The Science Behind Moths
Foiling
The first significant development of foiling in the sport of sailing was David Keiper’s foiling trimaran ‘Williwaw’ which cruised many nautical miles around the Pacific. Then, in 1980, Éric Tabarly sailed the foiling trimaran ‘Paul Ricard’ across the Atlantic. Later, at the turn of the millennium, we saw the first signs of foiling sailboats performing well on the race course with the Moth pioneering the concept and first putting it into action.
Ocean Racing
Foils can even be used on huge and very powerful ocean racing boats such as this Imoca60, Team Malizia Sea Explorer. As if the new PRB IMOCA 60 were not eye-catching enough, the story behind it is truly remarkable. The reason Kevin Escoffier needed a new IMOCA in a hurry is well documented: in early December 2020 Escoffier was racing in the Vendée Globe around the world race, 800 miles south of Cape Town, when his previous PRB suddenly and catastrophically broke up. The previous PRB IMOCA 60, a 2009 Verdier-VPLP design that had been retrofitted with foils, sank without trace, leaving Escoffier not only without a boat, but also without answers as to why his yacht had broken up. One thing not in doubt, however, was his determination to start the 2024 Vendée Globe. His sponsors were quick to affirm their support – pledging new backing even before Escoffier had landed ashore after his rescue. Immediately after the 2020/21 Vendée Globe, however, the IMOCA 60 market was white-hot, thanks partly to the strong performance of previous generation designs driving a rush to buy competitive existing boats. Meanwhile a number of skippers preparing a 2024 campaign had already secured build slots for new IMOCAs. However, there was one boat which was available – a Verdier-design that had originally been created as a fully crewed boat for The Ocean Race. It was in build at Carrington Boats in the UK, before a change of circumstances saw the project paused. Escoffier’s team bought the hull, finishing the build in the UK before shipping it to Lorient for final fit out and launching.
Nacra17 Crash
When foils go wrong they go very wrong.....these unfortunate Nacra 17 sailors let the bows go down. And when the boat stops you just keep going until you hit the end of the wire. The video this clip came from went viral in minutes!
