Foiling Week is the first event entirely dedicated to foiling boats, builders and designers for this specific sector. Anyone wondering what foiling is should know that we refer to the use of wings, attached to the hull of boats to obtain more planing speed and power.
The event was born in 2014 and represents a series of specific events and programs, including conferences, meetings between professionals, boat tests and the inevitable regatta. It’s an appointment that offers a guaranteed show to sailors and spectators from all over the world!
This year’s edition, on the 10th anniversary, is surrounded by special partners, among which Torqeedo stands out, ready to support the innovative design of boats and applied research at the Foiling Week on Lake Garda.
One of the central projects is that of electric foiling boats, which have great potential in terms of speed and unprecedented range, a perfect mix to aim for the diffusion of zero-emission mobility on water. But let’s see where the great intuition behind Foiling Week comes from, an event founded by Luca Rizzotti who has made it today a mix of commercial conference, high-tech fair and water trials.
Rizzotti from the America’s Cup to the expectations of Foiling Week
To understand the intentions, and the objectives of the Foiling Week, we need to introduce its founder: Rizzotti was born in Milan, from a family engaged in construction and it was in Australia that he found his professional success. To date, his main objective is to create a foiling district in an Italian city and above all to open the doors to eco-sustainable applications for engines.
His great passion was born during the America’s Cup in 2013, when he sailed aboard a 3.35-metre Moth foiling boat and where he saw a future made of great potential and technology applied to the nautical sector.
And that prediction wasn’t far or impossible: there are more and more boats ready to challenge every new obstacle, overcoming it with the help of high-performance features.
Foiling boats double the speed
Thinking about the characteristics of foiling boats, Rizzotti underlined that the purely electric autonomy can be doubled or tripled if we consider that these boats reduce resistance and displace less water during navigation.
The brand who has known the advantages of electric mobility for years is Torqeedo, as demonstrated by some spectacular electric foiling boats such as The Icon, a collaboration with BMW and the start-up Tyde, which is powered by Deep Blue electric motors and has a range of 500 kilometres.
Torqeedo is one of the key partners of Foiling Week and supports the event with a Torqeedo Tornado RIB powered by a Deep Blue 50 engine which is used as a judging and coaching boat.
These “boats with wings” move silently across the water at breathtaking speed. And the benefits they can offer by leveraging electric propulsion are truly numerous.
A perfect combination also for the environment
Foiling is a highly technological activity that has huge demands on materials and the willingness of sailors to innovate. In order to always keep up with the times (and it’s not just a matter of trend, that’s clear), the boat must be constantly updated, in order to respect the rapid technological changes of foiling boats.
The biggest foil boats today are quite unstable and decidedly impractical; only using computers, hydrodynamic simulations and sophisticated control systems can they be able to offer interesting performances. But if we are moving towards motorboats, the electric plays a key role: this type of drive, in fact, makes the boat faster, but that’s not all. Thanks to the on-board computer, the electrically adjustable flaps, the battery and the electric motor, every operation is easily optimized.
This combination is important not only in terms of performance, but also to respect the surroundings. Given the dramatic situation of climate change, it’s normal to think that the era of fossil fuels is almost over. And it is precisely here that sustainable alternatives can be positioned, ready to strive for performance and autonomy.
Foiling Week, future and students
There is another key Foiling Week initiative, and that is the SuMoth Challenge, founded by Argentinian Bruno Giuntoli. The purpose of this regatta is not only to attract boats with no emissions, but to attract hundreds of passionate young students who are involved in the construction of these vessels.
In this way this initiative offers the youngest the opportunity to experiment with new ideas, starting from recycled and even recyclable materials.
And who knows, maybe some of these solutions will end up attracting the attention of the “upper management”, to support the reference industry.