I've just had a look, expecting just a fancy yacht, how wrong could I be. That is the most fantastic thing I've ever seen on the water. The speed, turns, sails/ wings, foils, control etc etc defy belief, it's phenomenal. Big thanks Ashley for posting that.

Charles.

While "ye cannae brek they la's a physics"* it is amazing how far they bend.

I can't really see them being mainstream working models anytime soon, but then, who knows?

*Montgomery Scott

It's a point that gets plenty of mention at the poolside. A real yacht has somebody on board feeling what is happening, and they have their reaction time to what they sense is going on, usually preventing a disaster. Foilers, almost by definition, to get their performance, are seeing how close they can get to the edge of disaster, and need very fast reactions from the crew to avoid it.

Even if it doesn't have a full size equivalent, a model sailboat can be considered "scale" – it is operating a "scaled" conditions, which usually involve squares an square roots. A 1:25 model gives you about 1/5th the time to react, and your indication is not feeling the boat, it is seeing what the boat is doing at a distance.

In earlier AC events, everything had to be purely muscle powered, what with it being a sort of athletic event. I have gathered, right or wrong, that the trend has been to have a squad of "grinders" – muscle bound athletes whose task is to continuously work pumps which are capable of building up and storing hydraulic pressure. A feasible way to give rapid handling of sizeable masses.