![\"20161205_3typeoffoils\"](\"https:\/\/foilingweek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/12\/20161205_3typeoffoils.jpg\")
<\/p>\nExtract from Yachting World.<\/p>\n
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They are all slightly different. In essence, there are three concepts at work: one that designers VPLP call the \u2018Dali\u2019 foil because of its ostensible similarity to the artist\u2019s moustache; Alex Thompson\u2019s DSS-style foil on Hugo Boss; and another type designed by Nick Holroyd of Team New Zealand used on J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Beyou\u2019s Ma\u00eetre Coq.<\/p>\n
The first is a V-shaped foil on which the purpose of the shaft is to hold out an elbow and tip, but the shaft itself is not a key part. On Hugo Boss, the shaft and tip both provide lift, hence Thomson\u2019s board provides, he says, \u201ca two to three times bigger lifting surface.\u201d It is said that Thomson\u2019s foils begin to generate lift at a lower speed and are efficient to a deeper angle downwind than the others.<\/p>\n
On Ma\u00eetre Coq the shaft ends in a flat section and has an elbow with a tip that extends vertically.<\/p>\n
Every team has been refining these foils. Most have experienced breakages and, after trying out refinements, are on version 2, 3 or even 4. The point is that, for all teams, foils are still very much a learning game.<\/p>\n
Alex Thomson came into the Vend\u00e9e Globe as something of a dark horse, but his boat appears to have the edge over the rest of the foiling pack in downwind conditions. It remains to be seen if a full conclusion can be made since he broke his starboard foil in November, however, as that makes direct comparisons with fellow leader Armel Le Cl\u00e9ac\u2019h\u2019s Banque Populaire difficult.<\/p>\n