Gonet Monofoil enters the great Lake Geneva classics

Gonet Monofoil © Loris Von Siebenthal

After a month of tests and tuning on Lake Lucerne, the Gonet Monofoil is now ready to race the Lake Geneva classics starting with the Geneva-Rolle-Geneva this weekend and followed by the Bol d'Or Mirabaud on the 9 June.

"We are still far from reaching the full potential of the Gonet Monofoil," said designer Eric Monnin. "But we have come a long way in the last few weeks and have made some changes, including lightening the keel bulb. We are now looking forward to doing some racing on Lake Geneva!"

The initial testing phase has given the team an opportunity to learn a great deal, most importantly, that the boat is very well built and can withstand heavy weather conditions. "The behaviour of the boat in flight is very good, even at 25 knots, we have never felt insecure. The boat is very stable and can sail in high winds without issues," said Monnin.

In theory, the Gonet Monofoil has the potential to win the Lake Geneva classics, but the skipper is reluctant to add any pressure. "We are approaching these events in the spirit of pioneers," said Monnin. "If the weather conditions are favourable, we will aim for a good result, but our goal is to validate our design choices and to analyse and compare our performance against other race boats. Besides, we have never sailed in waves and we know we will suffer against the big sailing boats in medium conditions when we are unable to foil."

The Gonet Monofoil is a highly technical concept that foreshadows the next generation of America's Cup boats. The project is supported by Gonet & Cie SA, with offices in Geneva and Lausanne.

Technical specifications:

• LOA: 8m
  
• Beam: 2.5m
  
• Displacement (empty): 850kg
  
• Mast height: 12.2m
  
• Mainsail area: 32m2
  
• Headsail area: 16m2
  
• Gennaker area: 50m2