The Nacra 17, the new star of the Rio Olympics, among our CULTs

Have you ever taken a close look at the new mixed male/female“flying catamaran” that will make its Olympic debut at the upcoming Rio 2016 Olympics? No? So we look forward to seeing you at the TAG Heuer VELAFestvival, where the Nacra 17 will be on display from Thursday through Sunday. Italian protagonists of this new class are the champion sailors Vittorio Bissaro and Silvia Sicouri, who in addition to being our most concrete medal hope (they are first on the ISAF ranking list) are also among the candidates to win the 2015 Sailor of the Year award. But also other such champions as Giovanna Micol and Lorenzo Bressan.
THE NACRA 17 STORY . Done away with the Tornado after Beijing 2008, the Olympic classes lacked a catamaran. ISAF’s choice fell, after a last-vote challenge in 2012, on the Nacra 17 (which narrowly beat the Viper 16, judged less “pliable” by those who had tried both multihulls): in Rio 2016 it will be used for the mixed medal award. Peculiarity and strength of this boat is the extraordinary technology of the hull and sails (which justifies its cost) resulting from a long period of research and development that gathers in itself the maximum know-how developed in the F16 and F18 classes. The very light hulls are constructed of composite; the rigid platform provides control and stability, and the shape of the bow is designed to better cleave waves and reach even higher speeds. Special features of the Nacra 17 are its curved drifts that can raise the downwind bow out of the water, reducing friction significantly and allowing the hulls to “fly” as fast as they can.
BUILDERS : The Nacra 17 is built by the Dutch shipyard Nacra Sailing, which has an extensive dealer network that can be consulted at www.nacrasailing.org.
WHOIT’S FOR: The new Olympic cat is very fast and, as with the 49er, needs excellent physical performance and quick reflexes. The fact that it is a mixed class makes it ideal if you want to have fun together with a partner of the opposite sex.