Foiling Revolution

ANDY RICE examines the question of whether the future of dinghy racing is destined to be on foils?

- Andy Rice

Ever since the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco caught the world’s attention, it seems every other part of the sport has followed in the Cup’s wake, from the foil-assisted IMOCA 60s in the Vendée Globe all the way down to foiling Lasers and Optimists. The latest generation of development to those incredible 20-footers that compete in the Mini Transat has proven that hydrofoils are capable even of raising a keel boat fully clear of the water.

While we wait to hear what’s next for the America’s Cup in the hands of the New Zealanders, it raises the question as to whether foiling will continue to take the sailing world by storm or remain largely an elite pursuit for adrenaline junkies only? Can we ever really expect foiling to appeal to the masses?

WHAT IS REALISTIC?

The demand certainly seems to be there, if you look at the runaway appeal of the International Moth. How many classes can attract 200 boats to their world championship, which is the number expected to show up for the Moth Worlds in Lake Garda this summer?

This is a boat that’s really hard to sail, let alone sail well. It’s expensive, breaks a lot, and demands a lot of maintenance – yet there are sailors who, despite all this, still want to go Mothing; it really goes to show how addictive foiling has become.

However, for the reasons above, the International Moth remains out of reach of the average club sailor, both in terms of cost and skill required. Then there is the new breed of foiling catamarans that have taken their inspiration from the AC72 hydrofoilers of the 2013 America’s Cup, the likes of the Phantom and Nacra 20 Carbon. More recently the Olympic catamaran, the Nacra 17, has been updated to full-foiling, and the A-Class singleness are going faster than ever with their foiling upgrades.