(Annapolis, MD)- Racing sailboats across a long distance has inspired generations of sailors. The Annapolis Yacht Club announces a new 24-hour race for double-handed crews to start on Saturday, September 28, 2019 off the entrance to the Severn River. In response to the announcement by World Sailing, the international governing body of the sport, that the Olympic Games will host a mixed double-handed, long-distance competition beginning with the 2024 Paris Games, the Annapolis Yacht Club is among the first sailing organizations to create this new event.
The race course will be spread throughout the Chesapeake Bay with a finish line off the yacht club’s dock on Spa Creek. The race is scheduled to last 24 hours, the first boat to the finish line will receive the top prize. The race will be an endurance contest for the crews as they race throughout the night hours. Keeping the boat sailing fast, monitoring weather forecasts, careful navigation, precision boat handling, and physical stamina are a few of the attributes the crews will need to excel in this challenging contest.
The vision for the Olympic Games in 2024 is to feature a race of around 500 miles in a boat of about 30-32 feet in overall length. World Sailing is committed to gender equity in the sport and is encouraged by the tremendous interest throughout the world to compete for an Olympic medal. Early comments by World Sailing suggest that 18-20 countries will qualify for the medal race in 2024. Los Angeles 2028 also intends on hosting a long-distance double-handed race off the Southern California coast during the Olympics.
With GPS-based tracking and easy communications with the competitors, the double-handed long-distance race will attract worldwide interest in all time zones 24 hours per day. Racing enthusiasts will be able to follow the Annapolis Yacht Club competitors throughout the race on the internet.
The AYC event will feature two divisions: one for mixed gender crews in J/105s and a second division open to male or female teams in boats of 25 to 42 feet using the Offshore Rating Council handicap rule to score the different size boats.
The seven-boat J/105 fleet has several famous offshore sailors participating. Among the early entrants is Randy Smyth, a two-time Olympic medalist and winning America’s Cup sailor. He will be paired with his friend Christina Parrson on-board MIRAGE. In addition, Patrick Gavin-Brynes & Evelyn Hull will be sailing AMERICAN OCEAN RACING PROJECT/ BREAKAWAY.
In the ten-boat ORC Division, there are two J/Duos racing; John Loe & Matt Schubert’s J/33 HORNET and Roger Lant & Mike Welin’s J/35 ABIENTOT. You can follow all the sailors on the event website! For more AYC Doublehanded Distance Race sailing informationAdd to Flipboard Magazine.
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