise Murphy, Phil Lawton and Tom Fitzpatrick.

The event took place in the Senior Common Room of Trinity College Dublin with the French Ambassador in attendance and was one of the first in a series of events planned for 2024.

Ireland has won 38 Olympic medals, two of which are in sailing.

With 547 days to go to the Paris 2024 Olympics, America's Sailing Scuttlebutt website reports that USA Olympic Sailing has lost its Executive Director. 

Paul Cayard (San Francisco, CA), who had been appointed by US Sailing in March 2021 as Executive Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing, today announced his resignation from the position. Here are his words to supporters of US Olympic Sailing:

Unfortunately, over the past couple of months, the US Sailing Association and I had a complete breakdown on several levels. The process of resolution was not good and ultimately unsuccessful. Despite my passion for our mission and my perseverance, I can no longer work with US Sailing.

In 2020, I was told that trying to build a successful Olympic Team, within US Sailing, would be very challenging. Changing the processes, culture, and support for the Team is an extremely difficult task. We are just starting to make gains. Raising two or three times the amount of money ever raised in the USA, to support that goal is also a difficult task. Starting and building an endowment so that future leaders will have something to rely on financially is another tall order.

Ultimately, the relationship with US Sailing proved to be one that I could not cope with. It pains me to admit that as I did sail around the world twice, and generally feel pretty capable of dealing with adversity.

I want to emphasize my gratitude for your support, trust and confidence in me. Know that we made significant progress in the movement to get the USA back to the top of the podium. I remain interested in our mission and supporting athletes. Maybe this will take a different form in time.

It has been my honor and privilege to work with my staff and for all the great athletes of the USA who have so much potential. I wish them all the best!"

More on sailingscuttlebutt.com here

US Sailing restructures Olympic programme

US Sailing, the sport's national governing body, announces an operational restructuring of the US Sailing Team.

During a reassessment of its business, and to ensure US Sailing Team athletes receive the best support leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the US Sailing Board of Directors has decided to dedicate the resources necessary to ensure all aspects of successfully operating the Olympic Team receive the attention they deserve.

Previously, the Executive Director of US Olympic Sailing was responsible for both leading team operations as well as garnering financial support for the team. In this new structure, duties would be streamlined and separated into two roles. A Head of Olympic Operations will focus full-time on this part of the role, while a second position will give fundraising for the team the necessary attention it deserves.

In the past two years, many strides have been made towards success on the podium. Fundraising efforts and successes have grown, athletes participating on the US Sailing board, which is a requirement of The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, have gained valuable leadership experience, and responsibilities have naturally been added.

By separating responsibilities into two roles, each effort will get the dedicated staff and time necessary for success.

"We are proud of the accomplishments made with respect to the Olympic Team and the development of our athletes over the past couple of years," said President of the Board of Directors Rich Jepsen. "We have done what all good organizations do, which is to continually assess how to be even better.

"In talking with many athletes and other stakeholders in that regard, and the Board believes that dedicating the necessary resources for these two valuable areas will help better position our athletes for success on the podium."

Additional steps are already being taken to implement this improved structure. A search committee comprised of US Sailing board members is being created to fill these important roles. Interviews are ongoing to recruit the successful development professional and will begin shortly for the head of the Team.

In the interim, two board members who have been integrally involved in the Board's oversight of the Olympic operations and the ongoing assessment, Olympian Sarah Lihan and long-time board member and 10-year sailor athlete Henry Brauer, will help oversee the Team.

World Sailing and four of the leading Olympic class regattas have confirmed competition dates for 2023 and 2024 and announced a commitment for greater collaboration across the sport with the ambition of delivering benefits for event organisers on all continents, for national federations and for individual sailors.

The Trofeo Princesa Sofia, Allianz Regatta, Semaine Olympique Française and Kieler Woche will work with World Sailing on three key areas:

The shared ambition is for all four events to be brought together under the World Cup banner, enabling a more consistent and collaborative approach to make planning in future Olympic cycles easier for Member National Authority (MNA) teams and athletes.

