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Foiling Week Awards 2017 winners and foilers at Giraglia 2018

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The Foiling Awards ceremony was held in the prestigious setting of the Yacht Club Italiano: The candidates had been nominated and voted in an online poll by the fans who follow the social channels of Foiling Week.

Slam presented the Foiling Sailor Award: predisposition towards the future is part of Slam’s genetic heritage. It pushes towards innovation and technologies that allow sailors better performance.

The BMW Group has always encouraged innovation. This forward-looking philosophy has enabled and defined many important milestones in the company’s history. For this reason, the Innovation Awards does suit perfectly BMW that presented the Foiling Innovation Award.

Persico Marine and the Project Award are also a natural combination: Persico Marine builds custom racing yachts for the world’s most renowned racing teams and private owners. Persico is highly regarded as a skilled, full-service supplier, always ready to share its technological know-how with its clients.

Foiling Sailor Award presented by SLAM
For best foiling sport achievement of the year

Winner
Peter Burling, America’s Cup winner and second place at Moth Worlds (43% of votes)

other candidates
Paul Goodison, Multiple Moth Worlds winner
François Gabart, New Solo 24hr record
Liv Mackay, Red Bull Foiling Generation winner
Jerome Clerc, GC32 Racing Tour winner

 

Foiling innovation Award presented by BMW
For foiling design solutions specifically applied to flight control / design / construction of parts but excluding hull construction. It does include vessels not powered by wind

Winner
ACC Automatic Cant Control foil system by AST (54% of votes)

other candidates
G4 Automated Foil Control System by DNA Performance Sailing
Early Take-Off mechanism for IFLY15 by Catamaran Europe Central

 

Foiling Project Award presented by Persico Marine
Projects still in design phase but not yet in production

Winner
Foiler 39 by Studio ST Yacht (49% of votes)

other candidates
Foiling Proa by Rob Denney
MW680F Monohull Foiler by Marquinez & Wilson
Infinity 56 by Farr Yacht Design
VS40 Inshore Foiler Proposal by D3 Applied Technology

 

Foiling Production Boat Award
For foiling craft already in production and being sailed

Winner
Figaro 3 by Bénéteau (36% of votes)

other candidates
SuperFoiler by SuperFoiler Grand Prix
TF10 by DNA Performance Sailing
Essentiel by Phantom International
H20 by Bruce Beca

 

Foiling Green Award
For foiling ideas, inventions, design, initiative that will have a beneficial impact on environment

Winner
SeaBubble, Foiling River-Taxi (52% of votes)

other candidate
SEAir, Foiling RIB

 

Quotes from the winners:

Peter Burling, Foiling Sailor Award 2017, says in his video message:
“Hi Luca and everyone at the Foiling Week and the foiling community, it is obviously an immense honour to be given this award.
Thanks for all the voters out there, it has been an incredible year pushing the boundaries with the America’s Cup with the whole team over there, pushing the boats super hard.
Definitely the improvements we made throughout that cycle were pretty amazing and then to be able to jump on a Moth and have a good bit of fun with so many other people doing the same thing and enjoying foiling around in Lake Garda, was pretty cool as well. Congrats to Goody again for taking that one out.
Well, definitely I think the future looks pretty exciting for foiling, a pretty cool concept for the next cup boat, hopefully other teams will get behind it, I am sure it will be pretty fast and we keep pushing the edge of technology and the edge of the sport. Something that is going to be really cool.
Thanks again for all the votes and have a great evening ”

Thilo Keller, Foiling Innovation Award 2017, on received the prize:
“We believe that the simple and robust solutions are the ones the foiling world is looking for. Winning the Foiling Week Innovation Award does confirm our assumption, that we need to open up foiling to everyone and supply a technique which is easy to use and safe, even for beginners”

Davide Tagliapietra on the right, Luca Rizzotti, FW President on the left

Davide Tagliapietra, Foiling Project Award 2017:
“We are very honored to be recognized with this prize. Humbled and thankful that so many voters have recognized the effort. The other nominees presented excellent work and really good ideas. To have the foiler voted to victory among such competition is even more remarkable.
Thank you to them and also to Foiling Week for the opportunity. Davide and Doug”

During the ceremony a presentation on the history of foiling was followed by a round table on the AC75, the new class that will be raced at the 36th Americas Cup.

The audience attending contributed with questions and opinions during the round table. An evening of shared views and novel ideas in pure Foiling Week style.

Nicolò Reggio on the left, Edoardo Napodano on the right

The president of the Yacht Club Club, Nicolò Reggio, proposed a partnership in the organization of a foiling event during the week of coastal races at the Giraglia Race, a proposal immediately welcomed enthusiastically by Foiling Week team.

The Foiling Week 2018 program starts in a month in Sydney Australia with the first Foiling Week of the year.

 

The Foiling Week, A Year In Review

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Advancing the Community Concept for Innovation

by Christopher Museler

When the Foiling Week set up its first tents along the sparkling shoreline of Lake Garda in 2014, a small group of excitable and tweaky designers, engineers and sailors gathered to share, learn and collaborate. Once all alone in their corners of the sport and the world, this was their moment to go beyond their own visions and advance the new field of “foiling” on the water.

A mind-blowingly short time later, as 2017 comes to a close, Foiling Week is on three continents, there are more than a dozen established foiling classes and the seeds of foiling’s place beyond sailing are sprouting across the world.

Luca Rizzotti, Founder: “In 2018 we are going for the first time to exciting locations like Sydney and Miami. We look forward to connecting with the amazing Australian and American foiling communities, tap into their latest innovations and spread the know-how around the globe. Garda is also promising to be bigger than ever with many requests from new classes. Finally, we see we are growing alongside our present partners and aim at having more on board to keep the foiling community ahead of the innovation curve, plus seeking impact investments for some of our new ambitious projects.”

At the heart of innovation within the foiling space, Foiling Week sits alone as a forum. But this is not an exclusive club. Forums in Europe, the United States and Australia are now opening up doors and networks that were once, by the very nature of competitive events like the America’s Cup and even geography, barriers to collaboration and development.

