The 69F Class was founded on June 7, 2021. The whole fleet counts on 28 boats, they are in Europe and Asia. The Class is aware it does not respond to the 7 boats per 4 continents requires by World Sailing, but 69F business plan is different, as different was the concept at its birth. The idea is to have moving fleets owned by the managing company, for a sustainable and lasting concept and to be able to reach good racing fleet number early in the boat life. Like 69F has proudly been doing since the very start.

2019 was the year during which 69F has been tested on water and had gone through final adjustment, while the rules were being written by Marco Mercuriali and Miguel Allen, our pillars for the on water umpiring.

In 2020, we held four test events, mainly on lake Garda. 51 teams tried the boat at those test events and we can proudly say that 90% of them confirmed their preference and were back in 2021, some for the Persico 69F Cup and some for the Youth Foiling Gold Cup.

51 teams in 2020 – 4 TEST events

During this time plenty of top-level professional sailors helped adjusting the boat, like Olympic Champions Santiago Lange, Ruggero Tita, and America’s Cup sailor like Francesco Bruni. They all loved the experience and gave 69F Team important feedback to put in place both for boat handling and the format.

SEASON 1

45 teams in 2021 – 12 events (YFGC, 69F Cup, PRO Cup)

SEASON 2

45 teams in 2022 – 19 events (YFGC, 69F Cup Europe, 69F Cup USA, 69F US Select Series)

SEASON 3

41 teams in 2023 – 13 events (YFGC, WFGC, 69F Cup Europe, 69F US Select Series)

69F Cup and Youth Foiling Gold Cup (YFGC) are the two main circuits, up and running since 2021.

The YFGC is aimed at sailors under the age of 26 with a woman onboard – but often there are only female teams – and includes training days, qualification, and knock-out rounds. At the YFGC the boats are provided by 69F, and teams take turns with a three-day qualification round and two days of finals. The entry fee is reduced, the boats prepared by the 69F team, and the winner is the best on the water, playing on a equal field where only sailing talent and the athletes’ skills matters. The series includes three events in Europe, with a Grand Final for the best two teams of each event to be held in Barcelona, Spain, in November at the end of the season. The YFGC has been a huge success since the very first regatta, as the Persico 69F truly embodies what young sailors are looking for: foiling, speed, adrenaline, and tight competition.

The 69F Cup is open to everyone, you can attend with your own boat or rent one with the easy ‘Pay per Play’ formula, in which the boat is provided and prepared by 69F team, and if in need, some training is available and some 69F sailors can be included in the crew. This formula allowed the 69F Cup to immediately have big fleets of over 10 boats per event and to respect the sustainability principle that was in the 69F project since its creation. There should be no boats in a shed, all 69F should be on the water.

The WFGC, starting from the 2024 season, becomes a 2-stage circuit at the express request of the strong crews who took part in the 2023 test event and those who, due to the limited number of available slots, did not have the opportunity to participate.

The JFGC arises from the requests of the youngest to compete on equal terms with their peers. In 2024, there will be a test event, followed by the establishment in the following years of a full-fledged circuit just like the other YFGC and WFGC circuits.

In 2021 a PRO Cup took place in Palermo, Italy, an invitational challenge reserved to Pro sailors, where athletes from the Olympics and America’s Cup challenged each other on the boats provided by 69F. The experiment was a success.

THE FLEETS

69F owns two fleets of six boats. Available for the Pay-per-Play formula to easy the access to newcomers and to respond to sustainability matters linked to building the boats and moving the boats around the globe.

In Europe there are ten privately owned boats and six in Asia.

69F global project’s goal is to have local fleets around the world in which we can recreate the same business model as we now have in Europe. A 1:3 ratio between privately owned boats and Coming Solutions’s fleet, will allow competitive and participated circuits in a much more sustainable way. Both for the environment and for the sailors. The boat is a state-of-the-art design and technology machine, in full carbon, able to foil at just seven knots, it is much easier for an owner or a sailing team to put together a budget to charter their spot for the season, rather than adventuring in an expensive, and in some cases, unknown foiling project. The purchase of the vessel can follow a season or more of good sailing.

The Youth Foiling Gold Cup, the Women Foiling Gold Cup and the Junior Foiling Gold Cup have a very little entry fee, below the actual cost of the operation, by doing this 69F is proudly contributing to the promotion of foiling among the youngsters.