Sailing has been used as a means of transport since ancient times. As a pastime, sailing gained considerable popularity in Holland about 400 years ago. Shortly after the restoration of the monarchy in the United Kingdom in 1660, King Charles II introduced sailing as a sport. He had seen the Dutch love of sailing during his travels in exile in Europe. The first yacht club in the world was formed in Cork, Ireland in 1720. International yachting began in 1851 when the schooner America, from the New York Yacht Club, defeated fifteen British yachts in a race around the Isle of Wight in what became the first race of the America’s Cup series.

The first Olympic sailing (or yachting, as it was known up to and including 1996) events were conducted in Paris in 1900, although some noted historians have questioned the legitimacy of those events as Olympic events. London 1908 saw sailing commence its unbroken run as an Olympic sport. Since then, the classes of competing boats and scoring systems have seen many changes. Women have always been permitted to sail in the Olympic regatta but events exclusively for women sailors were introduced Barcelona 1992.

Sailing competition is run in different classes, or types of boats. In any race, only boats of the same class compete against each other. The classes used in the Olympic Games are known as ‘one-design’, meaning they are built the same to strict rules, so no competitor has a design advantage over another with their boat.

The classes of boats used in the Olympic Games are single-handed, double-handed or three-person and can be either women’s, men’s or open disciplines. The International Sailing Federation selects the classes for each Olympic Games and the classes do, and have changed over the years.

Competition consists of several races and depending on the class, points are awarded equating to the position where the boats finishes (i.e. 1^st receives one point, 2^nd receives two points etc). All classes sail 11 races in an Olympc regatta except for the 49er class which sail 16. Classes will sail up to three races on a day dependent on the weather.

Australia’s first Olympic sailors were Alexander “Jock” Sturrock with Len Fenton in the Star class, and Robert French in the Fireflies, in London in 1948. Australia’s first sailing medals were won in Melbourne in 1956 with Rolly Tasker and John Scott, finishing second in the Sharpies, after a count-back, and Sturrock with Dev Mytton and Doug Buxton winning a bronze medal in the 5.5-Metre class. Sturrock was to go on to carry the Australian flag at the Opening Ceremony at Rome 1960 and then skipper Gretel in Australia’s first audacious challenge for the America’s Cup in 1962.

The oldest Australian Olympic gold medallist was Bill Northam who, aged almost 60, skippered his crew of Peter O’Donnell and James Sargeant to victory in the 5.5-Metre class at Tokyo 1964. In Munich 1972, John Cuneo with Tom Anderson and John Shaw won the Dragon class, and David Forbes with John Anderson were victorious in the Star class. The Andersons were twins. Both Shaw and Cuneo would go on to sail on Southern Cross in the 1974 America's Cup Challenge. Cuneo as skipper originally. 

Four years later in Montreal, bronze medals were won by John Bertrand in the Finn class and Ian Ruff with Ian Brown in the 470s. Bertrand was to gain even greater fame as a yachtsman when he skippered the wing-keeled Australia II in its successful challenge for the America’s Cup in 1983.

After Montreal, Australia’s next appearance on the medal podium was a bronze medal at Los Angeles 1984 in the Tornado class (Chris Cairns and Scott Anderson). In Barcelona 1992, the Tornado crew (Mitch Booth and John Forbes) and Lars Kleppich on the sailboard (mistral) won bronze medals. Silver and bronze medals followed at Atlanta 1996 in the tornado (Mitch Booth and Andrew Landenberger) and star (Colin Beashel and David Giles) classes respectively.

Sydney 2000 saw the men’s (Tom King and Mark Turnbull) and women’s (Jenny Armstrong and Belinda Stowell) 470s winning gold medals and the tornado (Darren Bundock and John Forbes) and laser (Michael Blackburn) classes returning silver and bronze medals respectively.

Athens 2004 was the first time since Seoul 1988 that Australian sailors failed to reach the podium at the Games.

• 2012 sailing facilities are open
• Yachting loses an Olympic Champion
• Aust Olympic sailing test event team picked
• Australia finish second at sailing Worlds
• Crisp sails to bronze
• Slingsby is Laser World Champion