Foiling Awards: class Waszp takes it all, here are all the winners of the foil Oscars

The 2024 Foiling Awards were held in the setting of the Magazzini del Cotone in Genoa, organized by We Are Foiling, the organization that has been advancing the “foil verb” for several years now in Italy and around the world, also organizing successful events such as Foiling Week. The Awards are the time to take stock of the entire foil-themed boating industry, motor and sail, one off or series, intended for racing or fun.

The parterre of guests encompassed a bit of the entire sailing world, from Italian trade journalists to some foreigners, with many domestic and international sailors and technicians. Among the guests in attendance were Luigi Maggiofi of Gottifredi Maffioli, Andrea D’Amato of Garmin, Edoardo Bianchi of the Genoese shipyard specializing in high tech Sangiorgio Marine, as well as representatives of the Waszp class, the real star of the evening, and many insiders. Presenting the evening were journalists Bacci del Buono and Francesca Frazza.

Foiling Awards, all the awardees

A total of 13 categories were competing, plus the Forlanini Awards, which represented a kind of overall award of the event given to the entity that made the most significant contribution in the world of the foil industry. All awardees category by category:

• Motor Boat: Future Foiling
• Sailing Team: 11Th Hour Racing Team
• Commercial Project: Artemis EF 20H Commercial Patrol
• Production Boat: Switch Foiler
• Foiling Pathway: Waszp Class
• Female Sailor: Hattie Rogers
• One Off Boat: Baltic Raven 111
• Foiling event: Sail GP S.Tropez
• Innovation Technology: AC40 control system
• Project: Seair flying chase Boat
• Male Sailor: Sam Street
• Water Toy: Hydrofoiler
• Forlanini Awards: Wasp Class

Foiliong Awards – Waszp class takes it all

There is no doubt that the Waszp class, the small one-design single foiler, was the big star of these Foiling Awards. Going to them goes the overall Forlanini Awards, as to two Waszp sailors goes the award reserved for men and women (Sam Street and Hattie Rogers), as well as the Foiling Pathway.

The reason why the Waszp class was considered in this way is because of the numbers and affordability of the class, which has low economic costs, and because of the quality of the national and international events that this small monotype offers.

Foiliong Awards – Super boat with foils awarded as One Off project

Baltic 111 Raven is a 34-meter-long, foil-equipped sailing superyacht. It is a high-performance yet comfortable boat designed for short high-speed cruises. The project was designed by Botin Partners and PURE Design, two names at the forefront of yacht building including America’s Cup yachts. Among its main features are two huge T-shaped laminar surfaces, mounted on two hydraulically operated side arms, which are able to support part of the boat’s displacement (55 tons).

At the stern, Raven is equipped with “Interceptor flaps” capable of adjusting bow and stern trim at speed, as on powerboats. In addition, there is a movable water ballast, with two built-in tanks, which helps to increase the righting moment during navigation.

The hull and deck construction is pre-preg carbon fiber IM with a Kevlar honeycomb sandwich. Raven’s interior, designed by Jarkko Jämsén, is made of exposed carbon with a Nomex core to ensure low weight and ultra-modern styling. The glazed sides of the large cockpit stand out, forming a kind of inverted observation “dome” with Perspex windows that allows occupants to see the interior. The propulsion system of the Baltic 111 Raven is a diesel-electric hybrid to reduce emissions and achieve efficient weight distribution.