Olympic Games 2020 - The water events in Enoshima

Published on : 25/04/2019
by : I.D.O

All sails out

In 1964, the sailing events of the Tokyo Olympic Games were already held at the Enoshima marina, also called the port of Shonan. For the occasion, the old wooden bridge which connected the island of Enoshima to the Shonan coast was replaced with a brand new concrete bridge. It is the second time that this legendary island located about fifty kilometers south of Tokyo will host the sailing competitions.

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Sailing at the Olympics

Sailing competitions were included in the program of the Olympic Games as early as 1896, during the Athens Games, but that year they had to be canceled due to bad weather. It was in London in 1908 that the first Olympic sailing competitions took place. In 1984, during the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, windsurfing was added to the events.

Over time, programs and boats have been modified and a certain number of boats have been approved as "Olympic series". Currently, sailing competitions include sport catamarans, single or double-handed dinghies, and keelboats.

To read: Olympic Games 2020 - Aquatic events in Odaiba

The tests

They will take place from July 26 to August 5, 2020. Originally completely mixed, the sailing events are now women's or men's and more rarely mixed.

The competitions, regatta-like, reward technique and speed. Competitors, installed in one-design boats, must complete several laps between different buoys. The departure, a crucial moment, is almost always against the wind. In each race, the boats earn points according to their order of arrival. The classification is established according to a minimum points system. The boat with the lowest score wins.

Here is the list of windsurfing events and regattas with the type of boat used:

Men's and women's windsurfing: RS:X (the only windsurfing event)
Single-handed dinghy, women: Laser Radial
Single-handed dinghy, men: Laser
Single-handed heavy dinghy, men: Finn
Double-handed dinghy, men and women: 470
Double-handed dinghy, women: 470
Double scull, men: 49er
Double-handed single scull, women: 49er FX (Mackay FX, 49er with an FX rig)
Double-handed catamaran, mixed: Nacra 17

Tokyo 2020 Olympics schedule

Enoshima Island

The small island of Enoshima is connected to the city of Fujisawa (of which it is a part) by the Benten-bashi bridge. Once on the island, shellfish restaurants and souvenir shops welcome visitors. Past the shopping street that climbs along a slope, you find yourself in front of one of the many temples that mark out this island of legends and pilgrimages repeatedly represented by ukiyoe painters of the 17th and 19th centuries. Enoshima Shrine, on the other hand, houses a famous statue of the goddess Benzaiten (or Benten), the goddess of music, eloquence, and love associated with the sea and water. According to legend, Benten was responsible for the creation of Enoshima.

At the top of the island, the Samuel Cocking Botanical Garden provides access to Enoshima Sea Candle, the observation tower of the Enoshima Lighthouse, which, at 119.6 meters high, offers panoramic views of the sea and the surrounding landscapes, including Mount Fuji. From the " hill of lovers ", the view is also splendid. The two small caves of Iwaya, imprinted with legends, are located at the end of a magnificent coastal path.

You can swim on the beach on the other side of the island, but the sand is gray and the beach is crowded in summer. For more serenity, the Enospa onsen is an excellent alternative.

If you go to Enoshima, count an extra day to visit its famous neighbor: the city of Kamakura.

Address : Enoshima, Fujisawa-shi, Kanagawa
Access by train: from Shinjuku station, take the Odakyu express limited or the romance car and stop at Katase-Enoshima or take the JR Shonan Shinjuku line, then transfer to Fujisawa and take the scenic Enoden line (Enoshima Electric Railway) in the direction of Kamakura, to Enoshima station.

For more information on the 2020 Summer Olympics:

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