SailGP Formula 50 foiling catamaran regatta/racing news...
Racing just took place in Valencia Spain. Like always it was great racing and if you're an American the result was perfect. Team USA in this series, before the final had the following results: One 2nd and two 3rd place finishes, and one first place in the last race of the series. These results put them into 3rd place overall allowing them to be in the series final. It's all about consistency.
In the finally it was Australia, Italy, and America. In the end via some great tactics team USA was able to squeak out the win. Watch the Final below versus me boring about it.
For sailors wanting to learn the rules... Watching this type of racing helps one learn the rules of sailing, while having some fun doing so. SailGP is actually the only sailboat racing that is consistently viewed worldwide. Learn why its popular by watching it yourself...
Well, well the SailGP Team USA finally did it, they won the
racing series championships in Australia by being consistent on both days of
racing. Seem the USA athletes and teams are winning a lot lately. In the Winter
Olympics Team USA won the women’s and men’s Hockey Gold, among many other wins.
It was another Miracle on Ice for men’s Hockey. And now a great win for SailGP Team USA.
This was not the SailGP racing series grand prix final for
the season, but was a series win in Australia. This is a big win on their way
to a more consistent season than in 2025, which was quite disastrous for them. They now sit 3rd on the leader board out of 12 teams. Seems
the growing pains for this new team have molded them into a winning team. Congratulations Team USA!
The wind in Australia was very inconsistent on the 2nd day of racing, but SailGP Team
USA was masterful, particularly in the final with a great start and with masterful
tactics. They were able to create a
significant lead over the two other boats in the final, Great Britian 2nd
and Spain 3d place.
So, a quick update on SailGP Racing. Racing like always was tight and competitive. The good news is Team USA almost got 3rd place overall for this series. If they had not received a black flag, indicating they made a major mistake with impeding other boats at the start of one of the races they would have been in the final. Currently due to all the penalties received in previous racing series they can in no way get into the big grand slam finally at the end of the season, but they can work on improving so they are ready for next season, which they are doing. Good on them, great attitudes.
Team Germany due to their consistent racing won in the end. They won the final with room to spare over the 2nd place boat, Team Australia. 3rd place went to Team Switzerland.
Team Brazil had a boat failure, that did not allow them to race.
RESULTS...Feb 18-19, 2025, Sydney Harbor Australia
With 2 days of racing team Australia was set to win it all with 2 wins on the first day of racing, and with a series of top finishes on day 2, however due to penalty at the start of the final, they did not recover, coming in 3rd out of 3 teams. Team Britian had great finishes on both days of racing, they won it all in the end, with Canada coming in second.
It appears to me that the new forward T-Foils that replaced the L-Foils used for the first time in this race series seemed to perform well in all conditions, particularly in the strong winds over previous racing all the teams seemed to have better control. The T-Foils also produced better tops speeds.
The bad news is team USA continues to underperform. They outdid their previous horrible performances by not even being able to race due to capsizing on a practice day while not sailing, that is right, they were not even racing or practice sailing in any capacity. They were being towed and one of their idiot crew members allowed the wing to power up and not only capsize but to significantly damage the wing. So, they are the first team to get the Darwin award. On top of that SailGP penalized them 8 points for their stupidity because the capsize was avoidable (read the full story here). If I sound annoyed, that is an understatement. My official position is to cancel this whole team and start new. There is no reason team USA cannot be a top team, but they need to get the right team, like get some sailors who know how to sail a high-performance multihull, not employ a bunch of so slow mo monohull sailors. So, stay tuned, who knows maybe they can get their act together, but at this point I do not have much hope. I should note they did place 3rd in the first racing series of the year, so maybe there is hope.
102 kph, watch the video
In San Fransico Bay on November 15, 2024 SailGP engineers and support crew tested the new T-Foils with the help of team Canada on their F50, they hit for the first time 100+ kph (101.98 or basically 102 kph / 55 knots / 63 mph). Previously Team New Zealand hit 97.2 / 52 knots / 60 mph on Jan 13 in Waitematā Harbour in Auckland. It will be curious to see which SailGP team hits 100 kph / 54 knots / 62 mph during actual racing. We will report it here when it happens.