Cup designers once muzzled by NDAs eagerly bat around concepts with their counterparts at Foiling Week. Product developers racing to become “first-to-market” in the auto-foiling SUP space are able to explore production and distribution complications together. From the innovator to the end user, there is no doubt that this is a particular moment in foiling that transcends the sparks ignited by classes like the Moth, A Class catamaran and America’s Cup boats.

Foiling Week’s Responsibility

Following the success of the Foiling Week Newport, USA in 2016, the first forum outside of Garda, the event not only expanded to other nations, the 2017 event on that natural playground in central Italy pushed the boundaries of innovative forums into the social responsibility realm.

Though Foiling Week is not an authoritative organization, its participants are a community of new authorities on this burgeoning area of innovation. And, as the most diverse, intelligent and creative individuals in sailing, they have a resulting camaraderie and drive to improve the sport and the world through their abilities.

Core values for Foiling Week were established in 2017 after the successes of the Safety Forum in Newport. Safety, accessibility and sustainability were each given a day at this year’s Garda event.

As the sun warmed the cliffs, before the clockwork thermal breeze drifted in, the sports’ and industry’s top minds dug deep into these topics with an engaged audience. Olympic gold medalist Jo Aleh and Moth sailor Josie Gliddon, both representing the Magenta Project, lead the accessibility forum by tackling the gender issues faced with women in professional sailing. Gliddon was able to condense the concept that hydrofoiling across the range of sailing craft in the sport increases access to women. In short, with reduced loads, requiring less brute force and more technique-based skills, foiling should open doors for women. But she is quick to point out that the sailing culture lags behind these innovations and some doors are still closed.

Josie Gliddon: “To continue to talk about accessibility for all in our sport allows us to address the equality and diversity challenges we face not just for men and women. We are extremely fortunate to be in a sport where boats can be designed and adapted and I think that we can go much further in this area. Even just small changes can make a difference – putting in extra purchases / ratchet blocks or having extra people on board results in strength and psychical size becoming less of a dominant feature that in turn opens up more opportunities to more people. That can only be a good thing.”

The same forum announced design efforts to allow disabled sailors to foil and gain instruction with a Paralympic champion on hand to lend insight. Legions of tiny boys and girls also donned helmets and life jackets to safely explore this third dimension of sailing.

Sustainability, that mystical term that covers everything we need to do to save the planet, is a value Foiling Week has brought to a tangible concept. Right off the bat, the Garda event offered entry discounts to presenters and participants who carpooled to the lake. Collaborations that highlighted the outrageous inefficiencies in the use of motorboats to run regattas have led to concepts that include automated, solar-powered mark set drones.

As for safety, the Newport forum produced a collection of sailors and race management officials from around the world who, independently, had been creating race management tools and instructional interactive videos to address the growing issues that arise from boats going three- to four-times the speed of previous race craft.

On the Water

The forums now spread around the world have become synergistic moments for the greatest brains in sailing to connect and collaborate on technical and social levels. But Foiling Week has tapped into the child-like excitement these and other participants have regarding exploring and experimenting on the sea with wind and craft.

The most advanced classes in the world are attracted to each Foiling Week venue to host championships and share their progressive crafts with the world. Beyond top designers and engineers, the elite sailors of the world place Foiling Week at the top of their event wish list each year.

Glen Ashby: “For me, to walk around the boat park is absolutely fantastic.
There are so many clever people that have worked on a lot of different foiling boats and apparatus over the last few years.
For everyone to be able to walk around, share information openly and look at all the different concepts that have been built is absolutely wonderful.”

Francois Gabart: “I think it is just perfect, the Foiling Week, because there is a lot happening now in the foiling world.
It’s good to mix all together.”

Beyond Sailing

One would think that foiling is now established and that there is a plateau, apres’ 2017 America’s Cup, in innovation with these technologies slowing influencing recreational sailing and speeds steadying out for the professional foiling craft. But the Foiling Week has matured, and its free thinking drive for pure innovation is expanding.

Paul Larsen, one of the fastest sailors in the world having set the outright world speed record aboard Vestas SailRocket, gave Foiling Week a taste of the direction foiling can take the world. A privately funded design challenge has Larson developing a 100-foot transatlantic passenger ship that is a hybrid power/sail. “one idea is to take paying passengers across the ocean in luxury as fast as the Ultime trimaran Banque Populaire,” says Larsen.

This unique project has been combining a fabulous collection of old and new ideas. A Polynesian “proa” style set of hulls means the ship can only sail on one tack and must “shunt” to change tacks.

These fascinating terms tied to the dawn of navigation and civilization were linked by Larsen to the futuristic concept of “energy farming.” Larson says battery banks store energy generated by hydrogeneretors while the wing sailed craft reaches across through the depressions of the Atlantic then uses this stored energy to power the low-drag hulls through the glass of high pressure systems. The same ship is envisioned to double as transport for commerce, similar to cruise ships efficient use of their holds as dry docks to transport yachts across oceans.

New Ground

Now, how does the rest of the world learn about what these innovators and collaborators are working on? The Foiling Week! And although this forum has been expanding, a primary aim of the organizers is to push the boundaries of online communication by making all presentations live and archived on as many media platforms as possible. Virtual reality and interactive experiences are also imperative.

Creating more and varied partnerships into the varied spaces outside the marine industry is also a must for Foiling Week to achieve its lofty goals of connecting more spaces and innovators. BMW, Slam, Gurit, Persico Marine, Marlow, Torqeedo and Ingemar have all been rightfully supportive of getting innovators together.

The efficiencies developed by the Foiling Week community fit flawlessly with the direction innovators want to take the world. Individuals like Paul Larsen, Jo Aleh and Jossie Gliddon see an endless horizon of possibilities. So does the Foiling Week.

Ten days in advance, here are the new AC boats

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An exciting new era in America’s Cup racing has been unveiled today as the concept for the AC75, the class of boat to be sailed in the 36th America’s Cup is released illustrating a bold and modern vision for high performance fully foiling monohull racing yachts.

The Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams have spent the last four months evaluating a wide range of monohull concepts. Their goals have been to design a class that will be challenging and demanding to sail, rewarding the top level of skill for the crews; this concept could become the future of racing and even cruising monohulls beyond the America’s Cup.
The AC75 combines extremely high-performance sailing and great match racing with the safety of a boat that can right itself in the event of a capsize. The ground-breaking concept is achieved through the use of twin canting T-foils, ballasted to provide righting-moment when sailing, and roll stability at low speed.

21/11/17- The 36th America’s Cup class boat concept of the AC75.

The normal sailing mode sees the leeward foil lowered to provide lift and enable foiling, with the windward foil raised out of the water to maximise the lever-arm of the ballast and reduce drag. In pre-starts and through manoeuvres, both foils can be lowered to provide extra lift and roll control, also useful in rougher sea conditions and providing a wider window for racing.
Although racing performance has been the cornerstone of the design, consideration has had to be focused on the more practical aspects of the boat in the shed and at the dock, where both foils are canted right under the hull in order to provide natural roll stability and to allow the yacht to fit into a standard marina berth.

21/11/17- The 36th America’s Cup class boat concept of the AC75.

An underlying principle has been to provide affordable and sustainable technology ‘trickle down’ to other sailing classes and yachts. Whilst recent America’s Cup multihulls have benefitted from the power and control of rigid wing sails, there has been no transfer of this technology to the rigs of other sailing classes. In tandem with the innovations of the foiling system, Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa are investigating a number of possible innovations for the AC75’s rig, with the requirement that the rig need not be craned in and out each day. This research work is ongoing as different concepts are evaluated, and details will be released with the AC75 Class Rule before March 31st, 2018.

The America’s Cup is a match race and creating a class that will provide challenging match racing has been the goal from the start. The AC75 will foil-tack and foil-gybe with only small manoeuvring losses, and given the speed and the ease at which the boats can turn the classic pre-starts of the America’s Cup are set to make an exciting comeback. Sail handling will also become important, with cross-overs to code zero sails in light wind conditions.

21/11/17- The 36th America’s Cup class boat concept of the AC75.

A huge number of ideas have been considered in the quest to define a class that will be extremely exciting to sail and provide great match racing, but the final decision was an easy one: the concept being announced was a clear winner, and both teams are eager to be introducing the AC75 for the 36th America’s Cup in 2021.

The AC75 class rule will be published by March 31st 2018.

GRANT DALTON

CEO Emirates Team New Zealand:
“We are really proud to present the concept of the AC75 today. It has been a phenomenal effort by Dan and the guys together with Luna Rossa design team and there is a lot of excitement building around the boat in the development and getting to this point.”
“Our analysis of the performance of the foiling monohulls tells us that once the boat is up and foiling, the boat has the potential to be faster than an AC50 both upwind and downwind.”
“Auckland is in for a highly competitive summer of racing in 2020 / 2021.”

DAN BERNASCONI

Design Coordinator Emirates Team New Zealand:
“This design process has been new territory for the team, starting with a clean sheet to develop a class – and we’ve loved it. We wanted to see how far we could push the performance of monohull yachts to create a foiling boat that would be challenging to sail and thrilling to match race. We’re really excited about the concept and can’t wait to see it on the water..
We think we have achieved these goals – thanks also to the constructive co-operation of Luna Rossa design team – as well as the more practical detail to consider in terms of cost management and logistics of running the boats.”

PATRIZIO BERTELLI

Chairman of Luna Rossa Challenge:
“The choice of a monohull was a fundamental condition for us to be involved again in the America’s Cup. This is not a return to the past, but rather a step towards the future: the concept of the new AC 75 Class, which Emirates Team New Zealand and Luna Rossa design teams have developed together, will open new horizons for racing yachts, which, in the future, may also extend to cruising. It is a modern concept, at the high end of technology and challenging from a sporting point of view, which will deliver competitive and exciting match racing. I would like to thank both design teams for their commitment in achieving, in just four months, the goal which we had established when we challenged”.

MAX SIRENA

Team Director of Luna Rossa Challenge:
“As a sailor I am very pleased of the concept jointly developed by both design teams: the AC 75 will be an extremely high-performance yacht, challenging to sail, who will require an athletic and very talented crew. Every crew member will have a key role both in the manoeuvres and in racing the boat; the tight crossings and the circling in the pre-starts – which are part of the America’s Cup tradition – will be back on show, but at significant higher speeds. It is a new concept, and I am sure that its development will bring interesting surprises”.

2017 MOTH WORLDS – FINAL DAY: Paul Goodison wins 2017 Moth Worlds title

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By Jonny Fullerton

Paul Goodison (GBR) smashes it on the final day of racing at the 2017 McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds at Lake Garda against the hottest fleet of Moths ever assembled. Goody (to his friends), is the first foiling Moth sailor to win back to back world titles and the result is that much more special considering the high calibre of competition from the most recent top Americas Cup skippers and sailors with more Olympic medals around their necks than any other regatta with exception of the Olympic Games itself!

Going into the final day of racing Goodison begun the day with a 13 point cushion over Pete Burling (NZL) with Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen with an outside chance of catching Burling.

The weather gods turned it on again for the final day of racing when a light ‘Ora’ started to build from the South around lunchtime and any fluffy little clouds dispersed to leave another fine sunny afternoon for racing.

The Gold fleet was sent out around 1330hrs to race on the South course to complete as many races as possible before the cut off time of 1600hrs. Race 9 of the championship started under the black flag in 12 – 14 knots of breeze with flat water. As usual, the aim was to charge to the Eastern shore and before hitting the rocks in front of the Fraglia Vela Malcesine clubhouse, tack and try to find a clean lane of pressure to get to the top of the course in good shape.

