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My thoughts on readiosaliling

Why should I radiosail at 75 or 80?

8/24/2022

2 Comments

 

Just a thought as an encouragement for us over 70 and a memento for our sailing clubs.
Many do more radio sailing because the handling of big boats becomes a problem with increasing age.

In my case, I took up radio sailing at the age of 71 in 2019, having had to sell my Maxi 999 (never raced) due to problems with my hands some years earlier. Obviously, a steep learning curve followed.

Radio sailing capabilities are reduced with increasing age due to eye problems (difficulties to see at a distance, judge distances, manage reflections) and the general ageing of the brain or a general lack of balance and stability, or for that matter the ability to stand on a bridge for whole days, several in a row. Some will eventually lose their driving licenses for cars - at what point should we also lose the incentive to do radio sailing?

My own thinking goes like this:

Precisely for these reasons, it is not only fun but also great therapy to continue to counterbalance the general deterioration due to age which we all face with continued competitive radio sailing. If we train to improve our balance, we obviously also improve our health when radio sailing.

It is not only good for your mental health but also for your physical health and balance. If nothing else - your spouse (as does mine) should be extremely happy when you go radio sailing because it means you will stay healthy longer.

We should not feel embarrassed if we, at the end of a long regatta, lose a bit of concentration or perform less well. It is natural.

Similarly, those sailing associations that welcome "Grand masters" to participate in major events should take this presence into account.

My experience is that these problems seldom are observed at ages under 70. Grand masters at the age 65-67 often perform extremely well. But over 70 one can see a marked gradual change on the average where more tolerance is required by judges and competitors. Boat collisions are a case in point - difficult to understand and tolerate for younger sailors.
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It is vital that this does not lead to older people stopping sailing. Is there a way to make this a more explicit policy on the part of our sailing associations on all levels from IOM to DF65?

2 Comments

    Author

    Lars-Erik Lundin, 75, Chair DF Sailing Sweden IOM  Kantun 2 SWE 122, DF95 no 66 and DF 65 no 22

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