the following are a quote from an interview with Juan kouyoumadjian:
When asked for a snapshot of grand prix sailing at this moment, Juan’s answer is characteristically blunt. “There is a very evident discord at the top and people are very clearly at extremes, and people caught in the middle are, very clearly, not happy,” he said. “The Cup has become very marketing-driven as one of the absolute pinnacle events, and the other pinnacle event, the Olympics, is also under pressure – the decisions being taken are extraordinary.”
His view of the future is also less than sanguine. “I cannot foresee anything healthy at the top of the game. There is a very real danger of routes open for the very top professional sailors like Torben Grael, Ben Ainslie, Iain Percy, Robert Scheidt, a whole generation of top sailors, closing down as the professional world of sailing becomes more and more detached.
We have written about this disconnect in earlier posts. I believe that many in the sailing community sense it but don’t know what to do or where it goes from here. Does anyone have any thoughts?