At the windward gates, the breeze was quite soft causing a number of boats to drop off the foils, especially if squeezing round the marks. On the first lap, it was Scott Babbage (AUS) leading, followed by the young gun, Gian Ferrighi (ITA) with most of the big names in the top 10. The downwind leg proved a bit more shifty and the pack shuffled. It was Tom Slingsby (AUS) who stayed in the best pressure to take the win from Nathan Outteridge (AUS) with Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) third, Burling 5th and Jensen 6th.

PRO Tim Hancock did a good job of setting up for race 10 under the same conditions. Started under a black flag it was a similar story with slightly different players. The breeze shifted a bit right and begun to drop at the top end causing some competitors to drop off the foils.

At the bottom gate, the action started to unfold, Jensen got round just in front of Slingsby but Slingers dropped off the foils bang in front of Outteridge and Babbage allowing Goodison to slide past inside avoiding the low riders. Burling was also in trouble rounding the opposite gate and dropping off the foils. Greenhalgh was also in a world of pain.

Coming into the finish it was Jensen who crossed the line with a massive lead and a big smile on his face as he closed up the points to second placed Burling to one point. Second was Goodison to all but seal the title. Many competitors had fallen off the foils in the soft patches around the course. Singsby crossed third but Burling was deep in the pack.

With time running out and the breeze getting a bit weak, the PRO announced that the third race of the day, race 11 of the world championship would be the last. The last race would be victory laps for Paul Goodison but the chase for second and third place would be decided on the last race between Burling and Jensen.

The last race started in the same light to moderate breeze, 11 – 13 knots from 215 degrees. Again the fleet used the clubhouse shoreline for a flyby in front of the grandstand of supporters. This time it was Tom Slingsby who looked like he had made the right foil choice leading the world champion elect with some of the usual suspects struggling with foil selection. Slingsby cruised across the finish line for a second win of the day with the victorious Goodison crossing in second.

A good third for West Australian, Steve Thomas, Babbage finished a consistent 4th and Jensen in 5th finishing comfortably ahead of his skipper of so many years, Nathan Outteridge. As Burling crossed in a lowly 17th, supporters scrambled for their calculators to do the maths.

Agonisingly for Goobs Jensen he fell one point short of toppling the kiwi but was very happy with his third place overall. With Slingsby’s final day score of 1,3,1 he held on to 4th and Scott Babbage came back from the brink early in the regatta to snatch 5th off Nathan Outteridge.

The Youth category went down to the wire on the final day with a fine battle between the two Italian twins Gian Marie and Stefano Ferrighi. With an 8th in the final race on Saturday and a 9th today (Sunday), Stefano stole the title from his brother by 3 places. Stefano finished 23rd overall an excellent performance in a fleet of champions.

The Master’s category swung between Jason Belben (GBR) and Rob Gough (AUS) and a similar tussle played out. Rob Gough won this one finishing 25th overall to Jason Belben’s 28th.

First in the female category went to Irish Olympian Annalise Murphy who finished 51 in the Gold group.

The Silver group was won by John Clifton (GBR) and the Bronze group won by Maximilian Mage of Germany.

PRO Tim Hancock and his team did a great job getting through so many races for a fleet of 220 Moths, the biggest Moth regatta ever assembled.

A bit shout out to the two Moth workshops running the Moth hospital to keep sailors out there on the water doing what they do. The legend that is Simon Shaw and his team at event title sponsor, McDougall + McConaghy and Simon Maguire and his dad Tony did an amazing job behind the scenes.

Also a huge thank you to Fraglia Vela Malcesine, host club for their race management, hospitality and the pasta that has kept over 200 mothies racing for a week.

Of course, it goes without saying that the regatta only took place due to the support of great sponsors and suppliers such as McDougall + McConaghy, Veneri, Zhik and Negrinautica and a long list of Fraglia Vela Malcesine local sponsors.

The 2018 Moth Worlds will take place in Bermuda and we hope to see everybody there for more high octane action in this incredible class.

Results: www.mothworlds.org/malcesine/results/

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page

Replay regattas tracking on U-track

2017 MOTH WORLDS – DAY 5: Burling finds form but Goodison closes on second world title

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By Jonny Fullerton

The final series of racing at the 2017 McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds got underway today in more glamorous conditions on Lake Garda. The Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets were released just after lunchtime for four races on two race courses.

The hottest Moth Gold fleet ever left the shore around 1300 hrs for 4 back to back races on the Southern course in a light to moderate breeze from the South. Consistent shifts and an over eager hungry fleet led to a string of U flags, black flags, postponements and one race cancellation when the breeze collapsed at the top end of the course.

Eventually two hours later a frustrated PRO managed to get the fleet to behave enough to sail a shortened version of the usual windward / leeward race track. The breeze settled in about 12 – 14 knots but at the top end, it was quite a lot weaker, nearer 8 knots and marginal foiling. From the start it was a mad sprint to hit the shore, right in front of the Fraglia Vela Malcesine club, again proving popular with spectators and the weekend diners out on the terrace. The leaders tacked up the shore line taking advantage of all the little bays where the breeze scalloped in puffs.

A number of boats overstood the top mark, Pete Burling (NZL) led Nathan Outteridge (AUS) and Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) third. The downwind dash was really quick, Burling crossed the finish line in around 15 minutes. Outteridge 2nd, Greenhalgh 3rd and Paul Goodison (GBR) in 4th, his worst position of the regatta to date!. Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen up in the leaders again in 5th but Tom Slingsby (AUS), second at the start of the day, crossed in 7th.

A short turn around and race 2 started in similar conditions, however, the race course was extended a bit to make a longer race track. More general recalls and the black flag came out again. The first leg was again a mad sprint to the Eastern Lake shore. Again it was Burling leading the pack from Kohei Kajimoto, a Japanese Moth sailor who lives in Australia. Goodison was back in 6th position but gaining rapidly on Kohei downwind to the finish. Burling finished this one by a big margin, Kajimoto holding on for a really well deserved 2nd and Goodison settling for 3rd. Jensen consistently racing in for 4th and an excellent finish for Corinthian sailor Matthew Chew from Queensland in Australia.