Amazing Atlantic Ocean racing in the Transat. Great video. Just turn off the sound (keep the sound on the first time you watch so you know what's going on) and put it on your big screen TV and let it play over and over. Relaxing's to watch.
Racing series for SailGP and their F50 foiling catamaran happens almost via monthly events. Watch live on Youtube or at SailGP.com website. Amazing to watch, support your team, gain a fun new sport to watch, and/or learn about sailboat racing/regattas. Visit SailGP.com
Team USA pulled off the victory in the series over the weekend (Oct 14-15) in Andalucia-Cadiz Spain. Team USA was very consistent over each race on Saturday and Sunday that result in them being in the final on Sunday with the teams Demark and Australia. Team USA did not have a great start in the final but then outsailed the other two teams giving them a big lead through much of the race.
Next racing series takes place in Dubai Dec 9-10, 2023.
SailGP first race for Season 4 took place in Chicago Illinois USA, New Zealand won this series over its close rival Australia (overall winner for 3 seasons) who took 2nd place, followed by Canada (3rd) with skipper Phil Robinson (not Canadian). Phil is one of my favorite sailors. Team USA like always struggled to be consistent finishing 9th overall out of 10 boats. I hope at some point Team USA can figure out what they are doing wrong.
Next top is Saint-Tropez France on September 9-10, 2023.
Great weekend of SailGP Formula 50 racing in Spain just took place on 9/24-25/2022. Very challenging conditions both days but in the end, it came down to a three-way battle between the Americans, Franch, and Australians. France won by just a boat length over the Americans to win the series. This was the closest finish in SailGP history.
Check out both days of racing in the below videos. For quick review check out the highlights vido. Learn more about SailGP racing at SailGP.com.
FINALLY, Team USA won the final in Fance over last weekend. They have been pretty consistent but in several series of recent they came in at the bottom of the fleet. This last weekend they were in the top spots winning several firsts, with a second, and third finish out of 8 boats being their lowest finish. Seems they figured out what issues they were having and fixed it. Congratulations Team USA!
Also, team France hit 62 mph or 99.9 kph, which equals 53.9 knots. The goal for all teams racing these SailGP F50 catamarans is to be the first to hit 54 knots or100 kph. So close! Anyone want to guess who will hit this goal first? I am thinking wither team USA, or Aux, or NZL.
2 months of SailGP racing and team New Zealand has won it all.
On the weekend of July 00-00 for the first time New Zealand won it all, with Australia still doing pretty good with 2nd place. Team USA did average with a 7th place finish out of 9 boats. Seems team USA needs to figure out something to improve their performance.
On August 20 there was only one day of racing due to no wind on Friday Aug 19. Team New Zealand won all the races including the big final against France and Denmark. Australia finished 4th just missing out on the final for the first time in 6 events. Team USA finished better with a 5th finish overall.
SailGP came to Chicago for the first time on June 18-19 and was also the first time the F50's have raced on fresh water. The result was the same as many races before with Tom Slingsby and his all-Australia team winning again. Canada with their Australian skipper/driver Phil Robertson came in 2nd with great results throughout the weekend of racing, followed closely by Great Britain, with it's full British team skippered by Sir Ben Ainslie.
What many are wondering is what in the world is going on with team USA skippered by Jimmy Spithill. They finished 8th overall and never seemed to get good starts or good overall speed, etc. If they cannot get their better results, there certainly will be changes on that team.
Chicago turned out to be an ideal location for racing with its near shore stadium racing and large enthusiastic crowd. SailGP will certainly return in 2023.
The new 2022/23 SailGP season started this last weekend (May 14-15) with a bang. This new season there are 10 boats instead of 8 making starts and mark rounding's certainly more exciting. With ten 50-foot foiling catamarans all trying to hit the start at the same time it made for some interesting viewing.
Team USA is in the top 5, still not keeping pace with the Australian (1st overall) and the top teams. Team Canada skippered by Phil Robertson from New Zealand showed some excellent skill getting 2nd overall, and Team Great Britian 3rd overall. I am always rooting for team USA, but they certainly need to kick it up a notch or two if they are to be seasonal final in 2023.
Here is a high light video. Visit SailGP.com to watch the full racing videos.
