{"id":68856,"date":"2020-07-21T16:33:08","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T20:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=68856"},"modified":"2023-05-06T22:42:18","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T02:42:18","slug":"joy-ride-on-the-ifly15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/sailboats\/joy-ride-on-the-ifly15\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy Ride on the iFly15"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"iFly15\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The iFly15, designed for single- or doublehanding, is a new addition to the world of small-craft foiling.<\/span>\n Courtesy CEC Catamaran Europe Central<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Ernst-Michael Miller glides to the dock at Shake A Leg Miami on his red foiling catamaran. What a cool-looking boat. Looks fast. Tricked out too. I walk over to chat with him about the boat, and I\u2019m surprised to find out he\u2019s the guy who designed it. Very cool. There, on the spot, he gives me a thorough explanation of the boat\u2019s \u201cFlySafe\u201d foil-control system and the \u201cCode F,\u201d which is a light gennaker that promotes early foiling in light air. Curiously, it\u2019s tacked to the \u00adleeward bow and has no boom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m sure the guy could have chatted for days about the craft he calls an iFly. His enthusiasm for it is immediately contagious, and suddenly I can\u2019t wait to have a go at it myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

We agree to a future day and time for me to demo it, but in the meantime, I invite him to a house party, where we go deep into the topics of foiling, sailing and his 15-foot, 200-pound iFly. He\u2019s an aviation engineer by day, whose profile lists Airbus and BMW. His intelligence is obvious. The guy is extremely smart, and even gives me a few good ideas for my Moth. He is excited for me to try his boat, which he\u2019s been refining in earnest since 2016 and is now building one per week. He explains that he needs \u201csomeone good\u201d to give him feedback. He shipped a container of them to Miami and has been running scheduled demos off the Miami Yacht Club\u2019s beach through most of early winter, looking to spread the experience of foiling simplicity and a guaranteed easy flight. The company\u2019s slogan is \u201cWe love speed while keeping control,\u201d and that\u2019s what he wants me to experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"iFly15\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Demo boats were available in Miami this winter.<\/span>\n Courtesy CEC Catamaran Europe Central<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

He tells me he\u2019s not really a \u201cgood sailor,\u201d so he wants to hear what professional sailors think about his invention. But later, I witness what a badass sailor he really is: foiling through maneuvers on his iFly alone, operating its lines like an octopus. From the trapeze no less. In 8 to 25 knots of breeze, the mainsail alone is all you need to fly; just drive and trim the main, no fussing with the foils. The Code F, Miller explains, is for extreme light air. If the breeze picks up; roll it away. If you know it\u2019s going to be windy, leave it at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

When it\u2019s finally my time to try the iFly, he suggests that I bring a friend; which I do. Abbigail is new to sailing and eager to get on the water. She\u2019s also a fast learner and far more athletic than me. But this is her first foiling experience, and first time trapping or sailing a high-performance boat. I\u2019m a little nervous for her because the thing sure does look sporty. I\u2019m always nervous when I give joyrides on the Moth because wipeouts can be dangerous, and I fear it will be similar on the iFly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Victor <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Professional sailor and Moth devotee Victor Diaz de Leon jumped at the chance to try it.<\/span>\n Courtesy CEC Catamaran Europe Central<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Abbigail and I board a RIB with plans to swap with Miller, on the water. Once we\u2019re alongside, he gives me a quick explanation about the iFly\u2019 s flight-control system, and off we go. As soon as my new crew is hanging from the trap, we pop up on the foils and start hauling, foiling upwind, downwind and reaching. The boat is very stable despite the chop. What\u2019s most impressive is, however, how well it flies and how gentle the landing is when the bows touch down in waves while going downwind. I had no sense of danger of stuffing the bows and having Abbigail flung around the forestay. Throughout it all, she is super comfortable and keeps saying how much fun it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

I also sail the boat alone and that is super fun too, especially trying to trap, drive, and trim the main and gennaker. With a little practice, the maneuvers feel more natural, and I get better pretty quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

When we pause, Miller gives me some more tips. I rip around for a while and get to play with the sail controls, the ride-height \u00adadjustment, and even the angle of attack differential between leeward and windward hull to create extra righting moment. I feel like I need every bit of it being 130 pounds and sailing alone. The boat is very responsive, which should be expected of a full carbon foiling cat. During one good run, I don\u2019t know how fast I\u2019m going, but it sure feels like more than 20 knots in 12 knots of wind. It\u2019s an adrenaline rush, for sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Victor <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n \u201cVery cool and really easy to fly.\u201d<\/span>\n Courtesy CEC Catamaran Europe Central<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

The build quality is also noteworthy. There are a lot of parts, but they all look durable, which proved to be true when I had a \u201clittle\u201d incident, sailing over a sandbar and running aground at 15 knots or more. My bad. I thought playtime was going to be over, but once we got off the sandbar, we started foiling again as if nothing had happened, and then foiled for the rest of the day. Miller had told me about an iFly being sailed across the English Channel from England to France, a 140-nautical-mile run in full-on conditions, and given my beaching incident, I believe him when he says it\u2019s well-built. Let\u2019s put it this way: I\u2019m happy for the \u00adtitanium reinforcement in the foils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, I\u2019m impressed by how nimble and versatile the iFly is. For me, it\u2019s a rush and plenty challenging to sail it alone. At roughly $30,000, it\u2019s definitely a high-ticket, high-performance catamaran, and I\u2019m excited to see how the one-design racing evolves. The one thing my Moth is not is forgiving and user-friendly, especially with two people. I can see myself having one in Miami, racing hard or cruising around Biscayne Bay with a friend. It\u2019s a hardcore racer, but it\u2019s also a hot rod to impress a date. For a couple looking to get into foiling together, it\u2019s a unique option. I also wonder how it would be for some warm-water coastal racing. Maybe, I think, I could convince my friend Katie Pettibone, who is super skilled and fearless, to do a race with me, just sending it down the coast. Now that<\/i> would be cool.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After taking the 15-foot foiling iFly15 for a spin, the pilot’s assesment is simple: “Very cool and very easy to fly.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"By Victor Diaz de Leon","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20200721","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"160","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"There\u2019s a reason why you should never\u00a0turn\u00a0down an invitation to try out the iFly15","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"NHCGIUQTB5DDFB7OK3QTE5ZQP4","arc_website_url":"story\/sailboats\/joy-ride-on-the-ifly15\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":0,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[305,197,1479,164],"class_list":["post-68856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-catamaran","tag-foiling","tag-print-2020-summer","tag-sailboats"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}