PRO Tim Hancock didn’t hang about banging off the races, rolling straight into race 3 of the day. No real changes on the course again and all clear at the start this time. Goodison led this one from the flying kiwi, Burling with Jensen just behind. Scott Babbage (AUS) was back in the mix but Greenhalgh deep in the teens. On the last downwind Burling came in on a tight angle making use of the pressure that had started to build in the middle of the race track, (a regular occurrence at this time of day). However, Jensen and Babbage had judged the layline to the finish to perfection, soaking past Burling. Goodison scored his first bullet of the day, Jensen 2nd, Babbage 3rd, Burling dropping to 4th. Josh McKnight came in for his best finish of the final series in 5th. Slingsby in his customary 7th was beginning to lose his grip on second overall.

The last Gold fleet race of the day, number 8 of the championship, was started in a patchy breeze as the sun was getting low in the sky. The sight of a fleet of Moths spread across the lake in the late evening sunlight was a photographers dream and fully appreciated by the onlookers sipping their Aperol aperitives under the club umbrellas. Some of the big names watching some racing included Russell Coutts and his lads, and Olympic Gold medallist Santiago Lange, another master getting used to foiling catamarans.

As the leaders surged up the middle of the course it was, of course, the current world champion Goodison fighting it out with 2015 world champion Burling. This time there was the sad sight of the other former world champion Outteridge, limping in to shore with a broken wing bar. The Brit and the kiwi were sprinting clear but the chase was on for the remaining podium place. Babbage was having another good race and the home Italian fans were pleased to see Francesco Bruni amongst the leaders.

Goodison glided down the final leg in the fading sunlight to take his second bullet of the day and keep a comfortable cushion between himself and Burling before the final day or racing. Burling crossed in second to pull himself up to second overall and Babbage took third to pull back into the top 6.

Going into the final day of racing, Paul Goodison has a handy 13 point cushion over Pete Burling on 26 points. Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen had another excellent day to move into a comfortable 3rd position on 29 points.

Goody sums up his day,

“In the first race I overlaid the first mark a bit and it put me down the fleet after that I got it together, I had a little scare on the last run in the last race, I snapped the tip off the foil so I was sailing around with a bit of drag, but hung on in there and came good in the end so pretty pleased with today. Kiwi Pete was starting really well and going upwind really nicely so it made me pick up my game a bit later in the day.”

Pete Burling adds:

“I was a pretty long day on the water, I think we were out for about 5 and a half hours so most people will sleep pretty well tonight. I am just getting used to the boat and in that last race I felt I had pretty good speed but a bit tired. Goody just kept hiking!”

Tom Slingsby slipped to 4th with a 7,8,7,8 for the day. Despite suffering more damage, Nathan Outteridge was saved by the fact a second discard comes into play after 8 final races are completed, so moves into 5th on 48 points.

Rob Greenhalgh drops down to 7th after another tough day on the water but Dave Hivey holds onto 10th spot. Also, the two Italian boats Francesca Bruni and Carlo de Paoli Ambrosi are just outside the top 10 in 11th and 12th respectively.

Gian Marie Ferrighi of Italy didn’t finish the last race of the day but remains top in the Youth category in an impressive 16th position. Rob Gough (AUS) overtakes Jason Belben (GBR) to the top Master spot. Annaslise Murphy (IRL), still with a constant smile on her face, remains the top female competitor.

The Silver fleet raced 4 races on the trot on the North course. John Clifton (GBR) continues to lead but David Holenweg from Switzerland has a good day to close the gap. In third is Olympic Laser sailor Philipp Buhl from Germany.

The Bronze fleet went out at lunchtime for 2 races then came back for a break before returning to the South course for 2 more races in the evening breeze. Grand Master, Hans Rasmussen from Denmark leads the fleet from Maximillian Mage from Germany and Youth category sailor, David Simmonds from the UK.

An exhausted cluster of mothies returned ashore for a rather exquisite aperitif and Marzadro Buffet at Fraglia Vela Malcesine supplied by event sponsor Zhik.

The final day of racing for all fleets on Sunday will not commence before 12 noon. Racing can be watched by the tracking website shown below.

Results: www.mothworlds.org/malcesine/results/

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page

Regattas tracking on U-track

2017 Moth Worlds – Day 4: Competition hots up in the Final Series

Posted in TFW's news, video on by .

By Jonny Fullerton

The final series of racing at the 2017 McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds got underway today in glamorous conditions on Lake Garda. The Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets were released just after lunchtime for four races each on two race courses.

The Gold fleet left the shore about 1400hrs to sail on the South course in warm sunshine and a 12 – 14 knots breeze from 200 degrees. The two lap courses were short and sharp taking the lead boat about 25 minutes to complete.

77 boats shot off the start line on starboard tack to tack directly in front of the Fraglia Vela Malcesine club house, where spectators were able to get a bird’s eye view from the shore.

Some competitors got squeezed out at the pin end but the start was called clear and Nathan Outteridge (AUS) absolutely nailed it. But at the leeward gate on lap 1, current world champion, Paul Goodison (GBR) had a 30 metre lead from Scott Babbage (AUS), Rob Greenhalgh (GBR), Nathan Outteridge (AUS) and Pete Burling (NZL).

Goodison hugged the breeze on the shoreline to finish with another gun, followed by Babbage in second, having a much better day after all his breakages. Greenhalgh completed the podium, Burling just squeezed past Outteridge on the last gybe for the finish.

For race 2, the course was stretched out to 1.3nm as the breeze swung to 210 degrees. The second start was another packed line and again several competitors got squeezed out including Rob Greenhalgh and Josh Mcknight (AUS). Pete Burling rounded in the lead closely followed by Tom Slingsby (AUS) with Scott Babbage in third, Paul Goodison in fifth.

Burling extended on all legs to close out his first 2017 Moth Worlds race win, Slingsby took a well earned second and Paul Goodison clawed back to third. The two former 49er & AC team mates Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen and Nathan Outteridge finished fourth and fifth.

