The most easily accessible image of sailing – big boat, crew, lots of moving parts – is belied by Olympic sailing.
Some of the best Olympic-style sailors in the world are in Abu Dhabi, competing in six of the eight Olympic classes around the Corniche and Lulu Island in the 2015 ISAF Sailing World Cup Final. Rather than the big, majestic multi-crew boats that feature in the likes of the Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup, the Olympic sailors often operate practically flatbeaded craft with a small sail sticking out.
The resulting sport is, truly, unlike any other. It is, essentially, operating a small vehicle by straining and pulling to capture wind in a large sheet, in water. It’s surprisingly acrobatic, and when they get wind like they did around Abu Dhabi on Thursday, the first day of the competition that runs until Sunday’s final races, it can pick up a pace that enhances the best of its sporting aesthetics and competitiveness.
Here’s what will be on offer this weekend:
RS:X – In a sense, perhaps the discipline pitting man against wind in the purest form. They look good in smaller courses, and pick up speed more easily on softer conditions near the shore than some of the other craft, which makes for maybe the easiest viewing among the classes on offer. Compact and easily manoeuvreable, not much unlike windsurfing, it’s probably the easiest to gaze at and appreciate.
Laser – Super compact, in what looks like the traditional idea of a sailboat but kid-size. These basically look to the untrained eye like pieces of driftwood with a sail attached to a stick jutting out. It might make for the most dynamic sailing, though, with the single-occupant craft requiring sailors to basically hang out into the water to catch wind, and shift rapidly. The stronger the wind, the better.
49er - Operated in twos, which makes for as much interest in watching the pair dance around the boat and shift this way and that as it is actually seeing the boat race. The movement is frenzied as they strain to catch and control the wind, the teamwork obvious if a bit indecipherable. This boat, too, features a lot of daredevil-leaning over the water at times, which can make for cool aesthetics.
470 – A slightly bigger boat with a slightly bigger sail, the racing in these craft can look a little more methodical. They were deeper out in open, choppier sea on Thursday, and it seemed suitable, with longer distances being covered. Also manned by two sailors, it’s a tactical specialty.
Finn – A bit like a cross between the Laser and 470, single-manned but with a little bit bigger build for longer, more tactical sailing.
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