Season 2 is done, and team Australia won it all again (2nd time). What is their key to success? 1. They hit the starts of each race typically full speed on their foils and with a few seconds to spare after the start gun goes off, whereas the other teams seem to want to hit the start like a monohull right as the gun goes off not at full speed. 2. Australia's top speed is consistently faster than the other teams, meaning they have their boat dialed in better than the others. Until the other teams do better in these 2 areas Australia will continue to win.
My hat is off to team USA as they had major challenges this season due to other boats seeming to run into them over and over, which happened again on that last day before the final. Luckily the damage to team USA's boat was repairable before the final.
Team Japan got 2nd in the final race again (3 teams qualify for the big final). They also are a consistent team. Let's hope next year more teams will be dialed in and learn from team Australia.
This year there were 8 teams racing but next year there will be 10, make for even more exiting racing.
Season 3 (2022-23) starts very quickly this May 14-15 (2022) in Bermuda, then in June in Chicago, and so on finishing again in San Francisco on May 6-7, 2023. Learn more by staying tuned here at FunToSAIL.com or for even more information at SailGP.com
Today (3/22/22) while all the SailGP teams were out practicing on San Fransico Bay for this weekend's grand final Team USA capsized as seen in this video. All on board were ok and the boats is not damaged.
Happy Pioneer Day at Pineview Reservoir in Utah. A new Hobie 16 in Utah, one of many. Seems the Hobie Fleet is growing again in Utah. Fleets are also growing in Southern Idaho, North Idaho and Eastern WA, and Montana. Connect with a Hobie Fleet at accesstooutdoors@gmail.com . Also if you sail non Hobie Cats either multihull or monohull use the same email to learn more.
Also SailGP racing finished up just this last week. Team Australia is back on top but Team USA has raced in the last two series finals. Many expect Team USA to win one of the series finals soon. Skipper Jimmy Spithill knows how to win and make a boat go fast. This is his first season with SailGP and Jimmy is showing amazing results in a very talented field of sailors. Here is the highlights video.
More amazing racing via Sail Grand Prix (sailgp.com). With Jimmy Spithill (Bull Dog) as skipper aboard team USA boat, they did really well this series with two wins. Unfortunately in the final they broke a rudder, not allowing them to finish the race. Japan overall has the most wins and won the final. Good news is there is more racing to come, with the Grand Final in March of 2022. Next racing series is in Great Britain in July.
Here is a high lights video. Watch all the racing via the below links to youtube
There is an interesting development in the world of catamaran sailing... the disappearance of in-the-water racing catamaran still in production. Catamarans that do not lift out of the water via hydro foils.
For years the Hobie 16 has been the staple of one-design catamaran racing and recreational sailing, plus is known for its wild ride in strong winds. Other catamaran designs to a slightly or much less degree have had a good showing in race turn out. Many designs have come and gone since the Hobie 16 was introduced (1972-present). From the 1970's in-the-water beach cats has been the ticket for speed and hull flying fun but that all changed with the development of foiling trimarans and catamarans (foilers) such as the Flying Phantom, Nacra 17, or iFly, etc. We have seen many Hobie Cat and Prindle/Nacra models, the Olympic Tornado (replaced by the foiling Nacra 17), and others die over the years, and die more quickly recently due to foiling cats. Production of foiling cats started to appear in 2010, but took off sales and racing wise in 2013 when the Americas Cup was using large foiling cats. This was the nail in the coffin for all in-the-water racing cats other than the Hobie 16.
Recreational cats (not typically used for racing) however have not been affected by foilers because they are low cost and low maintenance boats such as the Hobie Getaway or RS cat, but they are not good for high end racing. Even though Foiling cats are amazing to sail due primarily to their speed, the down side is high cost and maintenance. Building a foiler is a lot like building an airplane and so one should not expect an airplane to cost the same as an hang-glider. Plus hydro foils are like wings that require constant maintenance, if the foils get nicked and/or rough the foil like a wing will not develop good lift.
So why is a 1972 cat design (slight upgrades over the years, particularly in 1996) surviving the modern world of foiling cats? It is four fold, It's the best by far in the surf, great low maintenance recreational sailboat, is an ideal in-the-water racing cat, and exciting to sail. In addition the Hobie 16 has years of promotion and has been the most popular beach catamaran sense its introduction. And interesting to note the Hobie 16 world championships still has the best attendance of any catamaran class.