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time race 3 begun but conditions remained similar, with 12 – 14 knots of breeze and flat water but it had become more patchy with streaks down the middle of the course rather than along the Eastern lake shore.

Again Paul Goodison tussled for the lead, this time against Nathan Outteridge and Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen. Disaster for Rob Greenhalgh as he suffers a broken mainsheet strop and has to retire. Positions stayed the same for the top three but a Corinthian sailor, Dave Hivey (GBR) snuck into fourth to break up the professionals. Pete Burling finished this one in fifth.

The lead contenders all piled down to the pin end for the start of race 4. Nathan Outteridge again nailed it with Tom Slingsby on his hip. Burling, Goodison and Babbage were all in the scrum but Rob Greenhalgh’s timing was just out forcing him wide to duck round to start behind the pack.

It was another mad dash to the shore to tack in front of the club house. Burling and Goodison met on opposite tacks at the top mark and it was Burling who ducked Goody to round just in the lead. Outteridge rounded third. The packed rounding forced a couple of leaders to go wide of the upwind gate.

Downwind the race became a three way battle between the three former world champions, Burling, Goodison and Outteridge. On the last leg, positions changed, Babbage came to the line on opposite tacks to Outteridge and just managed to cross his bows to take his first win of the championship, both sailors enjoying a much better day on the water. Goodison took third and Burling fourth and Slingsby 5th.

When the finals series results were added to the Qualification results the overall classification has Paul Goodison taking the lead on 8 points from arch rival Laser Gold medallist Tom Slingsby on 17 points and Iain Jensen moving up to third on 21 points. After finishing 15th in the Qualification series, Pete Burling has a much better day to pull up to 4th whilst Rob Greenhalgh as a day to forget discarding a DNF and counting a 17th. Both Nathan Outteridge and Scott Babbage are back in the top ten after their breakdowns in the Qualification series. Another top contender Ben ‘the Patonator’ Paton (GBR) suffered a re-reoccurrence of his arm injury forcing him out of the last two races.

Dave Hivey (GBR) stays top Corinthian sneaking into the top 10 and Jason Belben scores 20,19,19 to remain top Master in 24th position overall.

In the Silver fleet, John Clifton (GBR) port tacked the entire fleet to win race 1 of the day by a country mile. He repeated in race 2 and scored a 7 and 4 to open a big lead over second placed David Holenweg (SUI) and Philipp Buhl (GER).

In the Bronze fleet, Hans Rasmussen (DEN) has a huge lead over Maximilian Mage (GER) and David Simmonds (GBR).

Weary sailors returned ashore early in the evening for a ‘Bruschetta and Ravioli’ spread as the sun set over the lake. The perfect ending to a perfect day.

Racing continues for all fleets tomorrow, (Saturday). The earliest start time will be 1300hrs (local time).

Results: www.mothworlds.org/malcesine/results/

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page

2017 Moth Worlds – Day 3: Garda’s breezes provide contrasting fortunes in qualification

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By Jonny Fullerton

The early morning Peler from the North provided contrasting fortunes for the fleet of 220 Moths racing day 3 of the McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds 2017 hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine. After a lunchtime break to repair boats and refuel with more pasta, all fleets were sent back out for a much more sedate afternoon of racing, but again the Garda wind gods had other ideas. By 1600hrs the weak afternoon breeze shut down for the day determining the all important Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets for the Final series.

The Green and Blue fleets were sent out early for a 0830 hrs start but a number of competitors stayed ashore to make a late judgement as to whether to sit out the first race of the day.

The Blue fleet was sailing the Southernmost course off the picturesque medieval city of Malcesine. However, just the downwind dash to the race course proved too much for many. The Peler was honking a good 20 – 25 knots with some steep waves. After about an hour the PRO got racing started but only about 16 boats got off on time. Some others joined shortly after to complete one lap and get a score on the board. For the second race of the day, race 4 of the event, the breeze did soften into the teens but the conditions were still gnarly and difficult for the club level sailors.

Paul Goodison (GBR) took up from where he left off yesterday adding another two wins to keep a perfect scoreline. He was pushed hard but never really threatened by another Olympic medallist from GBR, Simon Hiscocks, who finished with two excellent seconds. Tom Offer from Rock Sailing Club in the UK was also rewarded for his persistence adding a 3,4 to his score. There were good performances for some of the master category sailors, Americas Cup team coach, Philippe Presti (FRA) finished the tough first race and took 5th in the second. Another Americas Cup sailor, Francesco Bruni (ITA) got round the course finishing 5th in the first race.

The Green fleet set up at the Northern course which is where the lake is at its narrowest with the mountains either side. The breeze was similar here with 20 – 25 knots and with nasty steep waves. A number of mothies reported boat speeds in the early thirties (knots), recorded on their instruments.

This group was randomly loaded with rock stars and proved to be the most dramatic of the day. Double world Moth champion and hot favourite, Nathan Outteridge (AUS) blitzed the first race but agonisingly suffered another major rig failure as his mast broke going at full speed.

“It was pretty fresh out there this morning, we were getting mid 20’s and bigger gusts. At the top of our course, it was quite flat but lumpy at the bottom.”

“I managed to win the first race but then in the second race I had a pitch pole in the middle of the bottom gate when I was in 2nd or 3rd, and snapped my mast, so that is two DNF’s in two days from two different things, so I am just running over the boat pretty closely now.”

Another top contender and long term Moth worlds podium finisher, Scott Babbage (AUS) also suffered further breakages with a vang failure. Even the unflappable current king of sailing, Pete Burling (NZL) suffered a number of stacks as he appeared to be suffering from control issues downwind. Pete finished 8 and 11 for the day.

Ben Paton (GBR) usually revels in the strong winds but having crossed the finish line in 3rd in the first race, he was leading race 2 when one of his ample biceps (arm muscles) caused him pain, forcing him to retire.

