Red Bull's Foiling Generation
Jumping on the bandwagon, or simply throwing their squillions behind the sport in support of it’s progression (depending on how you look at it) is Red Bull. They of course need no introduction because the energy drink company that changed the world, well, changed the world. They’re everywhere.
What they’ve done, is designed a racing series very similar to the incredibly successful Red Bull Air Race. A traveling world tour for only the most elite sailors, each athlete is hand picked by a selection team from Red Bull. The only requirement, is that the sailors are between the age of 16 and 20 years old! Called the ‘Foiling Generation’, the series title is an ode to the younger crew of sailors who have grown up on hydrofoils. The boats they’ll be sailing, 6m hydrofoiling catamarans are at the pinnacle of design and a true representation of the future of sailing. Capable of speeds in the 30 knot range, and crewed by two sailors on trapeze, they look like any other high performance catamaran, except they fly.
Designed by Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, the catamaran is called the Phantom and uses L foils in conjunction with T rudders for pitch control. They weigh 155kg rully rigged, and were developed from the Nacra F18, which the company used to make sails for. Already there’s a strong following in France, where the boats are designed, and the Phantoms are being used by Americas Cup teams for training as we speak!
Exciting times to come for youth sailing, all we need is a couple of the boats in Australia!
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