As the London 2012 Olympics draw near, Go Yachting sits down with Neil Pryde to talk about the recent sailing decisions made for the 2016 Olympics, and the ramifications.
Sailing as an Olympic sport is undergoing change. Recent decisions within ISAF have caused both concern and debate. As sports around the world compete for limited medal slots, what does the future hold for sailing in the Olympics?
Neil Pryde have been supporting and investing in the Olympics for many years, providing windsurfing equipment for Barcelona 1992, Beijing 2008 and also for the current edition, London 2012, as well as supporting youth windsurfing through the ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships.
Producing windsurfing equipment under the NeilPryde brand and Kitesurfing equipment under the Cabrinha brand, Neil Pryde is in a unique position to comment on the recent ‘Windsurfs are out and Kiteboards are in’ Olympic decision by ISAF.
For Rio 2016 Windsurfs will be replaced by Kiteboards, which will be making their Olympic debut. The decision has proven to be contentious.
With a strong youth development programme, windsurfing has been responsible for bringing many developing countries into the sport of sailing. The decision to replace them in the Olympics has surprised many.
Since the decision was made, a number of stories have surfaced of representatives voting against national association orders, and some even saying they were confused by the voting system.
With so much on the line, how can such an important decision be made this way? What happens next? What is the future for sailing as an Olympic sport?
Also in this episode:
Rolly Tasker: The Passing of a Legend
Rolland Tasker, more commonly known as Rolly Tasker, passed away recently at his home in Australia.
A business man, sportsman and sailor who won Australia’s first Olympic sailing medal at the 1956 Games in Melbourne, he dominated ocean racing in Western Australia from 1969 to 1985 with his five sister yachts all called ‘Siska’.
In his racing career he was Australian Dinghy Champion 10 times and won over 2000 races, and in 2006 became a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to sailing.
Over his long career, Rolly built and operated sail lofts in Australia, Hong Kong, France, USA and Phuket in Thailand, from where Rolly Tasker Sails exports to more than 60 countries.
Rolly is a sailing legend and an inspiration to many.
Samui Regatta 2012
The quintessential Thai tropical island of Samui is home to one of Asia’s favourite boutique regattas – the Samui Regatta.
Eleven years young, the 2012 Regatta a top-class fleet of boats from Asia and beyond, including 10 closely-matched 40-footers in the IRC 1 Class, and the largest of the fleet the 90-foot Maxi ‘Genuine Risk’ competing in the IRC Zero class.
32 boats in 5 classes, and over 500 sailors competed over 5 days, experiencing everything from idyllic tropical sailing conditions to wet and wild rides with winds gusting upto 40 knots.
Close battles across the fleet saw nail-biting finishes with most classes being decided on the final race of the Series.
Australian-entry ‘Hooligan’ won IRC Zero, and ‘EFG Bank Mandrake’ pipped ‘Foxy Lady 6’ to the IRC 1 crown. ‘Moonblue 2’ won IRC Premier on count-back while in IRC Two/ Bareboat ‘Reef Knot’ won by a point and ‘Fantasia’ claimed the victory in the Multihull class.
A TV Production by Go Yachting.