Coordination efforts will consider the opportunities for training between events, as well as minimising travelling and enabling sailors to enter multiple events via a single platform.

The four regattas and World Sailing will also work together on the co-promotion of the sport to improve reach and engagement with existing and new fans.

"World Sailing is committed to enhancing engagement with stakeholders across sailing in the best interests of our Member National Authorities and the sailors," said World Sailing Director of Events Alastair Fox.

"Each of these regattas has a remarkable heritage and provides the foundations for both the Sailing World Championships and sailing in the Olympic Games. Ultimately, we are looking to partner with events on all continents to work together and make sailing in the Olympic classes a better experience for sailors worldwide and more accessible for our MNAs in every region.

"Collaboration also creates opportunities for cross-promotion, and I know the team at World Sailing are looking forward to working with the respective event teams to develop further benefits."

2023 Regatta calendar:

Trofeo Princesa Sofia: 1-8 April 2023
Semaine Olympique Française: 22-29 April 2023
Allianz Regatta: 31 May-4 June 2023
Kieler Woche: 17-25 June 2023

2024 Regatta calendar:

Trofeo Princesa Sofia: 30 March-5 April 2024
Semaine Olympique Française: 20-27 April 2024
Allianz Regatta: 29 May-2 June 2024
Kieler Woche: 22-30 June 2024

The 53rd Semaine Olympique Francaise de Hyères - Toulon Provence Mediterranee, is back from April 23 to 30, 2022 and Irish Olympic campaigners are among the 50 nations competing on the Mediteranean.

Fresh from his fourth overall at Palma earlier this month, the National Yacht Club's Finn Lynch is entered for the French event in the ILCA 7/Laser as is Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins who has recovered from COVID and competes in the ILCA 6/Radial.

Competing against Lynch is Hopkins' clubmate Ewan McMahon who, in his third season as a senior (and in 20th place for most of the week in Palma), is already demonstrating why he is arguably Ireland's second most successful full rig sailor since Mark Lyttle, Ireland's inaugural Laser helmsman at Atlanta 1996. 

Howth Yacht Club's Aoife Hopkins

Royal St. George's Tom Higgins is also competing in the ILCA 7. 

Also heading for Hyères are Howth and Skerries duo Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er who will be keen to make the medal race after a capsize cost them so dearly in Palma. 

Hoping to close the gap on their rivals for Paris are Royal Cork Yacht Club and Baltimore Sailing Club's new skiff combination Seafra Guilfoyle and Johnny Durcan who raced in the silver fleet in Palma. 

Royal Irish's Saskia Tidey will be sailing with Freya Black for Team GB in the 49erFX.

Once again, the Olympic sailing elite will be in Hyères for one of the most anticipated events of the season. For the first time in France, the SOF will bring together on the Hyères field of play the 10 classes that will be present in Marseille for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Coming from more than 50 countries, the 650 registered competitors, including the world's best Olympic sailors, will make the Hyères event an exceptional edition. After the Trofeo Princess Sofia, at the beginning of April, Hyères will be the second major event on the Olympic calendar.

The 10 Olympic classes: iQFOiL (foil windsurfing, men and women), Kitefoil (foil kiteboarding, men and women), ILCA (solo dinghy, women and men), 49er (double dinghy, men and women), Nacra 17 (double foil catamaran, mixed), 470 (double dinghy, mixed) will compete on the Hyerois field of play, which is as technical as it is tactical and renowned for its often strong easterly winds.

The gold medallists at the Tokyo Olympic Games last summer, who will be competing in Hyères: Australia's Matt Wearn (men's ILCA), Italy's Ruggero Tita & Caterina Banti (Nacra 17, mixed), Brazil's Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (women's 49er), Britain's Eilidh McIntyre, with new partner Martin Wringley (470 double dinghy, mixed).

