32 sailors contest Red Bull Foiling Generation in Auckland

by Red Bull Media 24 Feb 2018 01:19 PST 24 February 2018

Following two days of practice, it was time for the real competition to start on Auckland's Waitemata Harbour, in the search for the nation's top high performance youth sailors. Auckland, the City of Sails, turned on near perfect conditions for the 32 youth sailors of Red Bull Foiling Generation on Friday.

The wind was fresh and gusty at times, which meant the Flying Phantom boats the regatta uses were pushed to, and at times, over the limit. Energetic sailors from around New Zealand found their feet throughout the day, but not without some spectacular mishaps and capsizes. That’s what Foiling Generation is all about, though, foiling experience and steep learning curves. The risk will pay off for the New Zealand winners when they progress through to the World Final race in Miami later this year, facing other winning teams from France, USA, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Austria.

The day started early for the two-person crews, with Skipper’s briefing, boat preparation and launching to the race site all needing to be done before the real action starts. The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron who plays host to the event has an amazing location and facilities, which enables the sailors to start the day almost on the race course already.

There are four different courses officials can choose from, depending on the weather conditions. Today’s racing was right out front of the Squadron, which made for some great spectator action. The race boats remain on the water for the duration of the qualifying round while the coach boats swap out the sailors for each race.

The boats of Red Bull Foiling Generation are highly tuned racing machines that make the most of the wind on offer. They are difficult boats to sail, and the sailors really need to work hard to keep their boat speed consistent, which is considerably faster when up on the foil.

Young sailors with limited experience usually find the boat's limitations quickly, and today had more than their share of hairy moments - and a few capsizes when it really went wrong. The event crew work tirelessly through the regatta, constantly fixing any problems on the boats to keep them in top condition for the sailors. Often the work needs to or can be completed at sea to save precious race time.

“The sailing has been outstanding. The races we’ve been in has had breeze the whole time. We’re the heaviest crew here, so we really like it when there’s a bit of puff. The standard’s really high. You’re never a shoe-in for the win. You’re always fighting to stay in front.” - Josh

The racing continues over the next two days with the Repechage Rounds on Saturday and the Semi-Finals and Finals on Sunday.