For the fourth time, the ETF26s graced Lake Garda for Foiling Week. A warm welcome, four days of boisterous races, breathtaking scenery, and a shifty but ever-present breeze… this fourth ETF SERIES 2022 event had all the necessary ingredients to ensure it was a great success. Eight teams battled it out on the largest of the Italian lakes from 30 June to 3 July, and the standard of the competition has never been so high, with everyone eager to excel!
TEAM PRO WINNER OF LEG 4
The eight ETF26s competed in sixteen races in all on the largest of the Italian lakes and, having scored six bullets, the Team PRO crew skippered by Jean-Christophe Mourniac, with Benjamin Amiot and Pierre-Yves Durand crewing, top the leader board. However, reaching the top step of the podium was not all plain sailing for the three sailors. "All the boats are quick now and manoeuvre really well," explained Benjamin after the last race. "During the past four days of competition, we’ve really had to slug it out, especially with Live Ocean Racing, the New Zealand crew. It’s been really great as it encourages us to push the envelope out on the water." In this way, the Team PRO crew has managed to hold onto the top spot in the overall ETF SERIES ranking with a seven-point lead over second placed Youth Foiling Team (third in the overall ranking for Foiling Week).
THE FEMALE CREWS ON THE HUNT
Making their ETF26 debut this year, the New Zealand crew has been continuing to make a name for itself at the Italian event. In fact, Liv Mackay (skipper), Jason Saunders, Serena Woodall and Helena Sanderson really made life difficult for the current leaders of the championship by winning three out of three races on the opening days of racing. Live Ocean Racing pocketed five races in all and moved up to the second step of the podium. Recently joined by Omega, the Swiss luxury watchmaker, the team has very quickly got a feel for this new steed and is sure to be a force to be reckoned with in La Rochelle, in the last competition of the year.
Rock the Boat will also be one to watch. The new Danish crew, which joined the ETF SERIES for the Raid Quiberon in early June, is making very rapid progress, linking together the manoeuvres and the long flight passages with ease now. "It was our second ETF26 event and our first participation in Foiling Week." Salskov-Iversen. "It really is a fantastic event. The standard within the class is really high, but we’re trying to keep pace with the others and make the most of being out on the water!"
FIRST BLOOD FOR #TEAMBOURGNON
The amateur crew of the Class, #TEAMBOURGNON, has won its first race of the season. In what has become a professional class, the smallest teams have to really step things up a gear to stay in the match. The Swiss crew, comprising Yvan Bourgnon, Mathis Bourgnon and Paul Melot, posted a standout performance at Foiling Week with several podium places and even one first place on the second day of racing. "There was more breeze than in the previous races," says Mathis. "As such, for the first time our extra weight gave our crew an advantage. We managed to win one race, which is incredible, and we hope to win others soon!"
SEE YOU IN LA ROCHELLE
The Grand Pavois La Rochelle Foiling event will be the fifth and final event of the 2022 season for the ETF SERIES. The eight teams will get back together on 27 September in La Rochelle.