56 Breeze Magazine
FOILING FAMILY ANDREW AITKEN ANDY ANDERSON BEACON MARINE COLIN & PATRICA CARRAN COLOURWORX ROY DICKSON DODSON JAPANESE PARTSWORLD DOYLE SAILS GRAEME EDWARDS GERALD FLYNN MATTHEW FLYNN GALBRAITH FAMILY DON GRAYSON HARKEN NZ PHILLIP HART HOPMAN FAMILY ICEFIRE LTD KZ RACE FURLERS LIGHTHOUSE MARINE EQUIPMENT LUCAS FAMILY MIKE MAHONEY STEVE MAIR MCKEOGH FAMILY MULCAHY ENGINEERING DAVID NATHAN NEW WORLD BIRKENHEAD PAGANI PORK CHOP RACING ANDREW REID SAVINGS WORKS JOHN & KATHRYN SINCLAIR SOUTHERN SPARS/ RIGPRO WASHTECH WESTHAVEN ROTARY WINDOWMAKERS HUGH L WRIGHT YACHTING DEVELOPMENTS ZHIK
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Performance Programme team in training for Youth Foiling World Cup As part of their preparations for the 2nd edition of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup, Niall Malone and his Performance Programme crew have been tapping into top-level foiling expertise including Phil Robertson, an RNZYS Youth Programme graduate, three-times world match race champion and current SailGP skipper with the Spanish crew. The crew of Malone, Serena Woodall, Ollie Gilmour, Oliver Lloyd and manager Sam Hume were looking forward to their first hands-on experience of the Persico 69F foiling monohulls when they arrive for training days and practice racing in Miami. “We see the 69F and the YFGC as the first step in a totally new kind of sailing, and any access will give massive opportunities in the future – there’s more owner-driven monohull foiling circuits upcoming and we’re getting on the ground level,” said Niall. “Because of the size of these boats, they combine keelboat sailing without foiling in lower conditions” says Niall. “If it’s too light, we have been given a few tips that we need to be able sailing the Persico 69F like a normal boat instead of foiling.” Having a crew of four means the team can play with combinations onboard depending on the conditions, but Niall admits that without having sailed the class “there are still a lot of unknowns. “Understanding the moding challenges and the setups for the 69F will be the biggest learning curve,” says Niall. “The Moth class is the closest foiling monohull experience I’ve had, and that is foils only, so we will need to learn the transitions between foiling and not. We’ll also need to learn the 69F’s VMG angles, decide between using gennakers or twosailing, and adapt to the YFGC’s unconventional racecourse layouts.” Prior to their late January departure, the
team had a busy summer of training and preparation in Auckland. “Our training on water this summer has been all about adaptation and using the resources we have – the RNZYS foiling catamarans are much different to the Persico 69F monohulls we will be sailing,”, says Niall. “We’ve also been targeting specific workons for our crew. For example, Serena Woodall has been learning trimming the main on a foiling boat, but our team has been gelling really well – we’re stoked with the progression we’ve made and confidence is high”. Niall, Serena, Ollie and Oliver have also been training off-water together and going to the gym as a team. Getting the team dynamic right early has been key for Niall, “as we hope to be spending 24 hours a day for the next year together” with qualification for the finals series in December being the goal for the team. Serena has already shown great form this summer, as part of the 2021 New Zealand Women’s Match Racing Championship winning 2.0 Racing crew. However, Malone understands they will be coming in as the fresh crew into a series where many of the teams have already had experience with the Youth Foiling Gold Cup and the Persico 69F class. “The first few regattas will be based on learning the boats and not compromising too much in taking risks. Our goal early on is to sail well without much risk taking.”The aim of this expedition into the YFGC is to create pathways for the crew to get seats in the 37th America’s Cup Regatta, with Serena aiming for the Women’s America’s Cup and Niall, Oliver, and Ollie after seats in the Youth America’s Cup. However, the team isn’t piling the pressure on themselves and are “focusing on sailing, not results – hopefully focusing on the sailing will bring results”.