For France, the world champions of iQFOiL, Helène Noesmoen and Nicolas Goyard will be competing in women's and men's in Hyères. Goyard will be up against Thomas Goyard, silver medallist in RS:X in Tokyo, and Pierre Le Coq, bronze medallist in RS: X in Rio. In KiteFoil, the field includes the world champion, Theo de Ramecourt; the European champion, Axel Mazella; and Lauriane Nolot (3rd in the World Championship). Gold medallist in Rio and silver medallist in Tokyo, Charline Picon, returns - and for the first time in competition in France in the 49er - partnering with Sarah Steyaert. Bronze medallist in Tokyo in the 470, Aloïse Retornaz will form a new mixed duet with Kevin Peponnet.

More here

Sailing needs the Olympics much more than the Olympics need sailing. And in Ireland in particular, sailing’s inferior position in this uneven relationship is exacerbated by the national obsession with sport in all its forms, and the often cringe-inducing neediness which the organisers of the various international sporting disciplines will manifest in seeking success abroad in order to get public attention, approval and financial support at home.

For the reality is that sailing is a complex vehicle activity that is too difficult of comprehension for the casual observer to be drawn enthusiastically to it as a spectator sport, as they see it as no more than a briefly-glimpsed pretty picture on a summer’s day. This is an interest barrier that is heightened by sailing’s total reliance on wind and weather conditions. A sailing match in light winds is fascinating for those taking part, but it makes for switch-off live television. Thus as far as the general public is concerned - and with them the politicians who try to anticipate and meet their interests and expectations - sailing only makes sense, and briefly provides general interest for the population at large, when they can easily relate to it through five simple and recognisable metrics.

REQUIREMENTS FOR SAILING TO HAVE POPULAR INTEREST

These are (1) The winning of prestigious internationally-recognised prizes, at its most clearcut in Olympic medals. (2) The probable involvement of seemingly vast sums of money. (3) The participation of celebrities famous for their pre-eminence in something other than sailing. (4) The existence of real danger, with the possible and occasionally fulfilled risk of drownings, and (5) The achievement for the first time of some feat of easily-comprehended seagoing historical significance. To that list could of course be added “a whiff of scandal”, but that applies to any human activity, and scandal-addicted saddos really should get themselves a life.

Be that as it may, because the Olympic Games are officially hosted by cities rather than nations, Olympic sailing events will almost inevitably be located at waterside centres which are at some distance – sometimes a very considerable distance – from the main city-located theatres of sport, emphasising sailing’s distancing from central areas where arenas attract large crowds to witness individual athletic achievements which most clearly typify the Olympic ideal as conceived in ancient Greece, and revived there with the beginning of the modern games in 1896.

For sure, even then just what is entitled to be thought of as an Olympic sport had been expanded, and sailing had been included in the proposed 1896 list. But when it didn’t happen, this attracted so little attention that the historians cannot agree whether or not the reason was because of a lack of suitable boats, or the persistence of a gale-force-plus Meltemi in the Aegean Sea.

An Irish link to early Olympic sailing success. The International 8 Metre Ierne, designed and built by William Fife in 1914 for Arthur Sharman Crawford, Commodore of the Royal Munster YC in Cork, was one of the first of her class to carry Bermudan rig. However, when she won the Gold Medal in the 1920 Olympics in Belgium, she was Norwegian-owned.

Nevertheless, it figured more prominently in subsequent Olympics, but increasingly it had to be at some distance from the host city.

Yet even then, people would not have paid money to pile into vast arenas to watch sailing events, had it been made possible in some artificial way. And it is only in special and usually rather artificial circumstances that it can provide anything of interest for the betting industry, while any attempts at televising it results in a very distorted version of the sport as usually enjoyed by its participants.

SAILING AS A PERSONAL AND ABIDING PASSION

Yet for a small but not insignificant segment of the population in Ireland, sailing is their personal and abiding passion, they’re convinced we should regularly give of our best for Olympic participation, and in order to get a share of governmental sporting expenditure for what can be an expensive activity when pursued at a global level, they have to be prepared to encourage their national authority in developing a very elite high-performance division which can bring home universally-recognised evidence of global success.

