SailJuice Blog

In the debate over which women’s Events should be represented in the Weymouth 2012 Olympics, who would be the best person to ask for their opinion? Well, how about Finland’s Silja Lehtinen….

Here’s a potted CV of this talented young sailor:

• 29er World Champion 2006, crewed by Australian Scott Babbage, beating an open fleet of boys and girls at Weymouth in summer 2006.
• One of the world’s best female match racers. Currently ranked 13th in the World, best ranking of 7th, and winner earlier this year of the JP Morgan women’s match racing event, where Lehtinen beat many of the world’s best including newly crowned Rolex ISAF World Sailor of the Year, Claire LeRoy.
• Yngling sailor campaigning for a medal in Qingdao next year. Lehtinen’s best results in 2007 were a 4th at the Princess Sofia Trophy in Palma, and 5th in the Olympic Test Regatta.

So Lehtinen has an interest and an active involvement in three of the disciplines currently under consideration. Given a choice of these three for Weymouth 2012, which would she choose to compete in?

“A skiff like the 29erXX, provided the class was a strict one-design, with no equipment problems, and where the boats are equal. That would be my first choice,” she told SailJuiceBlog. “Keelboats might be fun when you’re older, but sailing with two people rather than three is much easier logistically. And driving a dinghy round to regattas is much easier, less expensive than a keelboat. Of course keelboats are fun tactically, but I just prefer high performance sailing.”

OK, so high performance might be Lehtinen’s choice, but what if she doesn’t get that choice? What if it’s the choice between a keelboat either for match racing or fleet racing… “That’s interesting. I had been thinking that match racing would be more easy to understand and more media friendly, but last weekend at a match race regatta, I was surprised how little even good fleet racers understand about what they’re watching.”

But at least you’re only talking about two boats. Surely even if you don’t fully understand what’s going on you can still tell who’s winning and who’s losing most of the time? “Yes, except in the pre-start it’s not always clear, although with good commentators it makes it easier. I think it would be easier to explain to the public than fleet racing.”

Why are you so interested in sailing something that might have appeal to the public? I was more interested in what you as a sailor would like to sail, but the media side of things seems important to you. “Yes, because we need sponsors to make it possible, to find funding to be able to campaign, so it’s important to sail something that might excite the public.”

So, given the choice of fleet or match, which would it be? “Match racing. When you’re training, you really only need one other boat to sail against. If you sail in fleet racing, one thing that is frustrating in Ynglings is that there are no national fleets. There is only the international fleet, always sailing against the same people. Which makes you ask what the idea of the Olympics is.

“I think the idea is for people to sail in their home fleets and then go to international regattas. Originally people met at the Olympics, to have a friendly Games, but it loses its whole idea when there’s only one team per country, when you’re not sailing against anyone at home.

“There is no fleet in Finland. People spend so much money travelling around. It’s not environmentally friendly either. It’s absurd. People [on the Olympic circuit] do it because everyone does it. But when you stop to ask yourself ‘what am I doing?’, it’s ridiculous.”

So how would you solve that situation? “I would hope that choosing the 29erXX or something like it would help establish fleets in different countries. It’s really sad with Ynglings that that hasn’t happened. I think it could happen with a 29erXX because it could be a natural stepping stone from the 29er at youth level. It could be like the relationship between the 420 and 470. Those classes work well together.

I think it would also work well alongside the 49er. All these things could help establish a stronger 29erXX fleet in different countries. Kids would want to get involved.”

Here you are saying this, campaigning a Yngling. You’re aiming for the Olympics next year. Wouldn’t you be a little sad if the Yngling were to get thrown out of the Games? “I would be a little sad. But I enjoy match racing, it could be good in the Olympics, but I’m still looking forward to the day when a skiff is selected.”