VICTORS MATURE
It may seem surprising that world-girdling voyages and records are being dominated by more mature sailors. This season, Francis Joyon, 63, broke the historic tea clipper record by more than four days, then the following week, 81-year-old Bill Hatfield completed a non-stop circumnavigation against prevailing winds and currents.
And in this issue, Jimmy Cornell, who turns 80 this year, writes about the catamaran being built for him to sail round the world in a new rally he is organising.
Löick Peyron (60) remains one of the most talented and respected ocean racers, and is operating at the highest level. He, like Ken Read (58), has most recently been showing much younger skippers how it’s done in two-handed classes. Indeed, either or both could potentially be Olympic athletes in the new two-handed class at the 2024 Games.
Peyron has also noted that it’s the older sailors who are most interested in solo round the world records in giant foiling multihulls. “The boats may well be a new generation, but they are sailed by skippers from the older generation,” he observed.
Few sports allow anyone over 40 to compete at an elite level, let alone set new world records. We are fortunate to be involved in an activity that every generation can share or compete in, from kids to grandparents – even great-grandparents.
Elaine Bunting Editor