And one final note the Hobie 16 is the only cat used for accessible/disAbled sailing via adding adaptive wings seats to each side of the boat called Trapseats.
So if you want to enjoy fun racing on a classic catamaran, surf, etc. then Hobie 16 is your cat.
PS: Hobie 16 North Americans Championships. June 6-11, 2021; Ocean Springs YC, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Click here to learn more!
Inland NW (N ID, E WA, NW MT) Hobie Regatta and Events contact Miles Moore at accesstooutdoors@gmail.com or see FunToSAIL calendar.
See King of the Foilers video below after reading this article. Take what you hear on the video with a grain of salt. Also more videos below that.
To foil or not to foil that is the question? Or that is the question I get often. My answer to the question is simply. It depends on if 5-10 more knots of speed, more maintenance, and high cost is worth it to you.
We call sailboats that foil, Foilers. A Foiler that has just a single rear and forward foil (two foils) means that boat will be much more unstable to sail versus a boat with 3 foils or 4 foils. A foiling windsufer set up has one foil, so much more challenging to balance. On inland waters where winds typically shift a lot and come and go, I would not recommend a 2 foil boat. And if you are not in good shape, particularly do not have strong abb muscles and/or have back problems then 2 foil boats is a bad idea and one foil even a worse. 2 foil boats like the UFO and Wasp or Moth are fun boats when the winds are consistent and you have the strength to handle the boat. But if you do not have either of these then such Foilers will be a nightmare to sail.
A 3 or 4 foil boat will be far more stable. Some new foiling monohulls have 3 foils along with some trimarans, foiling multihulls will have 4 foils. One has to realize when sailing upwind a 4 foil boat will basically be foiling on 2 foils, however if the wind is coming and going, the windward foils will come into play resulting in more stability. Still any foiling boat when on the foils is going to be less stable than an in-the-water sailboat.
Also if you sail in an area with lots of weeds in the water it will be no fun to constantly pull the weeds off your foils. So if you do buy a Foiler you will want to buy one where you can reach the foils to remove stuff off them. With some foiling boats the foils do not lift up easily (or at all) for you to reach, so its something to really take into consideration before you buy one.
One most also realize with more speed comes more pain. If the boat pitch-poles you will be thrown forward with force and if you hit any part of the boat its likely to hurt, and hurt a lot. This pain can be mitigated by sailing a Foiler where you sit in a cockpit like the Hobie TriFoiler or Windrider Rave, both of which are super stable. These Foilers that do not require hiking out or trapezing. If you have to hike out or trapeze be ready for some wild trips when you are thrown through the air... It will happen!
Also remember maintenance will always be much more work with a Foiler, primarily due to the need to keep the foils in good shape. If you hit something while foiling, at high speeds, realize you will likely brake a foil and possibility parts of your boat. Again you may brake you as well, not fun.
So to Foil or not to Foil is actually a simple question. Again if you need more speed, and are ok with higher maintenance and cost, and possibility some physical pain then why not?
A down side to the current market related to Foilers it that they may not stay in production. That is a problem when you need parts, particularly the specific foils design for that boat. Currently the Wasp is likely the only boat that will be around for a while, maybe the UFO also, both of which are 2 foil boats. As for 3-4 foil boats, if remains to be seen which design will catch on and remain. There are some foil kits for boats like the Laser, but again who knows if these kits will stick around. I will keep you up to date on Foilers as I continue to monitor the market.
Foiling is here to stay but likely after the newness of it passes it will become a small market as compared to in-the-water sailboats. Likely foiling will primarily be for racing and even then will be a small component of racing.
As for me I am sticking with my Hobie 16 and and Corsair. I will grab onto a Foiler if ever one proves to be fun to sail in on and off again winds. Right now I like the Whisper and Phantom Cat, Wasp, and foil windsurfing.
The following Foiling boats are not in any particular order...
Many monohull designs to choose from (2 foils). Google foiling monohull dinghies.
See the pictured boat called the Skeeta at this link https://bit.ly/349BQtE
