{"id":73686,"date":"2022-03-03T12:36:45","date_gmt":"2022-03-03T17:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=73686"},"modified":"2023-05-07T00:01:27","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T04:01:27","slug":"persico-69f-youth-gold-cup-miami-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/persico-69f-youth-gold-cup-miami-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Flight School(ed) In the Persico 69F"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sailors <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Sydney Lange (forward), Arthur Serra (helm) and Caspar Lenz Anderson (mainsail trim) representing the St. Francis YC High School Sailing program, go to school on the Persico 69F in Miami and were clearly enjoying their studies.<\/span>\n Sailing Energy\/69F Media <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n <\/span>\n <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

The first event in US waters for the Persico 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup international circuit attracted little attention, perhaps because its outreach depended almost entirely on cryptic social media. But in the end, Team Argentina came out on top in the kickoff. Nacra 17 Olympians Dante Cittadini and Teresa Romairone were joined by Marcos Fernandez, twenty-somethings setting a standard for what it takes to win. Among US hopefuls, Team Sail America was skippered by University of Rhode Island\u2019s Henry Lee. Arthur Serra, of San Francisco, California skippered Team StFYC, representing St. Francis Yacht Club\u2019s high school program. Also traveling east to race was StFYC high school senior Declan Donovan driving Team Thailand. US sailors represented development efforts, looking for first experiences and thrills. Donovan survived to the Finals. He and Serra share their stories here, adapted by permission from the St. Francis YC\u2019s Mainsheet newsletter, published in March 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can\u2019t Wait<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Arthur Serra<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Last fall I saw an incredible boat on Instagram. It looked like a small AC75. It had a similar foil setup, with three big sails, and it was going fast. I poked around on the Internet until I found the Persico 69F<\/a>. At the time, the St. Francis YC Junior Program sailed only Lasers because of COVID. I love the Laser, but it\u2019s good for 4 knots upwind and 12 knots downwind. The boat on my screen was cranking upwind and downwind at 25 knots and reaching at 30. I was hooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I researched it whenever I had time and finally got an email address for somebody from the class association. After four months of emailing them every week I got the reply I was looking for. \u201cThere\u2019ll be boats in Miami starting in January; come sail them by yourself or with a buddy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was elated and invited my good friend and fellow junior sailor Caspar Lenz Anderson to come along. Our last week of Christmas break, on the first day of the new year, we flew out of SFO and arrived in MIA. The day after, we went out to sail the boats and break our personal speed records. We showed up an hour early. We were so excited we couldn\u2019t help ourselves. The instructors were surprised. The home office in Italy had communicated about two \u201ckids\u201d coming to sail. They expected beginners wanting joyrides. Instead, what greeted them were two 16-year-old, highly-energized racers ready to go. That changed their plans for how much sailing we would do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, our instructors gave us a lesson on the 69F. What makes these boats special are the V-shaped foils on either side. These are akin to AC75 foils and make the boat incredibly stable. Normally, only one of these V-foils is in the water, and they produce not only upward lift, but also massive righting moment. The V-foils counter the force to leeward generated by the sail. This makes the boat want to stay flat (as compared to a Moth or Waszp, which constantly want to capsize under an overpowered rig). With so much righting moment, sails can be bigger, so the boat accelerates faster and foils sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are three positions: skipper, mainsheet trimmer and flight controller. While adjusting the rake of the foils to manage the ride height, the flight controller also works with the skipper on tactics and focuses on the gennaker when sailing downwind, watching for puffs and lulls. The mainsheet trimmer has one job, and it\u2019s in the name. All the main trimmer does is trim, except when jibing. The boat needs to sail as flat as possible at all times. Even a slight leeward heel in a small puff can cause the boat to capsize, so the trim has to be on point. Of course, the other way to manage heel is by changing the angle to the wind. That\u2019s where the skipper comes into play. The skipper\u2019s job is the same as on any boat: drive, play the angles, and keep everyone working together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We rigged the boats, launched and towed out. The boats are simple once you get a good look. There\u2019s a large self-tacking jib, a huge main trimmed from the boom, and a big kite with a retrieval line. The controls, sails and most of the normal sailing aspects are like a 49er\u2019s. What\u2019s different are the foils. Both the centerboard and the rudder are T-foils, recognizable to anybody who\u2019s seen a foiling Moth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The V-foils, which descend at forty-five-degree angles from either side of the hull, are dropped and lifted during tacks and jibes. The V-foils and the rudder foil rake are adjusted using lines that lead to the front of the boat, and these are adjusted by the flight controller to initiate foiling and maintain proper height. Because a trapeze can be dangerous, and this class is all about safety, the 69F instead has hull extensions, \u201chiking racks,\u201d where crew members sit outboard. Over the next four days, we learned how to foil, twice raising our personal speed records out of the high teens.  Now it\u2019s 28 knots. Going that fast the boat feels light and playful. It\u2019s a heady experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We started as flight controllers before moving on to skippering and mainsheet trimming. We worked hard on communication. Never before had we sailed a boat where skipper and trimmer need to be in sync to the point that even a momentary lack of concentration leads, at best, to falling off the foils and, at worst, to a capsize. By the second day, Caspar preferred trimming and I preferred driving, so we spent the next two days like that and became really synchronized. Our jibes and tacks weren\u2019t perfect, but we could keep the boat going fast in a straight line. The first three days we zipped around Biscayne Bay, blasting past Hobies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fourth day lacked wind, so we went to the ocean to catch more breeze. We got the boat ripping, but to make our flight back to San Francisco we had to foil home through the shipping channel. We asked for permission from the Coast Guard but forgot to check with the harbor police, so when this strange contraption came flying into a busy channel, a high-speed chase ensued. We gave ourselves up. The police pulled us over. Luckily, it mattered when we told them the Coast Guard had given us permission. After all, they have bigger guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sailos <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Arthur Serra, Sydney Lange and Caspar Lenz Anderson field trip to Wynwood Miami during the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup regatta.\n \n<\/span>\n Kevin Rio\/69F Media<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Now it can be told: We got stopped for sailing too fast. How cool is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 69F is sailed in the Youth Foiling Gold Cup, a world tour Grand Prix series \u2013 think SailGP for under 25s. The first \u201cact\u201d of the 2022 Cup was in Miami, and we were there because the instructors on our second day made an offer we couldn\u2019t refuse. Come back in February, they said. Come back and race. They knew we were hungry for more, and a team from the Bahamas had dropped out. We jumped on it and quickly added Sydney Lange, another member of the StFYC Junior program, to manage flight control. Caspar continued as mainsheet trimmer, and I skippered. Together, we represented St. Francis Yacht Club, competing against eight other teams \u2013 including another representing St. Francis with Declan Donovan driving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We gave it our all and coming back from Miami after our loss there are feelings of disappointment, but honestly, I\u2019m inspired. We raced against some of the best youth sailors, and seeing them absolutely destroy me shows the work I have ahead. I can\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going for the Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Declan Donovan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had never sailed a 69F, but there I was, skippering Team Thailand and representing StFYC at Act 1 of the Youth Foiling Gold Cup. My teammates were Dylan Whitcraft, our main trimmer from Thailand, and Ella Beauregard, flight controller. Of the three, Dylan was the only one who had previous experience in this fast, foiling boat. We faced a major learning curve. Fortunately, the format of the 69F YFGC Series provides practice time ahead of the regatta. Unfortunately, our two practice days were not optimal. Mother Nature turned Biscayne Bay into a light wind lake. But let\u2019s consider the format first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Declan Donovan gives every ounce of concentration to keep the 69F on its foils; hyperactive mainsheet trim is the key to sustained flight. \n\n<\/span>\n Sailing Energy\/69F Media <\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

