Clockwise from top: you might expect to see this sort of stockpiling of motor cars – but not of foil-equipped high-performance ocean racing yachts. But, with no deliveries of Figaro 3s permitted before January, a lot of boats had to be ready for when the trucks could start to roll with each skipper’s new pride and joy; ask the harbour master in Les Sables d’Olonne about the challenge of squeezing foiling yachts into confined spaces; with a such a slender keel fin the demands on the novel inward-curved foils to resist leeway are considerable – hence the facility to shift rake to allow a high mode; nav area on a Figaro 2… now you’ve also got foils to think about


With a lower freeboard this boat will be wet. The helm really is unbelievably light, the


whole steering system is extremely well engineered and even with the autopilot attached it is more like helming a big dinghy than the previous boat. This is going to make it much more efficient for the autopilot to steer and this, along with the more tolerant asymmetric offwind sails, and pitch damping from the foils, means that the skipper will probably spend less time at the helm, with more confidence that the boat is doing just fine without a tired human hand on the tiller.


Sailing with foils Rake adjustment will be the big game straightaway. Upwind the boat can be moded easily by pulling on some rake, higher and slower. Foot off with no rake and it speeds up quickly, easily visible with the one-design NKE electronics package and Adrena routeing and performance software. In light airs the foils can be retracted closer to the hull to increase the roll period and reduce wetted drag, but as soon as the boat is moving it will be impor- tant to get the foil’s vertical surface away from the hull with maximum extension to reduce the interference drag. At what point a bit of rake and hence


angle of attack, coupled with heel and boat- speed, start to make a difference between one boat and another remains to be seen, but as speed moves up to 7kt and above the foils will start to provide dynamic righting moment – which disappears when the boat hits a wave and speed drops significantly. The faster the boat the more moment is produced – it can again be adjusted by


48 SEAHORSE


adding or removing rake, and heel will be crucial. Lots to learn. Get the boat out in big waves and wind with the right sail combination and the new dynamic will be novel to most sailors. Exciting times. The secondary effect of the foil will be


as a pitch-damper going upwind, making it easier on the pilot and the need for adjustments to sail trim. Although the boat may well be a bit slower it will be able to stay closer to its optimum for longer. Then there is the space the foils take up.


Not only at the dock, even when retracted the boat needs special fenders to protect the face of the foil, leaving the boats moored at an angle to the pontoon so not parallel. Purists will be horrified. It gets worse. When two boats are along-


side each other they will have to moor head-to-toe or should I say bow-to-stern. On the startline, with foils extended the


boat is a bit wider than normal for a monohull, that’s for sure! Should the rules say that these foils be retracted for the start sequence? How do you know that the foil on your startline neighbour’s boat is fully pulled in? A simple black line on the top of the foil, just like the black band at the end of the boom, should be only just visible if the foil is fully retracted. To leeward the foil is no further out


than the tip of the boom end before it is fully sheeted in, but the windward foil with a heeled boat will be the one that collects the damage on the startline. They are tough, there is little risk of serious damage to the foil, but the racing rules of sailing clearly state that collisions are to be avoided – another skill to be learnt, handling an overly wide monohull in the


pre-start and whenever two boats meet… work for the rules people. And for offwind and windy starts the default position for the foil would be fully extended.


Commissioning a 50-boat fleet It’s like a cross between a big Lego kit and IKEA flatpack. A good instruction manual, two pairs of hands (sometimes three) and a long weekend are enough to assemble your shiny new boat ready to sail. There is no drilling or sealing to be


done, all fittings and electronics are factory installed. It’s just the running rigging systems that need assembling and a few Dyneema loops of the appropriate length made up (full details in that 175-page brightly illustrated, full-colour instruction manual). The keel fin is machine-milled and just needs a light template-driven fairing and surface finish job. Sponsors need branding vinyls applied


to the topsides and sails, the first couple of sorties will deal with instrument calibra- tion and rig tension set-up, then the intense training regimes can commence in earnest.


Something to shoot at The 2019 season, the class’s 50th year, sees many old heroes lured back to compete in the new class and see if they can learn the new boat faster than some of the class stalwarts. In fact, the line-up for this year’s race is extraordinary as the change of class attracts a depth of talent that may be unique in the history of singlehanded racing. Past Figaro winners such as Alan


Gautier, Armel Le Cléac’h, Charles Caudrelier, Franck Cammas and triple winners Michel Desjoyeaux, Yann Eliès


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