After yesterday's five-race spectacular, today, the TF35 2022 season sadly finished with no wind on the Gulf of Follonica in Scarlino, Italy.
Winner of the TF35 Trophy overall is Ernesto Bertarelli's Alinghi Red Bull Racing, whose victories at the Swiss events in Mies and at the Genève-Rolle-Genève, followed by a second place last month in Malcesine northern Italy gave them the points gap needed to win the 2022 season with an event to spare.
Scarlino Italy delivered big on the penultimate day of the 2022 TF35 season, with five races sailed in the conditions that the cutting-edge catamarans were designed for; flat water and 9-12 knots resulting in four hours of high-performance foiling.
Day two of racing at the TF35 Scarlino, the final regatta of the 2022 season, and Jérôme Clerc at the helm of Realteam for Leman hope once again sailed a perfect day, adding two more bullets to his team's impeccable score line.
Scarlino Italy delivered a perfect opening day to the final event of the 2022 TF35 Trophy with one round of practice racing followed by two official points-scoring races on the sparkling Gulf of Follonica against the hazy silhouette of the island of Elba.
Dona Bertarelli and Yann Guichard's Spindrift wins the TF35 Malcesine Cup after a beautiful four-race day on Lake Garda. For the young crew onboard, this is their first win in the TF35 fleet, and helm Guichard couldn't have been prouder of his team's performance after the prizegiving: "We took the lead on the first day and kept it until the last day - that's an achievement", he enthused.
"We were very fast with good starts and competitive with the best teams in the fleet. Yann (Jauvin) made excellent tactical calls, the team has done a great job on the performance side and some days it all just works. It was a perfect event for Spindrift".
Day three of the TF35 Malcesine Cup and the young crew onboard Spindrift continued to be the standout team winning both races in the unusually light, fickle breeze on the lake.
The day started promising classic Lake Garda conditions, but again, the southerly Ora wind failed to fill in as expected for the third day in a row. "A long day", explained Yann Guichard helm of Spindrift on the dock after racing. "We were not expecting the irregular wind, so it was not easy for the Race Committee to start races."
Storm clouds continued to postpone racing on day two of the TF35 Malcesine Cup. At the morning skipper's briefing, the seven TF35s were instructed to stay tied up at the dock to wait for the forecasted strong northerly Pelèr wind to abate in the afternoon, allowing the southerly Ora wind to kick in. At 1300 the teams headed out hoping to get some classic Lake Garda racing in, but this didn't happen as the northerly, boosted by the morning storm, continued to blow at 20knots and the teams returned to the safety of Fraglia Vela Malcesine.
It was a moody start to the TF35 Malcesine Cup as the bright, brisk, flat water conditions for which Lake Garda is famous were interrupted by the tail-end of a storm that rumbled over the Italian lake.
WATCH the recap of the thrilling final day of racing at the TF35 Mies as Alinghi Red Bull Racing takes the win.
Day 1 highlights from the TF35 Mies.
After four days of racing on Lake Geneva in light conditions under sunny skies but with a far from straightforward meteorological picture to contend with, Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing, co-skippered by Jérôme Clerc, has claimed the opening event win of 2022 season after scoring two bullets over the first two days.
Lake Geneva presented a challenging third day of racing for the TF35 as the light-to-no windforecast eventually rewarded the patience of the teams and perseverance of the race committee with one successful race.
After finishing at the bottom of the raking on day one, Frédéric Jousset's golden hulled TF35, Team SAILFEAVER, helmed by Frenchman Loïck Peyron, turned their fortunes around on the second day of the Realstone Cup for Léman hope taking place this weekend in Nyon.
After an hour of practice racing under brilliant sunshine on the sparkling waters of Lake Geneve, the seven TF35 teams had shaken off any winter dust that might have accumulated. They were ready for the Realstone Cup for Léman hope, the opening event of the TF35's 2022 season.
Seven teams will contest the TF35's second season with some of the sport's top athletes racing on the cutting-edge hydro-foiling catamarans.
