Doublehanded sailing is one of the fastest growing sectors of the sport, and a new non-profit aims to keep the momentum up. Offshore Doubles was founded to promote community and engagement for doublehanded sailors, whether they’re couples racing on the weekends or professional campaigns.
The organization intends to foster the development of local communities as well as provide opportunities for sailors across the globe to race together with a new scoring system, the SYRF Performance Index. This score is based on calculating what percentage of a perfect race competitors sail, so that any boat on any course can be compared.
With offshore mixed doubles slated to be added to the 2024 Olympic line up, the pressure is on for prove that there is global interest in this kind of racing. “Our goal is to sign up 2,000 members in two weeks to show the Olympic Committee that this is a fast-growing segment of our sport and that it has broad support in many nations,” said Stan Honey, a ranking member of World Sailing’s Oceanic and Offshore and Equipment Committees.
To learn more about Offshore Doubles, visit offshoredoubles.org
October 2020