Yo Wiebel, 39, from Munich, and Tamara Baumann, 21, from Zurich, want to break the record for the fastest Channel crossing from Cowes to Dinard for boats under 20 feet. This was set in 2018 by Frenchman Yvan Bourgnon with a 20-foot catamaran. It took him 19 hours, 42 minutes and two seconds to cover the 138 nautical miles as the crow flies, which corresponds to an average speed of around seven knots - the actual distance sailed is longer depending on the course chosen.
Wiebel and Baumann want to break the record with the 15-foot-long foiling catamaran iFly15. "It sails really well and easily," says Wiebel, who is currently preparing with the team in Cowes.
The iFly 15 catamaran has so far been particularly impressive due to its easy handling. In the YACHT test (see download and video), the catamaran proved to be extremely stable on the foils and very easy to control.
Whether on one or two hulls, you can fly off on Lake Garda at the Stickl Sportcamp
The single-handed cat set another exclamation mark, this time in terms of speed, this summer at the Foiling Week on Lake Garda, where it won the All Foilers classification with designer E-Michael Miller in the harness. One of the other pilots was Vendée Globe winner Francois Gabart. He was impressed by the concept of the Cat: "It was really great. A new boat design that I hadn't seen before. Very stable flight behaviour, exceptionally stable. It's super interesting because you can immediately see that flying this boat is easy to learn. Almost anyone who can sail even a little. You get on and it flies stably. It even flies in light winds. I think it's a great introduction to the world of foiling."
With the record attempt, the designer now wants to prove that his design is not only stable, but also fast foiling on long distances. "By winning Foiling Week, the iFly 15 has proven that it is fast - despite its stable flight behaviour," says the aeronautical engineer from Munich. This is aimed at the widespread opinion that a foiler with actively stabilised tail units, which the iFly has solved by means of a transmitter (Wants), cannot be fast. "Exactly the opposite is the case," says Miller, "as was recently demonstrated again at the America's Cup in Bermuda. Once again, the boat with the best flight stability was the clear winner."
"The flying moth (iMoth class), which is very challenging to sail, has always had active foil control," Miller continues. "It would be virtually unsailable without such a system. The Moth is without doubt one of the most powerful flying ships in the world precisely because of, and not despite, its sophisticated stabilisation system. It also disproves another myth that T-Foils are slow. The Moths prove the opposite, just like the British Vampire project and the current revival of T-Foils for the next America's Cup." The iFly 15 is also equipped with T-Foils.
The record attempt across the channel is planned for Saturday, 7 September from around 8:00 am. It has been officially registered with the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) and the boat will carry a tracker. This will give the position every 15 minutes, which can be followed live at http://yb.tl/cowesdinard2019.
The record attempt was actually planned to be single-handed, but the WSSRC does not allow this for safety reasons. Yo Wiebel is therefore accompanied by Tamara Baumann. Wiebel, who is actually an architect in Zurich, also runs a foil school ( www.foilingschool.com ) and has already made headlines as an extreme sailor, including a rounding of Cape Horn in a Sportcat and a 24-hour record.
The team wants to survive the planned twelve hours or so for the Cowes-Dinard record by dividing up the tasks. "We take turns steering," says Wiebel, "with the helmsman sitting at the helm. The foresailor stands in the trapeze and drives the mainsheet. We change every hour."
The team is particularly hoping for light winds, which seems paradoxical at first. "The Cat is at its fastest in winds of around twelve knots, so we can go at full speed," says Wiebel. With more wind, the pressure only has to be released and foiling becomes more challenging. The upper wind limit is 25 knots.
Designer Miller is certain that the previous record can be beaten. A new type of sail, for which a patent application has been filed, should also guarantee this. This is an extremely flat-cut genoa, which is not attached to a gennaker pole amidships with the neck, as is usually the case, but directly to leeward on the bow of the empty hull. In manoeuvres, the jib can be pulled to the other bow using an endless line. This arrangement offers several advantages, says Miller. "The sail can be larger, as the length of the foot is not limited by shrouds or spreaders. In addition, the foot lies directly against the hull, which minimises the induction resistance around the foot. Due to the further aft attachment point of the tack, there is less leeway, which is otherwise difficult to compensate for when foiling due to the lack of lateral surfaces. In addition, the sail pressure point is lower than with a sail on a high boom, which in turn benefits the desired upright position of the cat. And because the sail is at an angle in the boat, it also develops upward lift, which also helps with foiling."
The iFly 15 with the new genoa
The proof of the sail's effectiveness was test runs in England, where Miller said he took off in six knots of true wind and then foiled stably at a speed of twelve knots.
That should definitely be enough to set a new record.
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Lars Bolle
Chief Editor Digital