With an impressive eight-point lead Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing, co-skippered by Jérôme Clerc has dominated in Scarlino this week. Taking six wins out of nine races, their discarded fifth from day one the only blemish on a scoreline of first and seconds, "I'm very proud of my team, " Clerc explained.
Another top of the range day off Scarlino, Italy, for the TF35 season final saw Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing claim two bullets from three races, further extending their lead over the chasing pack.
At the halfway stage of the TF35 season final in Scarlino Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing, co-skippered by Jérôme Clerc, has risen to the top of the leaderboard but is challenged at every move by Alinghi and Spindrift.
As if easing the teams into the final decider of the inaugural TF35 season, Scarlino delivered a warm sea breeze between 6 - 11 knots, flat water and blue skies on the sparkling Tuscan coast for the opening day of racing.
Esteban Garcia's Realteam Sailing, co-skippered by Jérôme Clerc, triumphed at the end of a thrilling final day at the TF35 Scarlino Trophy. After four days of racing Clerc and the team were head-to-head with Alinghi until the last race in sparkling sunshine off the Tuscan coast.
TF35 Trophy Principle Race Officer Benoit Deutsch picked his moment well today to get two thrilling races in, with the boats foiling upwind at 24knots in 16 knots of breeze, before the heavy mistral wind cut the day short.
A challenging second day for the seven TF35s in Scarlino started with an hour delay ashore as the moody overcast skies prevented the sea breeze from kicking in. When the racing got going, it was in an inconsistent six to eight-knot breeze with the mountainous Tuscan coastline and the island of Elba looming silhouetted in the background.
The opening day of the TF35 Scarlino Trophy delivered everything the fleet had hoped for their first experience racing away from Lake Geneva: a steady 8-12-knot breeze and flat water under brilliant sunshine. Coming into the second half of the season the points are close across the overall championship standing. With a single point between leading boat Realteam Sailing and second-placed Alinghi, the rivalry was reignited on this opening day.
Watch the highlights from the final day of racing at the TF35 Mies as Realteam Sailing claim the victory.
In the hotly contested opening day of the TF35 Mies it was Alinghi who dominated.
Hear from Jérôme Clerc co-skipper of Realteam Sailing and winner of the TF35 Nyon.
All the best shots from day 2 at the TF35 Nyon.
Hear from Xavier Revil how Spindrift prevailed on day one in Nyon.
It's a delicate task in light winds keeping the TF35 flying but the benefits in boat speed are well worth the effort.
Le TF35 qui se monte en 4 jours demande une bonne préparation pour offrir le meilleur sur l’eau.
French sailing legend Loïck Peyron gives his first impressions of the TF35
A little snapshot from the start of practice race 1 today in Nyon, only 6-8 knots of breeze but still foiling upwind.
The TF35 Trophy is proud to announce its partnership with OMEGA as the Official Timekeeper for the tour.
Racing for the first time on Lake Geneva the seven-strong TF35 fleet is the next generation in high performance foiling.
After an intense design and development process throughout 2018-19, the innovative TF35's journey slowed in 2020, as events across the world were postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional time has been put to good use as the confirmed seven crews got to grips with their new racing machines.
Sneak peek: Guy de Picciotto's Zen Too training in Mar Menor
"The feeling, it's like skiing in powder, there is nothing but the vibration of the foils," Arnaud Psarofaghis, Alinghi.
Our brief: design a boat that would fly in very light wind, to have electronic stability and that all the boats are exactly the same.
The first day of sailing went far beyond expectation as in only nine knots of breeze the TF35 was comfortably foiling reaching 17 knots boat speed upwind and 23 knots downwind with a very stable flight.
Here we go - the final preparation of boat zero before tomorrow's splash.
The rig is in and boat zero for the TF35 is taking shape ahead of her first splash.
After two weeks of hard work the rig and sails are up on boat zero in preparation for test sailing later in the month.