Ronnie Delaney, Olympic Gold Medal athlete in 1956, with sailing Olympian Saskia Tidey at the NYC Reception for Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy in August 2016. Photo courtesy NYC

To achieve this, nothing is now remotely comparable to the heights of national exultation given to an Olympic Medal. Once upon a time, it was different. When super-runner Ronnie Delaney won his Gold Medal in the 1500m in the Melbourne Olympics on 1st December 1956, it caused turmoil in the newsrooms of the Dublin media – such as it was at the time - for not everyone was even aware he was there, let alone being the best in the world.

Then when David Wilkins and Jamie Wilkinson won Silver in the Flying Dutchman in the 1980 Moscow Olympics (with the sailing at Tallinn in what is now Estonia, but that’s a story for another time), everybody was well clued in to what was going on for the FD duo. Nevertheless, their reception home was a very genteel little ceremony at David Wilkins’ home club of Malahide.

Perhaps a quiet little celebration is in order….? 1980 Olympic Silver Medallists David Wilkins (Malahide) and Jamie Wilkinson (Howth) are welcomed home. Photo at Malahide shows (left to right) Bill Cuffe-Smith (Commodore HYC), Jamie Wilkinson, Peter Killen (Commodore MYC), David Wilkins, and Paddy Kirwan, President, Irish Yachting Association.

HUGE MODERN GROWTH OF PUBLICITY FOR ALL SPORTS

However, fast forward 46 years, and the 2016 Olympics are being held in Rio de Janeiro which – despite being one of the most dangerous cities in the world – is also one of the most spectacularly beautiful, with the singular advantage for sailing that its Olympic events can be staged virtually within city limits, so much so that it was actually easier to personally watch the sailing than almost any other contest.

So when Annalise Murphy won her Silver, it was like a dream come true not only for Irish sailors, but for all Ireland. We were still recovering in our own accentuated way from the horrors of the global economic crash of 2008-2011, while Murphy had to overcome her personal setback of slipping from a seemingly certain medal to a fourth in the 2012 Olympics. So this was magic. The entire country cheered.

Absolute magic…Annalise Murphy wins Silver at Rio, 16th August 2016

Thus her welcome home to Dun Laoghaire and her own base of the National Yacht Club just five days after winning was a glorious gala occasion on a scale never witnessed before in Irish sailing. And inevitably it raised the stakes for the need for further success in the upcoming 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, for by now – in Irish terms at least – big money was being invested by Sport Ireland in future sailing success at many levels, and most especially in the Olympics.

Just the beginning of something very big. Silver Medallist Annalise Murphy returns to Dun Laoghaire for the beginning of an extended welcome home……..

……which finally concluded far into the night with a rapturous reception from a crowd from all over Ireland packed in at the National Yacht Club

The Olympic sector of Ireland’s performance sailing became a voracious monster, devouring any rising talent to feed its need for new medal material. This was particularly the case with developing young 49er stars Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove who, with super-coach Tytus Konarzewski, were building a steady programme towards the 2024 Paris Olympics, when the sailing will be held at Marseille.

But then in September 2018, this “Fingal Flyer” crew won the 49er U23 Worlds in Marseille. Big mistake. The Gold Medal and the Marseille location were just too much temptation for the powers-that-be. They snapped up the Dickson-Waddilove crew for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics potential lineup, and when Konarzewski’s contract concluded at the end of September 2018, they let him go.

The sheer athleticism of 49er racing is in a league of its own

HIGH RISK POLICY

This was the beginning of a high-risk policy aimed at optimum success in what would be an expensive yet ruthlessly pruned campaign towards a venue at the other side of the world. In the end, the wheels came off so completely that an analytical report was subsequently commissioned from a highly-qualified outside agency. It has been published this week, but in such a redacted form that it’s already creating discussion elsewhere in Afloat.ie which will run and run, both here and at the next AGM of Irish Sailing.

But for those who have already had more than enough of official statements and denials and specialist jargon, let us look instead at the very human story of something which, if it hadn’t happened, would probably have made the publication of doubtless expensive official outside reports unnecessary.