Two days of practice were followed by three days of racing to determine qualifiers for the finals. Qualifying teams then moved on to knockout rounds. In total, my team had five days before the knockout series to learn the boat. First, we learned that a 69F can foil in very light conditions. However, picking the right puff to levitate onto the foils\u2014and then pumping hard enough to maintain flight\u2014is a hard move to time right, and it\u2019s even harder to maintain flight. Trimmer and flight controller both have to constantly roll and press to maintain speed (class rules permit this) and the three of us switched positions frequently for the sake of recovery. We didn\u2019t get much time on-foil before racing began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m at home in the strong winds of San Francisco Bay, so when a squall suddenly brought the wind to 18 knots at the first start of the first day of competition, I was excited. We were on a reaching start to a quadrilateral course in a boat capable of 30 knots and I had about 30 minutes of solid foiling under my belt. What could possibly go wrong? Well \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, we narrowly averted a collision with a boat capsized to leeward. Then came a gust we weren\u2019t ready for and the discovery that going from 25 knots to zero is an abrupt change. Our flight controller, Ella, performed her next two maneuvers to perfection. First, she went flying out of the boat. Then she popped back aboard, declared \u201cI\u2019m good!\u201d and we were back in the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Considerably older and wiser after three days of knockout rounds, we found ourselves in fourth place, qualified to continue to the finals. A win late in the day placed us in second but\u2014and it was a big but.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the last day, the breeze lightened again. We remained competitive but struggled in the starts.  We made a few mistakes in maneuvers, and our inadequate batten tension was really \u201cmessed up\u201d in the words of our friends from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. That said, the day had its triumphs: We clocked the fastest daily speed at 26 knots, improved our coordination during tacks and completed a foiling jibe. We had arrived in Miami with a plan to learn as much as we could about the 69F and how to race it, with a goal of setting ourselves up for Act 3 in Newport, Rhode Island, this July. We came away knowing we had exceeded our expectations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

These foiling groms dropped into the Miami stop of the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup to learn that fast foiling is tamed with no loss of thrills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":73682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Arthur Serra and Declan Donovan","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"159","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"High School sailors from California travel to Miami to compete in the 69F Youth Foiling Gold Cup in Miami and share their experiences.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"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":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[197,1579,1474,177],"class_list":["post-73686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-foiling","tag-persico","tag-persico-69f","tag-racing"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73686","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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}