Andy Rice
DINGHIES
J
ust a few days back home in
the chill of the UK after the
ACO Musto Skiff Worlds
in Australia, and it was a
72-hour trip to Florida to
do some on the water commentary
at Sailing’s World Cup Miami. After
enduring some fairly ho-hum weather
for the previous two World Cup events
last year in Spain and Japan, Miami
really turned it on for the final two
days of Medal Race competition.
The Brits absolutely stormed it, not
least Giles Scott who seems able to do
just what Ben Ainslie used to do – take a
couple of years out doing America’s Cup
stuff and then get right back in where
he left off. At the top, and dominant. As
Giles put it, getting back in the Finn was
like putting on a pair of comfy slippers.
There is nothing comfy about the
foiling Nacra 17. When I interviewed the
runaway winner of Miami, Australian
crew Lisa Darmanin (who campaigns
with fellow Rio silver medallist Jason
Waterhouse), she said they used to
think the old semi-foiling version of the
Nacra 17 was crazy, but it’s got nothing
on the high-octane foiling version. It
was easy to spot that most of the crews
were backing off downwind, trying to
nurse their boats safely across the finish
line. But 56-year-old Rio gold medallist
Santi Lange with his athletic crew Cecilia
Carranza Saroli absolutely sent it down
the final run, overtaking about five
boats as the Argentineans hyperspaced
into silver medal position. The hero of
Rio continues to impress. For the most
part, Lange’s age, fear and a sense of
self-preservation tends to prevail over
the urge to just send it but not this day.
There’s no doubt the Nacra 17 is the
hardest boat in the Olympic line-up,
maybe the hardest boat out there, bar
none! Reigning world champions, Ben
Saxton and Katie Dabson, made a slow
start to the regatta but the Brits were
on a charge in the Medal Race until
Katie fell off the boat during a gybe.
Ben did an incredible job of getting the
kite down singlehanded and turning
the boat around to pick up his crew inFrom the Nacra 17 to the SuperFoiler, there have been thrills and spills aplenty
this month – and you can’t help but marvel at the courage on displayZealand skipper, Glenn Ashby – have
dominated the competition, winning
almost every race of every event. They
are the only team that can claim any
kind of mastery over the SuperFoiler; the
other crews can string their moments
together, and then, out of nowhere, a
big almighty crash. Some of the boats
have taken a beating too, ripping off
the transom in one case, although
thankfully no major injuries to date.
The recent publication of the Foiling
Dinghy Book by Fernhurst Books is a
timely reminder that you don’t have to
put your head in the lion’s mouth every
time you go foiling if you don’t want
to. If there is one omission from what
is an otherwise excellent book by Alan
Hillman, it’s that there is no guide to
sailing the kind of fixed-foil boats that
I’ve already referred to, which rely on the
self-levelling design of their curved foils
to regulate ride height. Instead Alan has
focused on the dinghies that have a ride-
height feedback mechanism – the wand-
and-flap system pioneered over a decade
ago by the Moths. Alan is also part of the
team behind the F101. This innovative
boat (monohull, trimaran? Does it even
matter?) is all about getting first-time
foilers up and running (see test page 60).
If you had thought foiling was beyond
you, have a read of Fernhurst’s great
how-to guide and think again.Musto Skiff sailor
Andy Rice has
unparalleled
knowledge of
the dinghy sailing
scene, from
grassroots to
Olympic levelthe water. But he struggled to control
the speed and sailed over the top of
Katie faster than he would have liked.
Fortunately Katie got back on the boat
unscathed and they completed the race.
Just a few days after Miami however,
and news emerged from New Zealand
that Danish sailor CP Lübeck had
required surgery after falling overboard
when his trapeze gear failed, getting
caught by the fast-moving T-foil rudder
of the Nacra 17. Fortunately it looks like
CP, who represented Denmark in the
49er at Rio 2016, will be back sailing
soon. And the severing of three fingers
last year while training in Miami hasn’t
held back USA’s Rio representative Bora
Gulari who is back competing again.
That incident started with a nosedive
and Bora flying around the front of
the boat; unfortunately with a wrap of
traveller line around his hand, three
of his fingers were left behind while
the rest of his body flew forwards.
You really do have to admire the guts
and courage of these sailors to take on
such a challenge. The same goes for the
crews competing on the new SuperFoiler
Grand Prix that’s just started in Australia.
The America’s Cup ‘dream team’
racing on board Euroflex – comprised
of multiple 49er world and Olympic
medallists Nathan Outteridge and
Iain Jensen, with Emirates Team NewAbove
Ashby, Outteridge
and Jensen are the
only team to claim
some mastery of
the SuperFoilerANDREA FRANCOLINI/SUPERFOILER GP
The other crews can string their moments together,
and then, out of nowhere, a big almighty crash
April 2018 Yachts & Yachting 17