For two days, Genoa will become the global capital of foiling as it hosts the World Foiling Congress for the third time. Presented by Ropner Insurance, the World Foiling Congress, whose institutional partners include the Italian Marine Industry Association Confindustria Nautica, ICOMIA (the International Council of Marine Industry Associations) and EBI (European Boating Industry), opens tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March, at Modulo 8 (third floor) of the Magazzini del Cotone (n. 39) in Porto Antico.

Organised by The Foiling Organisation, the Congress, which continues into Wednesday 18, features 10 specialist panels and over 30 leading experts from industry, engineering and design firms, research institutes and regulatory bodies.

The opening address on Tuesday 17 (10.00 am), entitled “Gitana 18: a new era in offshore sailing”, will be delivered by French skipper Charles Caudrelier, winner of the 2022 Route du Rhum aboard the foiling trimaran Ultim Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17) with a record time of 6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds.

Also on Tuesday, at 7.00 pm at the Magazzini del Cotone, the ninth edition of the Foiling Awards will take place. Since 2016, the awards have celebrated the athletes, projects, products and foiling events of the year, and will present, for the first time, the Future Impact Award, an accolade to be awarded to the entry from among the 104 candidates for the 2026 edition that most clearly expresses the future direction of foiling.

foiling.org