The standout sailor from the Yellow group was another 49er Gold medallist and AC sailor, Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen who found form and speed in abundance to card 2,1 from the morning session.

“I was just getting around cleanly, the boat was working really nicely, it was definitely a survival day, there were big waves and gusts of up to 26 knots, so it was basically whoever didn’t swim was going to be in the top few.”

“A few guys had new foils on and we’re still just getting used to them, but I had the standard Exocet small foils on and they were going well. It was really good fun, awesome sailing, some guys who had the Velocitek’s on were recording top speeds of 32 knots.”

Also enjoying the heavy stuff was Arnaud Psarofaghis (SUI) scoring 6,2. Emma Spiers from Australia did well to finish both races upright with a respectable 19,23 and one of the lightest and smallest mothies, Josie Gliddon (GBR) finished 22,22 with her cut down rig proving a valuable asset. Around 25 boats finished both Green fleet races.

The Yellow and Red fleets left the shore around 1100hrs, by which time the breeze was beginning to drop down to a more manageable 12 – 15 knots, fading to 10 or less for their second race of the day. The waves had also dropped resulting in much less boat damage and capsizes.

There were 44 finishers in the first race and 50 finishers in the second for the Red fleet on the Northernmost course. The race track looked a bit more one sided with the fleets sailing straight off the start line to hit the steep Western shoreline of the Lake before mixing it up with the local ferries scuttling up the coast, totally mind boggled by what was happening around them!

At the front end former Moth world champion, Josh McKnight (AUS), sailing his own Moth design, shared top spot with Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) finishing with a 1,2 for the day.

Franco Greggi who is one of 5 boats from Buenos Aires in Argentina, was one of the outstanding performances of the day in the Red fleet, mixing it up with the leaders with a 3,5.

“It was a very difficult morning because you have to choose your mast and foils carefully, I chose the smallest foil I had and I am happy I did. My main idea was to start well where there were no boats and try to use my speed in order to get to the front. There are a lot of top sailors with a lot of speed so It was really good to be with the leaders. I am very happy I am in the top 30.”

Another of the Corinthian sailors, Dave Hivey (GBR) continued his good form with a 7,3 to keep in the top group overall.

The Yellow fleet was the last to start their races, sailing on the Southern course off Malcesine. By the time they started the Peler was all but gone and they raced in a much more sedate 10 – 15 knots with flatter water. Tom Slingsby (AUS) fired another bullet and a 7th to stay in the lead bunch overall.

Fellow Australian Laser Gold medallist, Tom Burton finished 4,2 and a third Aussie, Harold Mighell from Sydney, finished 2nd, but with a bad second race finish of 26th. Corinthian, Rory Fitzpatrick, one of a flutter of mothies from Ireland finished with an excellent 7 and 1 in the morning session.

The Yellow fleet was the first to be sent out for the afternoon session in a light 10 – 12 knots from the South and flat water however after a long wait the weather gods again foiled the race committee and racing had to be curtailed for the day.

With 4 qualification races completed per group, sailors can discard their worst score. So the points table at the end of qualifying shows Paul Goodison (GBR) with a string of bullets followed closely by Tom Slingsby (AUS), with three wins and a discarded 7. Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) sits in 3rd, Iain Jensen (AUS) 4th and Josh Mcknight (AUS) 5th. Pete Burling (NZL) sits in 15th and due to damage Nathan Outteridge (AUS) is down in 35th. For the same reason, Scott Babbage (AUS) sits in 41. Some regular club mothies stack up in the top 20 which is a credit to them in such a high-class field as this.

Annalise Murphy (IRL) is the top female competitor, easily qualifying in the Gold group. There is a cluster of women who will race against each other in the Silver fleet. Emma Spiers (AUS) 102, Wakaka Tabata (JPN) 108, Josie Gliddon (GBR) 113 and Emma Gravar (SWE) 114.

Of the Masters, Jason Belben of Stokes Bay sits in an admirable 23rd, one place ahead of long time Moth campaigner Rob Gough from Tasmania, Australia. Phil Stevenson, the grand master of the fleet is comfortably in the Silver fleet in 133 spot.

The two Italian Ferrighi brothers lead the Youth category (under 23yrs), Gian Marie qualifies in 18th and Stefano in 44th.

The Final Series of racing begins tomorrow (Friday) for Gold, Silver and Bronze fleets with a first start scheduled for 1300hrs

Results: www.mothworlds.org/malcesine/results/

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page

 

2017 Moth Worlds – Day 2: Slow catch up for Qualifying fleets

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By Jonny Fullerton

There was still a lot of summer thunderstorm activity in the Lake Garda region but finally, racing got underway today on day two of the McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds 2017 hosted by Fraglia Vela Malcesine.

The 220 entrants from 25 nations were split into four groups, Yellow, Red, Blue and Green Qualifying fleets. Because of the lack of racing yesterday (Tuesday), racing was re-scheduled for early starts this morning (Wednesday).

When the first two groups left the shore it was a cool morning with semi-overcast skies and light to moderate but unstable breeze from the North and some big waves. However, this was not the usual reliably strong Pelèr and racing faced a number of disruptions during the morning session.

PRO Tim Hancock and his team from Fraglia Vela Malcesine did an excellent job of getting two races in for each group before the breeze shut down for its lunchtime siesta.

All fleets came ashore with the hope that the afternoon Ora would blow from the South, but not for the first time this week, we were foiled. So just two races were completed for each fleet.

The Yellow and Red fleets were sent out for a 08.30hrs start to catch the morning breeze. On the Yellow course, off Malcesine it was blowing 12 – 18 knots with some waves, causing a number of breakages and capsizes. By the second race, the breeze and waves dropped off to a more manageable 10 – 15 kts from the North.

Nathan Outteridge (AUS) won the first but suffered a broken stay in the second having to return to the Moth hospital onshore for surgery. Despite not finishing, he did get a score of 42 due to finishing the opening lap but it is a setback. Nevertheless, onshore Nathan remained up beat. “It’s not how you want to start your worlds but still.”

