Going where man has never gone before

While the windward leeward course may offer a proper test of tactics and boat handling, it lacks the elements of adventure and problem-solving found when competing amid random legs rife with islands and inlets.

Nobody ever asked, “Why did you do a double sausage?”, but do something bold, something never done before like wingfoiling the 50nm around the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England and you might hear the immortal words of mountaineer George Mallory, “Because it is there.”

Four wingfoilers – World Champion Windsurfer Ross Williams along with Tom Court, Sam Light, and Thomas Buggy – will make the herculean inaugural attempt to complete the distance. With the Solent on one side and the English Channel on the other, it will test the athletes resolve to endure the course on a foil board while powered by a handheld wing sail…

For a video that previews the effort, click here.

Read more on Scuttlebutt