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The Manly Sailing Club recently added wingfoiling to its regular weekend racing programme.
The first racing, on Sunday, May 15, proved to be action-packed. After a week of light winds the sailors arrived to see a strong westerly breeze blowing across the bay – ideal for foiling. More than 20 wingfoilers lined up on the start line. They were well powered up with a solid 15 knots of wind and the leaders made short work of the course, completing it in approximately 20 minutes. There were some great battles over the four races, but it was 15-year-old Hugo Wigglesworth who dominated the day, winning three of the races. Hugo is off to Holland in July for the World Sailing Youth Worlds. Second place went to Olympic 470 sailor Paul Snow-Hansen with Trent Jones rounding out the podium. This fast growing watersport involves holding a light, inflatable wing while standing on a board around 5-6 feet-long with a foil attached to it. The wind powers up the wing which propels the board forward and up onto the foil enabling you to fly above the water at speed. Club Commodore Barry Thom says the club was excited at the number that turned up to race and about the growth of the sport within Manly Sailing Club’s regular weekend racing programme.
“Manly Beach is a spectacular location for wing foiling and the conditions on the day were fantastic for the inaugural event,” he said. Info: www.manlysailingclub.org.nz Photos, Sam Thom.
