Why The Nacra 17 Was The Best Choice for Olympic Sailing
Olympic Sailing began a change four years ago that will cement its future. The Nacra 17 was chosen as the new Olympic catamaran, and boy; was it a heated argument at the time! With so many manufacturers competing for the class, Tornado aficionados crying, Americas Cup making headlines on foils and kiteboarding threatening to take away windsurfing, it was tumultuous times for the sport. Now, mid way through the regatta in Rio, those times are gone. Here are three reasons why the Nacra 17 is wooing spectators this year in Rio...
Mixed Crews: For the first time ever in Olympic Sailing, the Nacra 17 is a mixed class, with one Male, and one Female crew mandatory. There are no rules saying who does what, and there are a few crews sailing in this regatta with the female as the skipper. The hardest thing about it is finding an awesome sailor girl to crew with! Fast in any wind: The Nacra 17 is a high performance catamaran with C foils, massive square topped mainsail and two trapezes, so it's capable of some impressive speeds in any wind conditions. The foils mean they can run in some heavy swell too, a must-have for an unprotected bay like the one the sailors are working with in Rio. Although, the lack of fully foiling ability does keep the Olympians one rung below the Americas Cup crews…
Quick Races: Because of the previousy mentioned speed, and the windward leeward courses, racing is easy to follow and the action is thick and fast. Race One in Rio this year saw so many lead changes, the poor commentators were struggling to keep up. It was as exciting as any Olympic sport, and accessible for everyone. Keep up with the Australian teams at the Rio Olympics on TV, or through the & Olympics App, and stick around to watch the highlights after the racing concludes next week!
Dee Why, NSW
