Is foiling really the future of cruising?

Foiling technology has revolutionised the world of sailboat racing, but can it make its way to cruising yachts too? Saša Fegić reports

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Foiling sailboats have appendages placed under the hull which help lift the hull out of the water making the vessel fly; this drastically reduces hydrodynamic drag and increases speed.

Importantly, it also has a wow effect.

Comparing a foiler to a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey is like comparing a Formula 1 car to a Toyota Corolla.

A few years ago, while sailing around the world, I stopped at Fiji's Vuda Marina.

In a bar after a few drinks, I had a long discussion with a fellow cruiser about foiling. The German retired pilot was convinced that it was just a matter of time until we would all fly above water. He said it might take a while, but computers would soon allow boats to zoom effortlessly across oceans. "The weather routing will give us the best time to start and which route to take to be fast and to avoid all the storms, and onboard computers will take care of the foils and sails. It will be great!" he told me.

Back then I wasn't convinced. Recent developments, however, have made me re-examine my position on the matter. So let's start from the beginning...

How foiling works

Foils use the same principles as aircraft wings. Just as an aircraft wing will lift a plane off the ground, the foils will lift the boat out of the water by using a special shape to guide the water around them and generate the lifting force to get boats flying up in the air.

Initially, the sails are set up as on a normal yacht. Once they generate enough speed and the amount of lift exceeds the boat's weight, it will pop out of the water almost instantly. The magic happens in a matter of seconds. Once the boat is flying, it can achieve speeds exceeding double and even triple the wind speed.

How to control the flight