Foiling boat for 2020 Olympics but could changes go further?

Who would argue against having a foiling class at the Olympics? Given the rise in popularity of foiling designs for major events, it’s little surprise that Nacra is testing new foiling platforms for the Olympic mixed multihull class, the Nacra 17.

Nacra was asked to look into moving the cat towards full foiling by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by the World Sailing Equipment Committee. The development project has now seen two different models (one with C foils, another with Z foils and T-rudders) undergoing trials (pictured right).

Tom Phipps, one of the test sailors, commented: “While hugely challenging, it’s definitely how I would like to take my sailing and where I think Olympic sailing should go.”

But, is a foiling catamaran enough of a change? Mark Turner, who is well-known for his revolutionary ideas and approach to sailing events, revealed that he was asked to work on a proposal for ISAF (now World Sailing) in 2013, but never given the opportunity to present it. Instead he has updated those ideas in a public blog with recommendations that include a foiling catamaran, although a four-man design such as the GC32 rather than the Nacra doublehander.

“TV [would] love it,” he wrote, “Lots of races, as we learnt in the Extreme Sailing