Fleet Renewal

The Fleets

Overview
The FJ Racing Fleet
The 420 Race and Rec Fleet
The 7th Generation Tech Dinghy Fleet
Foiling Toys
Electric Outboards

Renewal Status

The FJ Racing Fleet

The 420 Race and Rec Fleet

The 7th Generation Tech Dinghy Fleet

Electric Outboards

Set Sail: Fun and Foiling at the MIT Sailing Pavilion

Summer months on campus are always more fun when students get a break in their studies and can mess around with some of the non-traditional toys on the south side of Memorial Drive. Our student leaders of the MITNA are totally intrigued by the fun and exhilarating rides available with foils.

In 2014 we jumped into the world of hydrofoils with a moth foiling sailboat. The moth is an absolute gas and is often blasting along faster than the traffic on Storrow Drive. With generous support from alumni (who are also moth sailors) we have been able to inherit some very nice castaway race equipment that still functions perfectly well. A UFO foiling catamaran was added in 2018 in order to bring a training-wheels-style experience for newcomers with fewer crashing in the early hours to provide the experience sooner with less swimming.

Now we are ready to make the jump to foiling wings on a board. Foiling a board is actually much easier to learn than conventional windsurfing because the friction of the water goes away, and with less resistance, you have more speed with less arm fatigue.

Wingfoiling is similar to kite surfing. Holding a foil while on a board with an underwater foil is the latest rage. It's easy to learn, and boards and foils are all interchangeable. So different body sizes can get matched up with skill levels and breeze conditions. Wingfoiling is here to stay!

A rather large group of students is anxious to try Fliteboarding. The Fliteboard is a rechargeable electric motor that props up a board, which you control aerobically while balancing to steer. Check out this Fliteboard zooming around our recently retired tech dinghies frostbiting in Marblehead harbor just before Christmas. How many would like to be solo sailing in a tech during a drifter OR blasting along silent and wakeless working on balance and steering with your weight?

Fliteboards are $15K each and a quiver of various wings will require a further investment of $15K in order to teach people of all body sizes, skill levels and various breeze conditions. A student led petition just circulated through campus with over 300 students excited to learn these new skills. Put yourself in this MIT students' position, zooming the Charles River.

Naming

Naming rights are $15,000 for one Fliteboard and $5,000 for each Wingfoil set.

Give to the Sailing Fleet Renewal Fund (#2737867)


MIT
Updated: 2021/06/07 11:29:35
MIT
Updated: 2021/06/07 11:29:35