Offshore racing comes to Olympic venue

It was at the 2018 World Sailing Annual Meeting when the Mixed Offshore event for the Paris 2024 Olympics was born, and it remained one of the ten medal events until the 2020 pandemic derailed the build-up, with it falling off the Sailing Program in 2021.

Changing events is disruptive, so no program change was made for LA 2028, and there is no talk about the Mixed Offshore event for Brisbane 2032. C’est la vie!

Considering the light winds during Paris 2024, the Mixed Offshore event could have been a disaster anyway, but a re-do of sorts will occur when the 2026 Offshore Double Handed World Championship will be held September 24-October 2 at the Olympic venue in Marseille, France.

Nineteen teams with a mix of Olympic sailors, Ocean Race veterans, and emerging offshore talent will represent Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Türkiye, Uruguay, and the United States.

Held on the Mediterranean in an equalized fleet of supplied Sun Face 30 One Designs yachts, teams will be split into two groups for an overnight elimination race with the top teams advancing to a winner-take-all 48-hour final race.