Erdi reveals Olympic journey as she targets Paris 2024 success

• Maria Erdi looks to take her good form into this summer’s Olympic Games 
• Australian victory on home waters in the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship  
• iQFOiL World Championships wrap up from Lanzarote with Olympic places on the line 
• 37 boats take on the four-day, three-event Macao International Regatta  
• An update from the inaugural ARKEA Ultim Challenge  

She gives an insight into the strength of the fleet awaiting her this summer in what promises to be one of the most keenly contested events in the Olympic sailing competition, and shares what it takes to make it to the highest level, starting from the World Sailing Emerging Nations Program, through the challenges of injury and coming from a smaller sailing nation, to the top step at the 2023 World Sailing Championships in The Hague. 

Maria says she loves the sport and in the difficult moments she remembers that feeling. She is now preparing for her third Olympics in 2024. 

Next, the show catches up with the skippers of the 10th edition of the RORC Transatlantic Race in Lanzarote. This year brought together 21 teams to take on the daunting challenge on a new route that promised a champagne extravaganza. The high speed, 3000-mile race is wet, wild, and pits teams against the elements. The course for this year had been altered to avoid the strongest winds lurking further on in the race but not all of the teams took that option and did indeed encounter high waves, while those who did choose the new route found challenges of their own as high temperatures made sleeping below deck difficult. 

With overall victory and line honours up for grabs, the fleets battled each other and the elements as the race took many twists and turns en route to Grenada where Jason Carroll’s MOD70 Argo was the first boat home in a time of six days, 10 hours, 34 minutes – over 10 hours faster than last year when they finished third. 

Australian Matt Wearn’s mission to win back-to-back Olympic medals is still going strong with victory in the ILCA 7 Men’s World Championship. The World Sailing Show has all the action from Adelaide, South Australia. Meanwhile, Lanzarote hosted the 2024 iQFOiL World Championships where 212 athletes – including all six of last year’s medal winners – congregated at the Marina Rubicón for a chance of gold and one of two spots in the newest and fastest growing Olympic sailing class. Last day drama saw the leaders in both men’s and women’s events falter and the World Sailing Show has interviews with the new champions.  

A fleet of 37 boats headed to Macao to take part in the Macao International Regatta, where teams from 31 countries raced in three events – the Beneteau First 40.7, IRC and Hobie 16. After four days, it was the German Canados Sailing Team emerging victorious overall while Team Yacht Racing of Thailand won the International Catamaran International, and Muwu BBQ of China won the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cup. 

Finally, there is an update from the inaugural ARKEA Ultim Challenge. Leaving Brest on France’s west coast on 7 January, the fleet of six boats, each in their 105ft Ultim trimarans, are making their way around the world single-handedly headed from west to east. By the end of the first week was already stretched with Charles Caudrelier on board Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and Tom Laperche on SVR-Lazartique leading the way. Armel Le Cleac’h was forced to make an unplanned stopover in Brazil for much needed maintenance to his Maxi Banque Populaire XI before fighting on to the end, but Laperche was not so fortunate as he arrived in Cape Town and was forced to retire from the race. The remaining boats will next turn north and head for home across the Atlantic Ocean. 

Image courtesy of Arthur Daniel/RORC.