As expected, July was full of exciting action that sailing fans around the world enjoyed. Battles at the top of the Youth World Sailing Championships were tight throughout all of the fleets, with The Hague proving to be a stunning venue. New Zealand SailGP took their first win in Plymouth after an impressive performance in the final and Cowes Week continues after a thrilling and windy start. Importantly, August looks equally exciting with competition across a variety of different classes and disciplines. In this article we will be giving sailing fans a quick rundown of the biggest sailing events in August 2022. To find out more visit Fixture Calendar and make sure you don’t miss a single start, first beat or finish.
Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race, Cowes to Cowes, 7th August
First organised by the Royal Ocean racing Club in 1976, the 1,805nm Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland Race is a sailing marathon. The notoriously unpredictable British and Irish weather, coupled with the myriad of headlands and tidal gates makes this race one of the toughest in the world. As a result, World Sailing mandate that at least half of every crew must have completed a minimum of 500 offshore miles. While the course has been reversed in the past due to bad weather, traditionally the route sees teams racing clockwise around Britain and Ireland – starting and finishing in Cowes. Like most offshore races the overall winner is decided on IRC corrected time, but the battle for line honours will also be fierce. This is a race that will have many sailing fans glued to the tracker. Who will be first to get back to Cowes? With it being such an attritional race just finishing is an impressive achievement.
Chicago Grand Slam, Chicago Yacht Club, 12th – 14th August
Chicago is a very popular match racing venue, with the Windy City and Chicago Yacht Club perfect sailing venues. Arguably one of the biggest events hosted in the city is the Chicago Grand Slam grade 2 event, which is part of the wider Grand Slam Series. This year it is the first event of the series, with the subsequent events held in Detroit, Oakcliff and Seawanhaka. The winner of the Grand Slam series earns a qualification spot at the prestigious Congressional Cup held at Long Beach Yacht Club, a mainstay for the world’s top match racers and America’s Cup sailors. Teams and their skippers will be desperate to get their Grand Slam campaigns off to a strong start and there is no better place to do it than Chicago. Who will end up winning the final?
Rockwool Denmark SailGP, Copenhagen, 19th – 20st August
SailGP, sailing’s pinnacle league, heads to Copenhagen for an action-packed weekend of racing. With racing taking place just metres away from Copenhagen’s harbourfront and a strong tradition of yachting in the country, fans in Demark will undoubtedly be excited to experience first-hand the speed of the foiling F50 catamarans. Interest will only be heightened this year, with talented driver Nicolai Sehested looking to put in a strong performance along with his Denmark SailGP teammates in front of their home fans. However, the form shown by Australia SailGP in season 3 to date has been stunning and they are clear favourites going into the regatta, although a win by New Zealand SailGP in Plymouth was encouraging for the team. Can the hometown heroes upset the powerhouse that is Tom Slingsby and his crew, or will we see a different team on the top step of the podium on Sunday.
