And consider this: the majority of the outdoor events are played out in tightly controlled conditions... wind will delay or nullify events in such sports as canoeing, track, equestrian or archery. Sailing is the only sport on the Olympic program that pits competitors against not only each other, but against nature as well.

There are currently nine classes of boats used in Olympic competition, each with its own logo and history, and its own association and website. Very few of the names can be used as mnemonic devices, so here's what they look like.

RS:X/Windsurfer (one-person 9-foot sailboard, separate men's and women's events)	Europe (one-woman 11-foot dinghy)	Laser (one-person 13-foot sailboat, seperate men's and women's events)
Finn (one-man 14-foot dinghy)	Star (22-foot one-man keelboat)	470 (two-person 15 1/2-foot boat, separate men's and women's events)
49er (two-person 16-foot dinghy, open to both men & women)	Tornado (two-person 20-foot catamaran, open to men and women)	Yngling (three-woman 20-foot keelboat)

(pictures from ISAF.org)

Sailing Fun Facts:

• The 470 is so named because it's 470 centimeters long.
• Because of sailing's need for open water, it's one of two sports that's regularly held a long way from the Olympic Stadium (equestrian being the other). One of the venues for the 1908 events was Glasgow, 400 miles from London. At Rome 1960, the sailing occurred up the road in Naples. The 2008 events are scheduled for Qingdao, over four hours by car from Beijing.
• Sailing is said to have been "introduced" at Paris 1900, but a sailing regatta was planned for the inaugural Games in Athens four years earlier. A storm wiped out the regatta -- there's a limit to the man versus nature part of the sport.
• One of the biggest "discontinued sports" sections in The Complete Book of the Olympics is under sailing. Some of the classes no longer contested at the Games are Dragon, Flying Dutchman, Swallow and Tempest. The dearly-departed Soling was a three-man keelboat, six feet longer than the Yngling.
• Those 1900 sailing events are one of the great sources for debate among Olympic historians. They did happen, we know that, but what's in question is whether or not cash prizes were awarded. David Wallechinsky, author of The Complete Book, doesn't include the results in his book (stating also that several finals were contested in some classes -- that's never happened before or since). But Bill Mallon, who's produced an incredible set of results of the early Games, includes all 13 sailing classes in his books. Pick a side!
• The president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, was on the Belgian sailing team in 1968, 1972 and 1976. He competed in the Finn class.

In 2008:

There's a new Olympic format for 2008. Each class will hold 11 races (the 49er will do 16), and the final one is considered the "Medal Race." In the opening series -- that is, any race that's not the final one -- points are given based on finish. The first-place finishers get one point, second place gets two, and so on. The boats with the lowest 10 scores after the opening series get to be in the Medal Race, scores are doubled, and the top three points-getters in the final standings win medals.

But if you've been reading along, you're likely aware of the problems that the sailing venue has had with an algae bloom that's taken over the coastline. This is how gross it is.

All-time Medal Standings:

Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Great Britain	20	13	10	43
United States	18	22	17	57
Norway	17	11	4	32
France	12	10	12	34
Denmark	11	8	6	25
Sweden	10	12	11	33
Spain	10	4	1	15
New Zealand	6	4	5	15
Brazil	6	2	6	14
Australia	5	3	8	16
Netherlands	4	5	5	14
Soviet Union	4	5	2	11
Germany	3	4	2	9
Austria	3	4	0	7
Italy	3	2	7	12
Belgium	2	4	2	8
West Germany	2	2	4	8
East Germany	2	2	2	6
Finland	2	1	6	9
Greece	2	1	1	4
Mixed team	2	0	0	2
Ukraine	1	2	2	5
Switzerland	1	2	1	4
Germany	1	1	1	3
Bahamas	1	0	1	2
Israel	1	0	1	2
Poland	1	0	1	2
Hong Kong	1	0	0	1
Argentina	0	4	3	7
Canada	0	3	6	9
Portugal	0	2	2	4
China	0	2	0	2
Japan	0	1	1	2
Russia	0	1	1	2
Netherlands Antilles	0	1	0	1
Cuba	0	1	0	1
Czech Republic	0	1	0	1
Ireland	0	1	0	1
Virgin Islands	0	1	0	1
Estonia	0	0	2	2
Hungary	0	0	1	1
Slovenia	0	0	1	1

(Photo via 2000 Official Report)