Foiling Week Garda – Preview

by Foiling Week on 3 Jul 2017 On Thursday, July 6th, sailing begins at the first Foiling Week of 2017 at Fraglia Malcesine. The fourth season of Foiling Week is scheduled for another three events after Malcesine, with Foiling Weeks in Miami, Punta del Este and Sydney.

Foiling Week Garda this year is enriched with an Expo, Trial and Experience Camp. At the usual morning Forum programme and the afternoon races, the major foiling boat manufacturers will show and demonstrate their creations throughout the day.

The Waszp and the Foiling 101 monohulls, the catamarans S9, iFly 15, Whisper and the electric boats by BMW and Torqueedo will be the main attractions for the public, who will be able to see and try the foiling experience first hand.

This year the Gurit FW Forum has three main themes, ‘Safety, Sustainability and Accessibility’. These topics will be the key drivers for three days of the Forum from Thursday to Saturday.

Every morning a round-table will open the Forum's work and will be followed by presentations and comparisons where the protagonists of foiling will bring experiences and projects related to the main discussions of the day.

Safety
Safety is one of the most urgent issues currently being debated with regard to foiling. Are the racing rules for traditional sailing boats still adequate?
Foiling boats have amazing high speeds, much bigger than those for which the rules have been written. The protagonists of the last America's Cup will explain how they are going to make the change and the first experiences they encountered in Bermuda.

Sustainability
Sustainability is the theme for which Foiling Week is most fond of. A conscious way of dealing with the sport of sailing which is ecological by its very nature.

There are habits of life that even sailors tend to underestimate. Avoiding waste by not using plastic bottles, conscious use of fresh water to wash boats and equipment, differentiating waste products, are just some of the actions being introduced to improve life on our planet whilst participating in our favourite sport.

With this theme, the forum seeks to analyse what sustainability policies the foiling industry is implementing and what projects are going to bring the technological avant-garde of foiling into production, making it sustainable and ecological.

To further sustainability support, Foiling Week, with its partner BMW, has launched a reward programme for those who come by car to race. If two or more crews come with the same car they will receive a prize of 50 Euro and the free use of BMW's e-bikes for travel between the club and the hotel or camping site where the crews reside.

Accessibility
Until now foiling has been largely only an option for expert sailors. This is the theme of the last day of the Forum to identify which strategies the market is implementing to bring ‘the third mode of sailing’ to beginners and disabled people. Foiling Week together with Persico Marine yard set up a foiling boat project for disabled sailors.

Foiling also wants to be a lever to promote sailing amongst women. Sailing has always been a boon for men but now is the time that sailing opens its doors to the female audience.

At Foiling Week Garda, with the support of GAC Pindar, Jo Aleh and Josie Gliddon of the Team Magenta Project, after a Volvo Ocean Race and two seasons of the Extreme Sailing Series, witness how to be competitive in a mainly ‘masculine’ sport like sailing.

Fun Downwind Race - Friday
Thanks to Marlow and Slam, racing will include a fun downwind competition. On Friday, July 7, in addition to class races, Flying Phantom, S9 and A Class catamarans and the monohulls Moth, Waszp, Prototypes, Kite foil and Wind foil will race on a 24-mile race course. All against everyone, without class distinction, to determine the fastest boat and the best sailor.

Class Racing - From Thursday to Sunday

Competitions represent the afternoon program of Foiling Week Garda. Many professional sailors are found sailing foiling boats. The sharing domain that Foiling Week has created, transforms the environment so that you can admire Olympic champions and America's Cup professionals exchanging experiences and secrets with Sunday sailors and amateurs.

Foiling Week is one of the few events where you can appreciate how the passion for sport places everyone at the same level, being here broadens horizons and encourages the experience.

Foiling Week is the event for every passionate sailor looking for an intense and exciting experience whilst sailing 3.0!