It’s a matter of weight. Just 0.09kgs, or 3.2 ounces in old money. 3.2 ounces, for heaven’s sake……Yet if it hadn’t been for something weighing 3.2 ounces more than it should have done, the rail-roaded young 49er crew, hustled into an Olympics which became even more difficult with the year’s delay through the COVID pandemic which also made Japan an intimidating place to be competing on a socially-distanced world stage, would have returned home with a job well done.

SHARED SENSE OF SHAME

Everybody knows what happened, but that fact is that, had the weight infringement not occurred, the 49er crew were on a roll, they were going to come home with a good result, and a medal was within sight. Yet instead they came home with a 13th in a fleet of 19. Questions Were Being Asked, and our sense of empathy with the young sailors exceeded only the sense of shared shame within the Irish sailing community, that this should have happened in the most prominent setting of all.

Appropriately for the Hellenic-originating Olympics, it was like a Greek tragedy. At mid-regatta, after one of their best days with a 6th and a 2nd recorded, the Irish 49ers were told that all boat equipment was going to have a routine weighing check. The result was a complete shock. Of the nineteen 49ers, two – the Irish and the Brazilian – were found to each have one trapeze harness which was overweight. The maximum permitted weight is 2kg, but while the Brazilian clocked in at 2.3kg, the Irish were just 2.09kg.

Harnessed to ill-fortune ? A 49er’s trapeze harness is the sailor’s most important – and most intimate – item of personal equipment

It was absurd. Yet despite re-weighings, the penalties – a massive 20 points docking – stood firm, and with it went any chance of an Irish medal, while equally with it came the expectation of a very serious follow-up enquiry. So how did it happen?

The trapeze harness is the 49er sailor’s most intimate item of equipment. Those of us whose Christmas-gift jerseys are still in the wrapper will have every sympathy with an Olympic sailor who stays with the same proven and comfortable harness long after it has reached an age where moisture absorption into its fabric could be a problem. In fact, as it’s all made from synthetic materials, the idea of absorption would not readily occur.

But the reality is that after a while its protective coating becomes worn and it does permit the absorption of moisture, and thus the meticulous checking of harness weights should be every bit as important as ensuring that other weight-sensitive items are monitored. The harness in question had apparently been comfortably compliant when last seriously weighed. But that may have been as far back as 2019.

DUTY OF MANAGEMENT

However, when it gets to the stage that the campaign is on its way to the Olympics, doing these checks is surely a duty of management. Only two Irish boats were competing in the Tokyo Olympics, and as the Olympic Laser/ILCA and all its equipment were being provided by the host nation, the only boat and equipment package which the Irish squad took to Tokyo was the 49er, a situation which emphasised the importance in this one instance of the most thorough managerial input.

In time, just where the buck stops on this one will need to be resolved. But meanwhile, the partial publication of this report is a painful reminder of the day last summer when the entire Irish sailing community hung its head in shame over an infringement of 3.2 ounces.

Yet life goes on, and we hope to learn. Certainly, we can learn from the way that Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove comported themselves after this monumental setback. Heaven only knows, but it’s beyond imagination, just how they felt on the night after the judgment. But in the morning, they resumed racing with determination and style. They concluded the Tokyo Olympiad with a win in the final race. And it’s now only two years to the Paris Olympics.

Irish Sailing has declined to expand on the findings from its review of its Tokyo Olympic Team performance by publishing the 'full report' instead of an executive summary released this week.

A 'summary of findings' was published on Tuesday that concluded the Tokyo performance was "a disappointing Olympic Games that did not deliver on the high expectations post-Rio".

"Fewer boats qualified than the expected targets, and the performance of the boats which did qualify was disappointing", the summary stated.

The review, commissioned by the ISA, was prepared by sports coaching guru Gary Keegan of consultants Uppercut and a summary was published on the association website on Tuesday evening.

