June’s World Sailing Show counts down to Paris 2024

One pair looking to add more gold is Spain’s 470 winners Jordi Xammar and Nora Bergman, who recently became 470 world champions, and the World Sailing Show catches up with the duo to hear more about their journey to the top. Xammar and Bergman had sailed in the same fleet at Optimist and 420 level, and now the 470 is a Mixed event at Paris 2024, there was only one person Jordi wanted to sail with. As Nora says, it was meant to be. 

Next the World Sailing Show speaks with Tracy Edwards MBE, skipper of the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race in 1989, as Musto’s Evening the Keel explores how far women have come in offshore sailing. Francesca Clapcich, Sam Davies and Justine Mettraux share their thoughts as leading female offshore sailors balancing family life with high level competition. 

French pair of Clement Pequin and Erwan Fischer recently won France’s first ever 49er World Championship and will be looking to build on that success on home waters, while Dutch duo Odile van Aanholt and Annette Duetz reclaimed the 49erFX title for the Netherlands and will be going for more gold in Marseille. 

The World Sailing Show then heads out on the open ocean with the fleet of this year’s New York Vendée-Les Sables d’Olonne, a qualification event for the Vendée Globe. After 10 days at sea, Charlie Dalin and his IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance crossed the line first to seal a convincing win while drama unfolded behind him. In the chase for second place, Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer) finally found some wind on the northern route while Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) was forced to reach port under jury rig after encountering difficulty to the south.  

There is also a recap of the action at the Formula Wing European Championships on Lake Silvaplana in Switzerland where a fleet of 55 riders from 14 countries took to the water for the five-day event. In the men’s race, the semi-finals were wrapped up in just one race to set up a star-studded final where, again, it would take just one race for Mathis Ghio of France to take the title in a very close finish. Maddalena Spanu of Italy dominated the women’s race all week and needed just one race on the final day to secure the European title ahead of compatriot Marta Monge. 

Finally, the World Sailing Show goes behind the scenes with the current iQFOiL male and female world champions, Luuc van Opzeeland of the Netherlands and Israel’s Sharon Kantor, as they explain the science behind the speed as they get ready to fly in France as the event prepares to make its Olympic debut this summer.