A LOOK BACK AT 2021
For followers of sailboat racing, it was a year of getting up early or staying up late – to watch the Vendée Globe finishes, the America’s Cup and then the Olympics. But sailors are used to early starts. And the action on the water in each of those events was worth it – spectacular moments that in some cases changed the sport of sailing for good.
As event organisers juggled ever-changing restrictions, there was a full domestic racing calendar from July and cruising sailors enjoyed much-awaited time afloat, if not the best weather. Post-Brexit rules governing cross-Channel sailing and cruising in European countries gave the authorities a headache, but given the ongoing travel restrictions, not many people were sailing cross-Channel anyway. Some of the post-Brexit wrangles have been sorted out short-term, some are probably still to come, in 2022 and beyond.
Meanwhile the brokerage market went bananas as people queued up to buy boats, realising that a week afloat in the UK was every bit as good as a week sitting on a beach in the Med. Most of the time.
It wasn’t a year that brought a total return to normality on land, but the year of 2021 was a great time to be a sailor.
The America’s Cup kicked things off in Auckland over the winter of 2020/21 and the world looked on in envy as the New Zealanders basked in glorious temperatures with barely a mask in sight. Covid did rear its head briefly in the pre-Christmas racing, but after a three-day lockdown things continued as normal, or as normal as it could be, when you’re racing boats that look more like giant aliens, flying across the water balanced precariously on two foils at 50 knots. Spectators were treated to a thrilling contest, but one that was marred by a dramatic capsize by the US team, American Magic, from which their crew was lucky to escape unharmed. The British team, INEOS Team UK, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, looked dismal before Christmas and then stunned us all with an epic comeback. The Prada Cup, however, went to Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli after a tense match. The New Zealanders then, as predicted, took the America’s Cup itself, in a not-quite straightforward but dominant display that underlined their superiority in the modern
