TF35 – Season 2025
For its fifth season, the queen of Lake Geneva series has reached technological maturity. With the arrival of Marco Favale’s X-Wing, there will be seven on the starting line.
Seven half-floating, half-flying mounts, equipped with formidable flight software: that’s how many TF35s will be vying for victory at the Bol d’Or du LĂ©man on June 14. These dragonflies weigh in at 1,200 kilos and are 15 metres long. An empty weight to which must be added 500 kilos for the human load, i.e. six crew members including an owner-steward. Since 2021, TF35 Trophy competitors have been splitting the surface of the lake at almost three times the speed of the wind. On Lake Geneva, the TF35s have “almost” no competition. “Almost”, since the two resounding victories (2022 and 2023) of the D35 W-Team, led by Christian Wahl, cannot be ignored. These two editions were contested in a complete absence of wind. They left the foilers stranded on the lake. In 2021 and 2024, it only took two hours of breeze to set the record straight. At the start of the season, Skippers magazine got a whiff of the atmosphere during a group training session. Off the coast of Mies, a light, fading breeze was used to train the teams and test the new geolocated buoys. Bertrand Favre, the emblematic skipper of the DĂ©cision 35s during their sixteen years of fleet racing, watches over the Lords of Lake Geneva like a mahout over his elephant. In 2020, commissioned by the owners, he coordinated the design team, initiated construction and launched the TF35 series.
This fifth season is all about maturity. “There’s almost nothing to change this year. The boat flies fast and early. She’s really getting better and better, even in archimedean mode.” To avoid losing out to the D35s, the TF35s can now replace their T-shaped foils with C-shaped daggerboards. In this way, they no longer fly, but become light and agile in transitions. The decision has far-reaching consequences: it takes the technical team four hours to swap the daggerboards. In terms of sailing ability, there is one last unknown: since their creation, the TF35s have never yet faced a tough Bol d’Or. It’s hard to know how they’ll perform once the wind exceeds
over 20 knots. With eight boats built, the fleet is generally homogeneous. But each season has its own particularities. Of the seven boats announced for the Bol d’Or, only six will complete the full season this year.
Realteam does not compete in Grand Prix events. Following its withdrawal from the America’s Cup, the Alinghi Red Bull Racing team has completely disappeared from the scene. A few defectors are sailing X-Wing, the new 2025 entry (see our box). Four TF35s are also training in pairs: there are Sails of Change 8 and 10, the great dominators of the 2024 season, Sails of Change 8 will be the TF35 to beat in 2025 (see our portrait on page 16). Then there are the two representatives of the Ylliam dynasty: Ylliam XII – Comptoir Immobilier and Ylliam 17. Remember that Ylliam IV, owned by Fred Firmenich, was the historic winner of the first two Bol d’Or in 1939 and 1940. In other words, Firmenich’s descendants don’t take the Tour du LĂ©man lightly. On the 17, helmed by Julien Firmenich, Nelson Mettraux hails “a first year finally on a par with the 12”. The latter has been helmed by Bertrand Demole since the creation of the series. On Zen Too, owned by Guy de Picciotto, LoĂŻc Forestier has set himself the goal of “continuing to progress in the Grand Prix”. But when it comes to the Bol d’Or, the helmsman makes no secret of his team’s desire to win the famous race on Lake Geneva.
X-Wing sails on the right side of the Force
Marco Favale, what does the name of your new boat mean? X-Wing is one of the Star Wars space shuttles. In another class, we had a competitor called Black Star, the enemy ship of the dark side of the force. I decided to name my ship Millenium Falcon. A line of Star Wars names was born. X-Wing is a series of starfighters whose agility and speed match those of the TF35.
Nicolas Charbonnier, Lucien Cujean, Arthur Cevey and Yves Detrey are part of your crew. They are defectors from the now-defunct Alinghi Red Bull Racing. They are also seasoned sailors from Lake Geneva. You’re a new helmsman who’s particularly well surrounded… Yes, I must admit I’ve got some great advice. We’ll see what happens. The feel of the helm is both light and crazy. It’s fast, fine, silent, smooth and above all extremely technical. I just love it!
What is your goal for the Bol d’Or? This will be my first Bol d’Or. I have no idea what I’m talking about. I’ve heard some great stories and others that scare me. So I’m sticking to the idea of having fun.