Rodion Luka's L30 is not yet the boat chosen for the Olympic premiere of the new offshore mixed discipline in 2024, but the design by Justin Yacht Design based on an idea and concept by 46-year-old Ukrainian Rodion Luka, which celebrated its world premiere in 2016 and has since established itself as an international boat class on three continents, has apparently achieved an important stage victory: According to YACHT information, the 30-foot keelboat is said to have been selected by the World Sailing Association as a yacht for the world championship series preceding the 2024 Olympic Games. The shipyard has not yet issued an official statement on the information available to YACHT. However, the contract with World Sailing is said to have already been signed.
The L30 is an extremely versatile design. The brainchild of Rodion Luka, silver medallist at the 2004 Olympic Games and 49er world champion in 2005, the Ukrainian-Slovenian co-production, for which Russell Coutts' friend and RC44 partner Andrej Justin was responsible, is indeed a jack-of-all-trades: the L30 is trailerable, suitable for cruising, suitable for one class and sporty - which YACHT author Michael Good reported on in detail in his test in YACHT 12/2017 shortly after the world premiere. Two years later, the innovative L30 team seems to have achieved its international breakthrough following its initial successes.
However, the contract for Rodion Luka and his team is by no means a gift from the World Sailing Federation: the fathers of the L30 boats, which have won several prizes at international boat shows over the past two years, are required to make a considerable commitment, provide boats and also maintain them - in other words, investments that not all competitors were able or willing to make. Further details of the agreement between the World Sailing Federation and Luka were not initially disclosed, but are expected to be published, at least in part, in the coming days.
The keel yachts, which cost around 100,000 euros, are already being sailed in Hong Kong, Japan, Hungary, the USA, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Slovenia and Ukraine. Experts agree: this boat is a perfect fit for the new offshore mixed discipline, which will celebrate its Olympic premiere in 2024 in the French waters off Marseille and will then be sailed by one man and one woman. However, it is not yet clear whether the L30 will also be chosen as the boat for the Olympic Games themselves. The current vote should at least not diminish its chances.
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