Introducing the report, Irish Sailing President David O'Brien said, "I am very pleased to share the independent external review of the Tokyo Olympics with you, Irish Sailing members and the wider sailing community".

The report author notes on page 3 of the summary: "A comprehensive report was issued to the Review Steering Panel which outlined the detailed findings, supporting evidence and recommendations based on the data and information shared during the review and also shares some perspectives and comparatives based on our experience of HP environments".

In response to a request for details of the 'comprehensive report', O'Brien told Afloat yesterday that "there is only one report “Summary of Headline Findings” published as a result of the review, which is as it indicates an Executive Summary of the full report, presented to and accepted by the Board. It is not intended to publish the full report".

The review follows criticism from a number of key sailing observers including Olympians and former coaches as well as plain-speaking former ISA President Roger Bannon, who called for some 'dispassionate reflection on Ireland's sailing performance' post-Tokyo.

Specifically, there are ongoing misgivings over the manner in which the Tokyo Olympic selection process was cut short by Irish Sailing in the women's Radial class, a point not mentioned in the published summary except to say 'consideration could be given to building in a “force majeure” provision to the Selection Policy' and 'communication with athletes who do not qualify needs to be enhanced'.

Sport Ireland has also commissioned its own independent Tokyo review.

In the five years from Rio, Irish Sailing received €3.87m in High-Performance state funding making it one of the top three funded Olympic sports.

A copy of the summary findings document is available to download here

Irish Sailing, the sport's national governing body, has added to its growing fleet of vehicles, this time with a new van for its Olympic Sailing Team.

The vehicle will be used to transport boats and equipment to international events on the road to Paris 2024, the first of which is now only around the corner with the massive Spanish Trofeo Trofeo Princesa Sofía Regatta kicking off in Palma in April.

There's little chance of this latest rig going missing in any airport car park given the not too subtle vehicle wrap of the Mercedes-Benz Vito, a van that is a firm favourite of both the now-retired Olympic silver medalist Annalise Murphy and her Radial rival Aoife Hopkins.

Sailing results from the Tokyo Olympics were "incredibly disappointing" and should lead to an independent review of the High-Performance unit within Irish Sailing, according to former Former Irish Sailing Association president Roger Bannon.

In his article for Afloat here, Bannon points out that the current High-Performance Unit has presided over Irish participation at four Olympics since 2008. "Apart from Annalise Murphy's silver medal in Rio, an exceptional result for a variety of reasons, Irish results at all these Olympics have failed to fulfil our much-heralded promise," he writes.

It is estimated that at least €15m has been spent since 2006 on High-Performance Sailing in Ireland, excluding what the participants themselves have contributed, and the Government regularly spends more supporting Irish sailing than any Olympic sport other than Athletics. Bannon notes this windfall is unlikely to continue after our poor results in Tokyo and consistent disappointments in the past.

Roger Bannon, who served as President of the association from 1994 to 1996, is credited with the 1993 'Joint Membership Scheme' (JMS). The JMS underpinned the financial viability of the association by making every member of a sailing club also a member of the ISA. An outspoken critic of ISA policies, Bannon spearheaded a group of sailors in 2013 calling for change at the association, claiming it had 'lost touch with grassroots sailing'. He rejoined the board in 2014 as its Treasurer and resigned in 2016.

Disappointment in the US team at its failure to win sailing medals has sparked a new appointment of Paul Cayard, a world-class Olympic and international sailor, as that country's new high-performance supremo. In addition, the UK's RYA recently appointed the renowned Olympic and international sailor Ian Walker as their high-performance supremo to direct what they hope will be the ongoing British dominance in Olympic sailing, demonstrating their willingness to review and change even an outstandingly successful high-performance structure which has delivered so many medals over the last 12 years.

In Ireland, writes Bannon, "we have basically not changed our approach for the last 4 or 5 Olympic cycles and the core methodology is obviously not working and needs to be totally reappraised, probably with new blood and revised structures.

