The French Windfoil Cup took place this year just after the U15s French Windsurf Championships. The Cup was open to those competing at the French Windsurf Championships. Not surprisingly, 35 dyed-in-the-wool windsurfers signed up!
One of the main objectives of this French Cup was as a mechanism for teaching kids to windfoil, also as a race-situation training exercise, using this board in a variety of race formats, some mostly fun, some more serious.
“After the U15s French Windsurf Championships, using Techno 293 boards, the FFV (French Sailing Federation) wants to bring those U15s in to racing in different disciplines, all linked together, foil, slalom, daggerboard.” explains Julien Magurno, the FFV’s Technical Director. “That’s why we created this Cup competition 2 years ago, mainly as means of training up our youngest sailors in all the latest sail formats, obviously learning windfoiling in this instance, but also learning to use the foil in different race formats and situations that only the foil makes possible.”
TWF130, the perfect « Shared-Fleet » option
In collaboration with TAHE, 30 complete pack Techno Wind Foil 130s were available to the young racers. The board the FFV decided on, having put out an invitation to all the major manufacturers.
“The FFV decided on TAHE after they put out an invitation to all the big brands to pitch for the option” explains Christophe Bloch, TAHE’s Commercial Director. “We were there last year, and we wanted to be part of things again this year, especially given the French Cup committee’s enthusiasm.
We’ve been working very closely with the FFV for many years in various disciplines, and we were happy to confirm back in April this year the 30 130 Wind Foil Shared-Fleet boards, plus a member of our technical team for the competition.”
This board is very much appreciated for its multi-discipline capacities. But also for its accessibility and tough build. It gives you a great all-round performance to help you discover the pleasure of foiling and simply having fun on the water, an excellent compromise for training and bringing on the new generation of racers/sailors. “This product satisfies all the requirements for today’s U15s. Whether it’s the board, the foil or the sail, it’s an all-in-one pack that enables riders to enjoy learning and progressing their windfoil skills. And the board is hugely versatile, giving you the option to foil or slalom depending on the conditions. The feedback is all positive, from our side and from the young sailors we’ve built it for. I’m overjoyed to be here watching all these kids having a great blast and enjoying foil riding. It’s a great opportunity for all concerned.”
Full-on for 18 races
The kids were totally up for the Foil racing concept and you could see it in their eyes! Friday afternoon was devoted to adapting to the new rig for some, or learning from scratch for others. They were blessed with perfect windfoiling conditions: sunny skies and 12 knots of wind. After which the committee decided to run two races for the two groups (lucky dip done at registration), opting for a classic “America’s Cup” course on the first day.
The wind took its time getting up on Saturday on Lake Carcans. Nevertheless, at 2pm the riders were sent out to try the slalom format/option! In heats of 8 or 9 racers, the first 5 qualified for the semi-finals, then the top 5 from each semi, to set up a 10 racer final. In the end 18 races were run, and both groups got all the way to their finals. They got back to the beach at 7.30 in the evening, smiley faces all round and a good night’s sleep to come!
Sunday was all set for a 1pm start and three rounds of “T” races: Side wind, down wind, upwind, then side wind to the finish line! Unfortunately, in the last 5 minutes before start and just 3 seconds from the start hooter, the wind dropped away completely, flags were waved and racing was cancelled due to lack of wind. Monday was no better and so everyone, competitors, coaches and committee, agreed to award the prizes on the basis of Sunday’s results.
A popular new race format
After her 4 races, Zoe Palot of the YCPR club took the girls’ title, adding to that with an excellent 3rd place in the “open” scratch race against the boys. “It was very cool, I do a lot of foilboarding all year round so it was great to be here and compare my level to other peoples’, try different race formats, I really enjoyed the slalom, it was really tight but I managed to win.”
The French Shared Fleet Cup marked the end of 10 fantastic days of competition and fun at the Cercle de la Voile de Bordeaux Carcans-Maubuisson club. Congratulations to all 35 windfoilers!
Source : FFVoile
Rankings :
Windfoil Girls
1st : Zoe Palot - YCPR
2nd : Thea Le Borgne - CN LORIENT
3rd : Pauline Lebec - YCPR
1st U13 : Jenna Litou - CNBPP
Windfoil Boys
1st : Jean Vigouroux - YCPR
2nd : Mahe Givernaud - LA ROCHELLE NAUTIQUE
3rd : Raphaël Nicol - CN LORIENT
1st U13 : Gary Feuerstein – CNBPP
More information
News : https://bit.ly/43uhKHD
Photos : https://bit.ly/3pPCZFY
La TWF : https://www.tahesport.com/fr_tahe_fr/techno-wind-foil-130-108218