World Sailing is to launch a global consultation with offshore sailors and yacht owners over the growing influence of technology on racing, confirming a move towards wider consultation highlighted by Afloat.
World Sailing is to seek the views of offshore sailors and yacht owners worldwide before deciding how the sport should respond to increasingly sophisticated technology aboard racing yachts.
The global survey will also involve crews, classes, rating systems and organising authorities, with the Oceanic and Offshore Committee (OOC) saying it wants the people who participate in, invest in and organise offshore racing to help determine what happens next.
As Afloat reported recently, increasingly sophisticated autopilots, sensors and computer-controlled systems are raising a fundamental question for offshore racing: where does electronic assistance end and performance enhancement begin?
World Sailing has now formally put that question on the agenda for a global consultation.
Human Endeavour in Offshore Racing
The OOC says it has been considering the implications of developing technology since November 2021, while an Offshore Organisers Forum was held in November last year.
Several proposals have since been received, including CO-2026-19, prompting World Sailing to widen the discussion beyond its committees.
The governing body says there is broad recognition that offshore racing is approaching a significant issue requiring careful consideration.
Matt Allen, chair of the OOC, said innovation remained an important part of sailing but there had been a clear call for more consultation.
“What has been particularly clear is that people recognise the importance of the issue, but many are asking for more time and wider consultation before decisions are taken,” Allen said.
“This survey is an opportunity for sailors, owners, crews, Classes, Rating Systems and Organising Authorities to have their voices heard.”
How Much Should Technology Do?
The announcement gives fresh weight to the question raised by Afloat over the changing capabilities of racing-yacht technology.
World Sailing's current Offshore Special Regulations already recognise systems considerably more sophisticated than the traditional autopilot simply steering a compass course.
The issue is not whether technology has a place in offshore racing — it plainly does — but where the sport ultimately chooses to draw the line as sensors, software and automated controls become more capable.
World Sailing identifies “human endeavour” alongside participation, investment and competition as one of the principles it wants any future approach to protect.
It also points to motor racing, golf and cycling as sports that have already had to confront questions over the appropriate limits of technology in competition.
Consultation Before Decisions
Significantly, there is no deadline for the survey.
The OOC says it intends to take the time necessary to design a consultation capable of producing meaningful results rather than moving quickly towards new regulation.
That follows World Sailing's move earlier this year to increase direct engagement with the offshore community on rules, equipment and governance. Allen said World Sailing wanted to understand the views of those who participate in and fund the sport “before determining the best way forward”.
Further details of the survey and how stakeholders can participate will be announced when the consultation has been finalised.
World Sailing says the results will subsequently be published in a report.
For offshore racing, the debate Afloat highlighted has therefore moved another step forward: not what technology can do, but how much of it the sport wants technology to do.
