Extreme Sailing Series
Last weekend, Sydney hosted the final of the Extreme Sailing Series. Regular readers may remember that last year I was lucky enough to get a ride on one of the boats. This year, I was confined to the shore, but the boats themselves have taken a leap forward.
The Extreme 40 catamarans of last year have been replaced by foiling GC32s - slightly shorter, but able to lift themselves up out of the water using hydrofoils on their rudders and daggerboards.
Combined with the short-course "stadium" racing format, this makes for some spectacular sailing...
Sometimes, the boats seemed to be under amazing control as they flew over the water.
Other times, they weren't in control at all...
Over the last decade or so, foiling has come a long way. Once, sailing boats were divided between "displacing" hulls (which pushed their way through the water) and "planing" hulls, which skimmed over the top. Now, the division is really between "foiling" and everything else.
The Extreme 40 catamarans of last year have been replaced by foiling GC32s - slightly shorter, but able to lift themselves up out of the water using hydrofoils on their rudders and daggerboards.
Combined with the short-course "stadium" racing format, this makes for some spectacular sailing...
Sometimes, the boats seemed to be under amazing control as they flew over the water.
Other times, they weren't in control at all...
Over the last decade or so, foiling has come a long way. Once, sailing boats were divided between "displacing" hulls (which pushed their way through the water) and "planing" hulls, which skimmed over the top. Now, the division is really between "foiling" and everything else.