Sailing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

Sailing at the Games of the II Olympiad
An impression of yacht racing (1867) by Monet North of Le Havre Metropolitan Museum of Art
Venues	Meulan Le Havre
Dates	20 May 1900 (1900-05-20) – 27 May 1900 (1900-05-27) (Meulan) 1 August 1900 (1900-08-01) – 5 August 1900 (1900-08-05) (Le Havre)
Sailors	about 150 (including 1 woman) from 6 countries
Boats	64
Top ranked countries
France: 5 01 !  9 02 !  10 03 !    Great Britain: 4 01 !  1 02 !  1 03 !    Mixed team: 2 01 !  0 02 !  0 03 !
1908 →

Cercle de la Voile de Paris Bassin Olympique de Meulan Les Mureaux
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Club House
Address	30, quai Albert Glandaz
Town or city	78130 Les Mureaux
Country	France
Coordinates	49°00′1″N 1°54′54″E / 49.00028°N 1.91500°E / 49.00028; 1.91500
Elevation	Sealevel
Owner	Cercle de la Voile de Paris

La Société des Régates du Havre Le Havre
Burgee of the Société des Régates du Havre
General information
Status	Destroyed
Type	Club House
Country	France
Coordinates	49°29′30″N 0°5′45″E / 49.49167°N 0.09583°E / 49.49167; 0.09583
Elevation	Sealevel
Owner	La Société des Régates du Havre

Sailing/Yachting made its first appearance as an Olympic sport at the 1900 Summer Olympics after competitions were cancelled at the 1896 Olympics. With the exception of 1904, sailing was thereafter always a part of the Olympic program. The sailing program in 1900 consisted of a total of eight sailing classes. For six classes, the races were scheduled from 20 – 27 May at the river Seine around Meulan, and a series of three races was held for the largest classes from 1 – 5 August on the North Atlantic off the coast of Le Havre. Approximately 150 sailors in 64 boats (the numbers of boats and competitors are not reliable, as in the official report some figures of the World exhibition and the Olympic Games are mixed) from 6 nations competed, including 1 woman, Hélène de Pourtalès, who won a gold medal in the 1 to 2 ton.

During the early years of the Olympic movement there were no strict rules for the assignment of venues. For the Olympic sailing in 1900 the organizers decided to combine the Olympic sailing for the smaller yachts with the regattas of the Exposition Universelle on the river Seine near Meulan. For the larger yachts an Olympic regatta was held at Le Havre.

During the Olympic regattas of the Exposition Universelle of 1900 there were more than 100 yachts racing from Paris, Rouen, Cannes, Nantes and Arcachon and yachts from England, Germany, the United States and Holland. The Bassin Olympique was the river Seine near the that served as the Olympic harbor.

The race conditions at Meulan during the Olympic regatta were not ideal. A light breeze could hardly make the sailing interesting. Since the river Seine mainly runs from east to west, the light north-easterly breeze was partly blocked by buildings or trees on the river bank, thus heavily influencing the regatta.

During the second part of the Olympic regatta the Atlantic Ocean was used for the races of the 10 – 20 ton and the 20⁺ ton yachts. The conditions during the regatta were so good that the 10 – 20 Ton class was able to sail the complete 22 nautical mile triangular course. The premises of the Société des Régates du Havre were used as Olympic harbor.