Grammy award-winning, American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross had the perfect soothing and uplifting concepts for competitive sailing adventurers and travelers everywhere around the world, when he composed, “Sailing”:
“Well, it’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right, you sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles…”
And countless other singers have joined the themes and variations of the beckoning chorus, providing their own varietal sailing tunes.
This really is not that surprising, since reportedly sailing has existed as far back as 5,500 B.C.
Modern-day sailing and its crafts are unrecognizable from the Mesopotamian era. No longer is competitive sailing a merely a casual act of hoisting up square, papyrus reed sails on their flimsy crafts, which were primarily used for commerce on the Nile, or more recently, being stylish sailor fashion mavens just out for a casual sailing jaunt, donning their best Sperry Top-Sider shoes and salopettes.
Competitive Sailing Yachts
Most notably, competitive sailing yachts, manned by very skilled, extremely agile, and expertly trained crew, now rival the most expensive luxury cars, draining bank accounts upwards to $10 million (and you always need two).
Sailing the wind-powered sailing yachts have greatly evolved, with their highly skilled crew of five at times perilously maneuvering and scurrying over 20 feet in the air in their expertly engineered craft- all while zipping above the water, sometimes at speeds more than 65 miles per hour.
Although competitive sailing has suffered a notable decline from its heyday in the 1980s, then drawing 12.5 million Americans, either for recreation or sport, now sailing is encouragingly starting to undergo a dramatic interest resurgence, growing from 2.5 million Americans.
Though not yet in the attendance class of top modern-day sports, the important and encouraging takeaway is that it has started growing exponentially.
Besides the world’s most prestigious sailing race, America’s Cup (link), established in 1851, now similar, very exciting competitions are held around the globe.
One of those who majorly participated and attended competitions is the SailGP tournament (link). Highly competitive teams from around the world compete each year in the event, including teams from the U.S., Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Spain, and Switzerland.
On June 18, the U.S. team competed at the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago, Illinois, at the Navy Pier. Watched on-site by several thousands of very vocal spectators, the U.S. team had a positive finish, ending with a third-place finish in the last race.
Even though the event’s light air conditions proved quite challenging, the large windsail configurations, towering 95 feet over Lake Michigan, proved most beneficial. The huge wing enabled the boats to foil in the lighter conditions and the day’s top speed was still a respectable 41 miles per hour – more than four times the average wind speed of the day.
For those of you that have not seen or experienced a competitive sailing event – or wish you were there to see the action up close – below, we have produced a short video of this competition.
The good news is that there still is plenty of action remaining in the SailGP season, with competitions being conducted around the world through 2023. So, you may want to consider including a visit to complement your upcoming international travel plans.
SailGP 2022/2023 calendar:
• Denmark SGP: August 19-20, 2022
• France SGP: September 10-11, 2022
• Spain SGP: September 24-25, 2022
• Dubai SGP: November 12-13, 2022
• Singapore SGP: Jan 14-15, 2023
• New Zealand SGP: March 18-19, 2023
• United States SGP: May 6-7, 2023
So, please c’mon out and batten down your hatches for some extreme sailing adventure fun!