Perfection is a beautiful word, and a level rarely achieved in any sport.
On the waters off Marseille, France, the Italian crew in the Mixed Multihull Class won three races today adding to their total of five wins and one second-place finish. The Nacra 17 foiling catamaran is the equipment used in this discipline. The boat was introduced to the Olympics for Rio in 2016 and upgraded with a sophisticated foil center board and rudder for Tokyo 2021. The result is a blazingly fast craft that sails up wind at 12 miles per hour and downwind at 20 mph. It is an impressive speed for a 17-foot-long sailboat.
The Italian sailors, Ruggero Tita and Caterina Marianna Banti, are clever sailors and elegant boat handlers. It is no accident that they are performing at a high level. The duo has been practicing and racing for seven continuous years. Tita has become quite the rising star in Italy and has joined the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli America’s Cup team as a helmsman for the Cup that begins later this month.
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Tita and Banti won a gold medal and they have won the world championship the past four years. At this writing they look to be on their way to a second gold medal. What makes the Italians so good? During the five-minute starting sequence, they are continuously looking around at where their competitors are lining up while simultaneously looking at developing wind patterns. Caterina stands so she has a better height of eye. The two sailors are banter with each other about the wind, approaching waves and the position and speed of their competitors. They have an effective, and sometimes animated, cadence that helps them make incremental gains.
One of the key factors in sailing the Nacra 17 swiftly is the ability to keep the boat up on the curve shaped foils. In the choppy waters off Marseille this is a challenge. Frequently boats are seen diving into waves and slowing down. The Italians rarely make a slip. They are also bold. Here are two examples:
1. Before the start of Race 5, Banti could see the wind shifting to the south. When the starting horn sounded, they took off on port tack at the left-hand side of the starting. The whole fleet was on the starboard tack and had the right of way. Tita sailed his boat confidently across the bows of the right-of-way competitors and headed off on his desired side of the racecourse.
2. Approaching the windward mark in Race 5, Germany’s boat, sailed by Paul Kohlhoff and Alica Stuhlemmer were too windward and behind the Italians in a position that blocked them from tacking for the mark. Knowing they a chance to push the regatta leaders back, the Germans were aggressive. Realizing he had one chance to defend his position, Tita steered his boat on a high course slowing down and risking getting blanketed by the German’s sails but potentially using the exhaust of his own sails to hurt the Germans. To describe this maneuver properly Tita had to thread a very thin needle. He and Banti made it work and forced the Germans to tack away. The Italians now had a clear pathway and went on to win the race. At the finish of Race 6, the New Zealand boat sailed by Micah Wilkinson and Erica Dawson, were approaching the finish line on starboard with the right-of-way. The Italians were on port and obligated to stay clear. An extremely close cross was developing with the two boats engaging at a combined 40 miles per hour. Tita glanced over his shoulder and went for the cross. He made it and won the race by 2 seconds. It was breathtaking to watch. The Mixed Multihull fleet of 19 boats is halfway through the opening series. It is hard to image any boat being able to keep up with the flawless, bold Italians.
There was a four-hour delay waiting for an adequate breeze to fill for the Kiteboard sailors to start their Olympic Games. Both the men’s and women’s divisions got four races completed late in the day and headed back to the harbor at 7 p.m. local time. The Kite races only last about 12 minutes. The boards are able to sail three times as fast as the wind. Today with the wind blowing 11 mph, the kite sailors were able to sail at 30 mph. The class likes to say they are the fastest things in the summer Olympics.
Technically the kite boards are known as IKA Formula Kites. All craft are provided to the competitors. The boards are just over 5 feet long and about 1.5 feet wide and weigh about 4 pounds. The string attaching the board to the kite and sailor can be as long as 147 feet, about the height of a 14-story building. Adding to the speed equation the boards sail on foils similar to the iQFOiLs windsurfers. Physically they are challenging. The sailors sit in a squat and hold the kite while leaning back. The board skips over the waves at high speed. The sailors (or riders as they call themselves) look exhausted when they cross the finish line. In stronger wind they can easily sail at 40mph. Depending on the strength of the wind the sailors choose between three sizes of kites. The kites (sails) are huge. In light winds the biggest kites are used and in heavy wind the smallest size is used.
American Daniela Moroz, 23, from Lafayette, California, is one of the USA’s best prospects to medal. She has won the world championship six times and has been named Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year four times. It’s an astounding feat for a young sailor. Moroz has been the class standard, but she faces stiff competition now that many young sailors are training for the Olympics. At the 2024 IKA Formula Kite World Championships held in Hyres, France in May Moroz finished seventh. The Olympic regatta will be a test to see if the international competitors have caught up to Moroz’s high standard.
After four races today, Laurine Nolot, 25, of France (2024 World Champion) had a 2-1-12-2 series and leads. Moroz is in 4th place with a 7-3-4-1. The Opening Series leads to quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds scheduled for Thursday August 8.
The Mixed Dinghy class, racing International 470s, have completed 6 races. Austria’s Lara Vadala and Lukas Mahr lead. Americans Stu McNay and Lara Dallman-Weiss stand 12th one point out of the top ten and the medal race. Six more races are scheduled over the next two days with the medal race on Wednesday.
The Netherland’s ace Women’s Dinghy sailor, Marit Bouwmeester, 36, has just 19 points after 8 races and holds a 28-point lead over Anne-Marie Rindon, 33, of Denmark. Both sailors are previous Olympic Champions. American Ericka Reineke, 30 of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, finished second in Race 8 today, but was disqualified along with six other boats in Race 7 for jumping the gun at the start. She stands in ninth place, 13 points out of a podium position. Two more races will be sailed tomorrow before the medal race on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Matt Wearn, 28 of Australia, has a14-point lead with two races left in the Opening Series in the Men’s Dinghy. He won the gold medal in Tokyo and is averaging a 5.3 score in the 43-boat field.
The World Sailing race committee has delayed starts on seven of the first eight days of racing. The forecast for the next four days calls for light to moderate winds. The sailors can expect to be racing late every day. We will cover the racing on Peacock. Tell your friends and join us.
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