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It's a measure of how much sailing has evolved over the past couple of years that about half of the 32 sailors taking part in this week's Red Bull Foiling Generation event in Auckland have foiling experience.
William McKenzie, who was fourth in 2016 with helm Tamryn Lindsay, has teamed up with Isaac McHardie for this weekend's Red Bull Foiling Generation. Photo: Red Bull.
The Red Bull Foiling Generation has brought its high-octane racing back to Auckland as part of their world series. Liv Mackay and Micah Wilkinson won the inaugural event in 2016 and also went on to claim the world title in the US that opened a number of doors for the pair into the international sailing world.
Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie hope it's them this time around.
The pair competed in 2016 - McHardie was runner-up with Trent Rippey and McKenzie fourth with Tamryn Lindsay - but it was natural they would sail together this time considering they compete together on the world 49er circuit.
It's one of the reasons why the pair will start as favourites when racing in the three-day regatta gets underway off the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Friday. It's also something that's not new to them anymore.
"It was epic," McHardie said of the 2016 event. "I absolutely loved it. Red Bull put on an awesome event.
"It was the first time foiling for me. At the start it was a little bit frightening but by the end they were tame machines."
The series use Flying Phantoms, foiling catamarans capable of speeds up to 35 knots. The concept was created by double Olympic champions Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher, who also established the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, as a way to kick-start the development of the world’s best young sailors and provide a pathway to the America’s Cup.
It's open to youngsters aged 16-20 and the champions crowned in France, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and the US will go on to represent their countries in November’s world final in Miami.
Mackay and Wilkinson fielded a number of opportunities after their win in 2016, with Mackay even helming a team in the highly-competitive Extreme Sailing Series.
"It was a pretty cool opportunity on the world stage and a great way to get your name out there," Wilkinson said. "It was also a lot of fun."
The 16 teams got their hands on the boats for the first time today for a couple of days of training and McHardie hopes it doesn't take long to reacquaint himself with the Flying Phantoms. He's also been asking for a few tips from his flatmate, Wilkinson.
"It's an advantage having a little bit of experience under your belt but there are some talented sailors coming through," he said. "Most of them are also lighter than us so we will definitely have to work for it."
Nick Egnot Johnson and Josh Wijohn will be among a gaggle of teams pushing McHardie and McKenzie for the title. The pair are two of a handful of young sailors participating in the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron's youth training programme or performance programme and have extensive experience sailing the club's foiling Nacra 20s.
Racing starts at 10.30am each day at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron with qualification on Friday, repechage on Saturday and the semifinals and finals on Sunday.
See here for more information.
2018 Red Bull Foiling Generation New Zealand Teams
Skippers / Crew
1. Isaac McHardie / William McKenzie
2. Nick Egnot Johnson / Josh Wijohn
3. Oscar Gunn / Taylor Balogh
4. Kate Stewart / George Gautrey
5. Henry Gautrey / Henry Haslett
6. Jackson Keon / Tom Fyfe
7. Seb Lardies / Josh Armit
8. George Angus / Louis Eruera Schofield
9. James Wilson / Jordan Stevenson
10. Lewis Anderson / Pat Morgan
11. Josh Berry / Mitch Jackson
12. Ben Paterson / Sean Paterson
13. Alastair Gifford / Blake Woodfield
14. Crystal Sun / Olivia Hobbs
15. Annabelle Rennie-Younger / Jack Honey
16. Celia Willison / Charlotte Porter
