Dee Caffari and Harayda James Harayda will represent Great Britain at the EUROSAF Mixed Offshore European Championship.
Caffari and Harayda will go up against teams made up of Europe’s most talented offshore sailors in the next major step towards the Paris 2024 Olympics where the mixed offshore keelboat event will debut.
They were given the nod by the RYA selection committee of Stacey Clark, Ian Walker and Jack Fenwick, after an impressive second-place finish in their SunFast 3300 Gentoo, at the recent Drheam Cup, a 428-mile race starting and finishing in France.
“James and I got together quite last minute but he’s really impressed me and we’ve formed a really strong team. We’re delighted to have been selected for the Europeans, and it’s a good step towards Paris 2024.” said Caffari.
The prospect of a mixed offshore keelboat event at Paris 2024, has started a mini-rush of well known sailors going for one more chance of Olympic Gold.
Two-time gold medallist Shirley Robertson has started competing in the double-handed class and has recently been training with co-skipper Henry Bomby.
Bomby, sailing with Hannah Diamond, finished second duo in the 2019 Fastnet Race.
This is the second running of the EUROSAF championship since the announcement of the mixed offshore keelboat event for Paris 2024.
Britain did not take part in the 2019 event, which was won by Lisa Berger and Christian Kargl of Austria from seven entries.
The 2020 event will be held in Genoa, Italy, and will consist of a single, 45-hour offshore race beginning on 3 September.
Racing will take place in identical L30 yachts – one of the favourite yacht selections for Paris 2024 – supplied by the regatta organisers.
World Sailing cancelled the 2020 Offshore World Championship (in L30 yachts), due to be held alongside October’s Rolex Middle Sea Race in Valletta, Malta, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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