Ben ‘Patonator’ Paton (GBR) sailed two solid races scoring 2,2, but was a bit disappointed to lose the first to Nathan Outteridge by ditching on his final gybe to the finish.

Another favourite to suffer damage was Scott Babbage (AUS) who broke a push rod in race 1 to start on the back foot, but recovered with a bullet in the second race of the day.

One of the Corinthian sailors, Luka Damic from St Georges SC in Sydney enjoyed a great start to his worlds with a pair of thirds.

“We were on the Southern course early in the day and there were big waves and 14 – 18 kts of wind and I’m a big heavy guy, 95 kilos, so that suits me fine. For the second race the breeze started to drop off and the sea state dropped off which also suits me quite well so I managed to pick up two 3rd’s.”

Luka is racing a home built boat and is happy with his new rudder design which he built himself and was on trial for the first time, passing with flying colours.

Annalise Murphy (IRE) endured lots of capsizes in her first race but enjoyed a big improvement in the 2nd race with an 8th and is leading female overall.

On the Red fleet course the waves were a bit smaller and the northerly breeze a shade lighter 9 – 15 knots closer to Torbole.

Rob Greenhalgh (GBR) wasted no time with a bullet and a second. Fellow Brit and former training partner Dave Hivey, scored two excellent results as top Corinthian in the group.

“It was good fun, we had a decent northerly wind and some pretty big shifts but there was definitely a few holes in the wind. I need to work on my downwind speed a bit but I was pretty quick upwind and getting off the start line well. The main event for me is I want to be the first Corinthian.” He said on shore.

The overall leaderboard was stacked with sailors from the Red group. The talented foiler from Australia, Harry Mighell picked up two great results of 7,1 and Olympic Gold medallist Iain ‘Goobs’ Jensen (AUS) scored two bankers 6,3, although he wasn’t entirely happy with his set up. Steve Thomas from West Australia scored 4,5, and a young Italian sailor studying in Sydney, Gian Maria Ferrighi came ashore with a 3,7.

By the time the Blue and Green fleets went out mid morning, the breeze was already beginning to fade from 10 knots to 5-6 knots and the patches meant most sailors were having difficulty staying on the foils.

The first race of the Blue fleet was a bit of a Laser fest with London 2012 Olympic Gold medallist Tom Slingsby (AUS) taking the gun from Rio Olympic gold medallist Tom Burton (AUS) in 2nd.

Tom Slingsby also scored a bullet in the 2nd race of Red group to sit on top of the overall table on day 1 of qualifying.

“It was a tricky day with the dying breeze in the morning but I think more than anything I got the foil selection right, I hedged that the breeze was going to die sooner than later so I went big front foil and big back foil. In the dying breeze, I think that was what the big factor was.”

“The first race was a bit of a battle with Tom Burton and then the second race was up and down. Rob Gough caught right up but then I got back on the foils and he fell off, so I snuck a way again.” Tom said on shore.

Another amateur club sailor, Jim McMillan from Stokes Bay SC in the UK was a bit surprised to come ashore and see a 3rd & a 4th next to his name.

“I was pretty surprised actually to come away in the top 10 in my first Moth worlds race. I was actually a bit late for the start so I tacked off, banged the right-hand side and tacked to find I was leading at the windward mark.”

“But Tom Slingsby was very quick upwind and downwind, he got me on the second beat along with Tom Burton. But I was very happy to come away with a 3rd in my first worlds race.”

The Green fleet sailed in similar conditions to the Blue fleet, very light and patchy. This fleet was randomly loaded with three former world Moth champions. One of the hot regatta favourites, Paul Goodison (GBR) wasted no time chalking up two wins although he was made to work for it.

Behind him, ‘Pistol’ Peter Burling (NZL) was back out after some minor surgery over night in the Moth hospital. Pete was breathing down ‘Goody’s’ neck finishing the day with a 2,3.

The third former world champion, Josh Mcknight (AUS) sailing his own design of Moth finished the day with a very respectable 4,4. In this group, a number of sailors had one good score and one slightly average score but the conditions for the Blue and Green groups were tough even for the top pros.

The Qualification Series racing continues on Thursday 27 July with another early start for the Green and Blue groups of 08.30hrs (local time). Red and Yellow groups will not be sent afloat before 0945hrs. The intention of the PRO is to try and get at least 2 races per fleet completed.

Results: www.mothworlds.org/malcesine/results/

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page

2017 Moth Worlds – Day 1: Mother nature disrupts play

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By Jonny Fullerton

Even at one of the most glamorous of sailing venues sometimes mother nature intervenes. A series of summer thunderstorms caused havoc with the regular breezes on Lake Garda putting an end to any chance of racing on day one of the McDougall + McConaghy Moth Worlds.

On Monday evening at a colourful opening ceremony where the local Fraglia Vela Malcesine club Optimist team kids acted as the 25 nation flag bearers, proudly parading through the streets of Malcesine to an opening ceremony at the picturesque Castello Scaligero, but the black clouds and thunder storms threatened.

Early on Tuesday morning for race day one, the weather was looking good. The morning Pelèr was blasting down the lake from the North with white water and clear skies. But as the first two groups of the fleet of 220 boats prepared to launch, some black clouds streamed in over the mountains threatening some wild summer thunder storm activity. The two race areas were experiencing big shifts in the breeze and anything between 2 knots and 15 knots.

The Yellow fleet did get into a start sequence but a big shift minutes before the start put and end to any chance of racing. Then a huge black thunder cloud loomed over the horizon from Riva del Garda shutting down the breeze and sending some impressive lightning displays over the lake.

Race Management had no choice but to ere on the side of caution and send the fleet home for safety reasons. Once the storms had cleared the skies cleared, the sun came out for a glorious evening but alas the breeze had shut down for the day.

The revised schedule for the Qualifying Series on Wednesday 26 July is for an early start for two groups (Red and Yellow) of 8.25am (local time). Blue and Green groups will not start before 10.00hrs (local time).

Photos and more on Moth Worlds Facebook page