Among the changes suggested by Bannon are:

• Professionalising our coaching support techniques to improve performance at each Olympics.
• Peer reviews ourselves other more successful nations of similar size, such as New Zealand.
• High-performance sailors should not be isolated from mainstream domestic sailing activities.
• Improved PR and visibility for the High-Performance sailors and improved relations with young athletes' families
• New protocols to assist in improving communication and consultation with families that support young athletes attempting to gain traction at international level.
• Changes to the composition of the High-Performance Olympic Committee.

In its response to the article, Irish Sailing said: "As is normal after each Olympic cycle, Irish sailing is undertaking a comprehensive review of our support to and performance of our sailing athletes. To this end, we are engaging an external sports management expert to undertake the review.

"Sport Ireland has also commissioned their own independent review which we look forward to receiving in due course. The Irish Sailing Board welcomes views from all those with Olympic sailing experience and in this regard is delighted to receive the views of our esteemed Past President, Roger Bannon.

"We expect to conclude our review by the year-end."

It's almost a month since the last sailing race of the Tokyo Olympics. In most sports, the end of each Olympic Quad (in this case a Quinq) is the traditional time for reflection on the previous campaign and consideration of the one (or more) ahead. It is also, traditionally, a time of changing personnel, both ashore and afloat. 

Deep thought is given by sports National Governing Bodies to current and future resources, both human and otherwise. This time around, the changes to the Olympic Sailing programme must be taken into the mix. During the Tokyo competition itself, Irish team management was acknowledging the need for a full debrief in order to"strengthen processes" in "every aspect of its preparations".

A key factor in the consideration is that, typically, not many of the Olympic Classes, have ever developed fleets with meaningful depth in Ireland, or, for that matter, in the UK. Think, Flying Dutchman, Soling, Star, Tempest, Europe, even 470. Except for the ILCA (Laser) fleets, aspiring Olympians in Ireland have to travel to get the competitive experience necessary to advance along the Olympic pathway.

Sailing talent

This raises the question of how to identify the talent worthy of support if they are not currently sailing the boat that they might aspire to.

The (hopefully temporary) rejection of an Offshore event in Paris in favour of kites, means that only three of the ten Olympic disciplines have Irish sailors anywhere on the world ranking lists.

As regular Afloat readers will know, Ireland targeted qualification in four Olympic classes for Tokyo but despite full-on campaigns ended up qualifying in only two.

While Annalise Murphy uses well-earned downtime to contemplate the future, Ireland's pool of sailors with proven talent is perhaps limited to Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er, Aisling Keller, Aoife Hopkins and Eve McMahon in the ILCA 6, and perhaps Finn Lynch in the ILCA7. Of course, there could be, and probably are, many others out there, but which of these would make it to the start line in Marseille in under three years time?

Annalise Murphy – well-earned downtime to contemplate the future Photo: Sailing Energy

Paris prospects - Rob Dickson and Sean Waddilove in the 49er Photo: Sailing Energy

Another uncertainty is the investment Sport Ireland are prepared to put into Irish High-Performance Sailing over the next three years.

No medal race finish

On average, just over €750,000 was granted to Irish Sailing every year since 2017. Will Sport Ireland be prepared to cough up the same, given the fairly meagre return of two classes qualified with results in the mid-teens and no medal race result?

Paris 2024

And how are we preparing for beyond Paris? Observers of this month's Laser 4.7 Youth Worlds on Dublin Bay pointed in frustration to the nationally supported squads of European sailors, where the Dutch, Italian, Spanish and Greek fleets seemed particularly well-organised and featured many sailors in the gold fleet. By contrast, the largest country by fleet numbers, Ireland, could only manage to get four out of 35 boys into the gold fleet and two of the 35 girls. If this is a pointer to future Olympic results, then Ireland will struggle to qualify.

Bold decisions

Irish Sailing should and probably will use the post-Olympic period to study clinically the quad just passed, apply the lessons learned to the next cycle, but perhaps most of all, consider a longer-term approach to developing talent considering ways to balance the investment in current and future talent. It may be time for bold decisions that may favour a bigger input of resources into youth sailing that may not pay off until Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032.