Alongside the 2024 French Olympic Week on April 20-27 in Hyères was the final opportunity for nations to gain entry to the Paris 2024 Olympics. While the USA has selected representatives for all ten Olympic events, the nation still needed to qualify in the Men’s Windsurfing (iQFOiL), Men’s Kiteboard (Formula Kite Class), and Men’s One Person Dinghy (ILCA 7). After five days of racing, the Men’s Windsurfing and Kiteboard athletes secured USA country qualification, but it is mathematically impossible to achieve country qualification in the Men’s One Person Dinghy, thus denying Ford McCann from h ..read more

The intent of a bilge pump is to remove water that enters the bilge, but at what rate? A bilge pump is most needed at the worst of times, and often that is when their inadequacy is discovered. George Day discusses a recent incident in the Cruising Compass report: The sinking of the Swedish-flag 46-footer IdaLina 300 miles from the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia began when the boat’s rudder shaft broke in half and the stub attached to the rudder created a crack or hole in the hull at the bearing that was estimated to be 15 centimeters or six inches wide. While the yacht’s pumps were work ..read more

First held in 1968, Antigua Sailing Week 2024 is back with 13 racing classes for teams representing 20 different nations. On April 27, the start gun will fire for the stand-alone Peters & May Round Antigua Race. Beginning April 28, the 55th edition of Antigua Sailing Week gets underway with five days of racing plus a midway Lay Day on May 1. On May 3, the Final Prize Giving Party follows the last day of racing. Event information – Entry list – Facebook CSA Racing 1 The high performance big boat class features boats from 45-65ft. Volvo 65 Sisi (AUT) is the most potent but will need big ..read more

Youth sailing has followed the same path as other sports with increased coaching and intensity, which has led to attrition as kids either quit because of the heightened competition, or because they never got introduced to sailing opportunities beyond the youth bubble. However, don’t blame the coaches as most are products of the system and don’t know any better. And don’t blame the parents as they are drinking the Kool-Aide that has been handed them. But if the primary focus of youth programs is not to instill a lifelong love of sailing, club leadership is to blame. Thankfully, there are always ..read more

The Race to Alaska will hold its 8th edition in 2024, continuing with its 750-mile course from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK. And now there is a podcast series prior to the June 9 start. In this episode, meet a trio of teams that each will require a blister-care technician: Team SUP N Irish After his 2023 attempt ended on the beaches of Klemtu, BC with a busted wing, stand-up paddler Peter Allen is back—and laser-focused on the sweet taste of Ketchikan victory, and finding his place as only the second SUP to finish. Team Victory Oar Duff The Royal Canadian Navy has officially approved thi ..read more

Matt Sheahan and his PlanetSail team share the latest episode in a regular series of features about the road to the America’s Cup that will take us from the first official event in Vilanova to the Cup match itself in October 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. Here’s the episode synopsis: It’s a simple question – How do you power an AC75? This time around for the third generation Cup boats, the answer is different depending on whether you’re talking about above or below the waterline. And this time around cycling looks set to be the answer. Matt Sheahan goes behind the scenes at INEOS Britannia’s base i ..read more

Barcelona, Spain (April 25, 2024) – New York Yacht Club American Magic, Challenger for the 37th America’s Cup, today slid its AC75 race boat, “B3,” outside of the shed as commissioning continues since its arrival on March 25. Previously hidden, it had traveled 3,500 miles from its construction at the build facility in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to its current home in Barcelona. While the team did not release significant images, B3 made its public debut for structural and load testing at the American Magic base. This marked the first unveiling of the race boat after a two-and-a-half-year develop ..read more

It was in 2008 when Anna (Tunnicliffe) Tobias won the last Sailing Gold Medal for the USA, and she has been trying to change that for the past 16 years. She felt good about the chances for Paris 2024, but then had to deal with her national federation initiating distractions. Anna details her journey in this letter to the US Sailing Board of Directors: I want to share my thoughts and experience from the perspective of a seasoned Olympic campaigner. This last month, I finished my fifth and final campaign trying to represent the USA at the Olympics. The final months of the campaign have been over ..read more

America One Racing, as the largest private financial supporter of US sailing athletes campaigning for the Olympic Games, provides this First Quarter Report for 2024: Q1 2024 was always destined to be very important for USA athletes. For the first time in 12 years, the USA held our Olympic Trials on home waters during the months of January and February. The trials were a great success on several fronts. We are certainly proud and excited for the Team that will represent the USA in Paris. Talent retention is important and many of our 2nd and 3rd place finishers are beginning their campaigns towa ..read more

You know times are tough when a picture is now only worth 500 words. Providing wisdom since 1997, the Curmudgeon’s Observation has been a hallmark of the Scuttlebutt Newsletter which delivers a digest of major sailing news, commentary, opinions, features and dock talk…with a North American focus. For newsletter information: https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/newsletter-read-or-subscribe ..read more