A Blind Match Racing Championship for 2023

After a long period with no big events organised for sailors with vision impairment, it will be exciting for blind sailors to be able to compete against each other once again. Blind Sailing International encourages alternating Match Racing Championships and Fleet Racing Championships over a three year cycle, but the regular schedule had been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Using acoustic buoys initially developed in Italy and sound indications on each boat, the sailors navigate in complete autonomy, sensing the wind direction on their faces, feeling the movements of the boat to steer as well as possible, and concentrating on hearing all the sounds on the water to plan their tactics and race the course. The boats used for this event will be 23 foot long Sonars. Each boat will be manned by three vision impaired sailors, assisted by a sighted boat captain who cares for safety and rigging the boat.