For a seminar, I had to do an assignment where I looked back at architecture from the year 2020, so I'm going to take the same approach with sailboat racing, looking back from 2025 in response to Tillerman's latest group writing project - Sailing in the Second Space Age:
Sailing has taken two divergent paths over the past 15 years. The America's cup, and other high end races have become increasingly exclusive. The carbon "sails" have so many adjustable scales, which can tweak the flow across them, it practically requires a liquid dynamics physicist to be on board. While this reeks of exclusivity, it's built a lot of excitement for the sport.
On the other end of the spectrum, roto-molded hulls have lowered weights and costs for entry-level boats like the miniOpen, based on the original Bic Open. This hull is so light that my 12-year-old can carry it on his own. Like the Laser, there are three different sail sizes, which makes it an affordable class for growing 6-15-year-olds. Another advantages of these hollow shell boats is that they can be launched and sailed through beach waves without needing to bail. Gotta love that the self-draining cockpit took over 50 years to make it from the Laser to Opti -- or rather it's long overdue replacement.
The combination of a more exciting top end, and a cheaper entry-level, has really grown the sport. The proliferation of community boating centers like CBI in Boston has also helped. It's a great time for sailing, although mostly this has been an incremental adjustment. Moths, the America's Cup and Ocean Racing are really more flying than sailing, but how many of you have grade schoolers who you want to hand the tiller to a machine moving over 60 miles an hour? I'm quite happy with Sailing's stubbornness.
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