The RS:X will soon be history - this decision was made at the World Sailing Annual Conference at the end of 2019. The RS:X centreboard will make its last appearance on the big stage at the Tokyo Games in summer 2020, before the age of the foil also begins in Olympic windsurfing. The iQFoil is designed as a hybrid concept and is intended to be used with both foil and fin. At this point at the latest, hobby racers are also pricking up their ears. Is the material package perhaps even suitable as a combination for average surfers?
On land:
The Olympic package includes a hybrid board from Starboard, which, at 220 x 95 centimetres and 195 litres in volume, is reminiscent of a form board in terms of its dimensions. There is also the Starboard Race Foil made of full carbon, two fuselages and a fin - 68 centimetres long for men and 66 centimetres for women. A striking feature of the board is the massive cut-outs in the underwater hull, which are much larger than is usual with formula boards or large slalom boards and extend to below the area of the front strap. The light straps are screwed on directly according to the pilot's foot size.
Women use the Severne Hyperglide 8.0, men the 9.0 square metre size. The Hyperglide is designed by the manufacturer Severne as a foil sail, which means: a widely flared lower leech bundles a lot of surface area in the lower area, the leech and sail top are narrower than usual for racing sails. The profile is stabilised by seven battens and four cambers, but in contrast to racing sails, the profile hardness is noticeably softer so that the sail can develop a lot of power even in light winds. Mast, carbon boom, extension, mast foot and bags are also included in the package. 6829 to 7999 euros may sound steep at first, but this is put into perspective when you add up the individual prices of the components.
On the water:
We were able to test the iQFoil in conditions between nine and 15 knots and were surprised at how early the whole set can be put into the air. The rig takes pumping pulls excellently and loads up early. The Hyperglide feels lighter in the hand than other racing sails with four cambers, but you still need to be fit and have pumping power to be able to extract the sail's full potential. Meanwhile, the slim foil produces controlled lift, the take-off takes place before you are really planing and is very predictable. The extremely far-out loop position emphasises the fact that riders with race or formula experience are being used. Once in the air, the set accelerates impressively, even if you have to look for whitecaps on the water surface with a magnifying glass. Cosy half-wind courses are not intended, standing far out you almost automatically edge the board to windward and pull into the wind at an extreme angle. Once you have wedged yourself in on deck, the iQFoil is good-natured, with stable flight behaviour and without any fuss. The foil converts gusts directly into speed.
If you swap foil for fin, it becomes clear why the package was called "iQFoil" and not "iQFormula": Planing is extremely delayed on the planing surface, which has been reduced by cutouts, and with noticeable drag. Only when powered up at over 15 knots does the iQFoil achieve something like a free ride, but it never comes close to the fun of a sporty formula or slalom board. The fact that, according to the manufacturer, it can be foiled up to 25 knots and only ridden with a fin in stronger winds seems obvious in this respect, but also emphasises how big the sporting challenge is likely to be - there is only one sail size at Olympia.
surf conclusion:
With the iQFoil, windsurfing is represented in a visibly more modern way than with the RS:X, which has been taken out of service. The iQFoil can be described as an extremely sporty regatta foil concept, which can also be ridden with a fin if necessary - rather than a true hybrid board that combines both in equal parts. Amateur surfers looking for a hybrid concept for foiling and windsurfing in light winds are better off with large slalom or freeride boards and conventional sails, as the iQFoil is designed 100 per cent for maximum upwind and downwind performance, not least due to its extreme loop positions. On the other hand, anyone who has already taken part in foil races in the German Windsurf Cup will quickly feel at home on the iQFoil. Allez! Allez!
