The Women's 49erFX - A History Lesson...

It’s a new kid on the block for the Olympic Sailing Competition, but it’s roots have already been established for some time. The 49erFX gets underway on Friday 12 August, 13:00 on the Aeroporto course, but before they get started, find out more about the Two Person Skiff below…

Previous Olympic Medallists

The Women’s skiff 49erFX is a brand new event for the Olympic Games for Rio 2016. Fast and colourful with racing as close as it gets, eyes will be glued to the racing to see which of the super talented crews will take the very first Olympic gold medal in this exciting new class.
 
Recent World Champions

First out of the blocks were Alex Maloney and Molly Meech (NZL). Snatching the maiden world championship of the new class from Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (BRA).
 
Flash forward a year and Grael and Kunze topped the podium in Santander, Spain in front of Ida Marie Baad Nielsen and Marie Thusgaard Olsen (DEN) and Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich (ITA)
 
2015 saw the same three boats on the podium but it was Conti and Clapcich who occupied the top step.
 
2016 was all change with an all new top three. At the front Támara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos (ESP) who go into the Olympic Games as World Champions.
 
Life as an Olympic Event
 
While its Olympic debut is still days away, four years of World Championships and Sailing World Cup have shown the FX to be an intense and excitement packed class. The girls are once again showing the boys how it’s done.
 
What’s it like to sail?
 
Like the 49er, the FX rewards athleticism, balance, skill and daring. On the racecourse the helm makes many tactical decisions, as well as steering, and the crew does most of the sail control. This is no mean feat; to manage the sheet loads and launch and recover the massive spinnaker 49erFX crews have to be seriously fit
 
Top women sailors wanted a skiff that was thrilling in 10 knots and still racing in 25 knots, and the FX delivers. This new event is set to be one of the spectacle events of the entire Olympic Games when it kicks off next week.
 
Short History of the Class and Key Specs
 
In 2012 World Sailing (then ISAF) announced their intention to include a women’s skiff in the lineup for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Trials were set for early in the next year.
Following nine months of testing by the Mackay team, the 49erFX won the trials for a women’s skiff. The FX was officially selected as the equipment for the new women’s skiff event in early May 2013.
 
Much like the Laser Radial for the Laser, Mackay Boats developed the new FX rig to fit straight onto the existing 49er hull and provide the correct amount of power for lighter female crews. The FX would be fully powered up at a similar windspeed as the 49er, and start depowering at the same windspeed.
 
The 49erFX’s mast is about 450mm shorter than the 49er and stiffer to complement the meticulously engineered sails.
 
The 19.6 m2 sailplan was digitally optimised by leading skiff sail designer John Clinton. The size of the main and jib were carefully adjusted to get the correct fore/aft aerodynamic centre of effort to retain the same balance as the 49er. The main was given a wider head as a result of recent technological developments from the 18ft skiffs and America’s Cup.
 
The 49erFX also packs a punchy 25.1 sqm asymmetric spinnaker.  Which takes advantage of developments in spinnaker design to give a flatter and more efficient sail. This flatter spinnaker allows a lightweight female crew to push the boat while the boys in the 49er are starting to ease off.
 
All this scientific rig tweaking means the 49erFX is able to compete equally with the 49er downwind in most conditions and upwind in many.
 
Famous Faces

On paper the top 49erFX team in the world is Brazil’s Martine Grael
Kahena Kunze having never left the world championship podium this quadrennial. Out of four years Grael and Kunze hold one World Championship title, two second places and a third.
 
Next up is Italy’s Giulia Conti and Francesca Clapcich and Spain’s Támara Echegoyen and Berta Betanzos with one world championship and one third place apiece. Then New Zealand’s Alexandra Maloney and Molly Meech who were world champions in 2013.
 
Did you know…

Current 49erFX world champion, Spain’s Támara Echegoyen, won Olympic gold at London 2012 in the class that the 49erFX replaced, the Womens Match Racing.

RIO 2016 OLYMPIC SAILING COMPETITION USEFUL LINKS
World Sailing Olympic Website – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/home.php
Rio 2016 Schedule – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/about/schedule.php#.V5Yw346BLqM
Rio 2016 Olympic Sailors – http://www.sailing.org/olympics/rio2016/qualification/sailors.php#.V5Yw946BLqM