We had chance to look in detail last weekend at the latest eXploder Ad3 when one of a pair, just brought into the UK, was unwrapped by Colin Bannister at Rutland SC last weekend.  He was amongst the first to take delivery of the new 2016 version along with the 2014 UK National Champ and World No.15, Sam Newton, an eXploder team flyer.

Whilst not as radical looking as the new 2016 DNA, the Ad3 is an improvement on earlier versions, both in terms of aerodynamic design and build quality, and will certainly offer an economic way to achieve great racing performance. 

The new 2016 DNA F1 has arrived.  It has clearly set new standards for design and optimisation on many levels. "Normally I speak pretty modest of my work and all we do at Holland Composites. But this time I am very proud of the result of the new DNA F1..." PJ.  

Catsailingnews has the full story here!

The European ‘A’ Cat 2016 season saw events in Italy and France over the Easter weekend with victories for Giuseppe Colombo and Thierry Boisbouvier.

Cesenatico - Italy:

Giuseppe Colombo wins the 42nd A-Class Vele di Pasqua

It is very important that all competitors registered arrive at the 2016 World Championships and present CURRENT measurement certificates. These should cover all relevant parts -Sails, Hull and Mast. Tamperproof stickers will be issued and applied to the relevant parts.  Each day, judges will pick several boats to be measured, so it is crucial that the boats have the correct documentation otherwise disqualification could result.  

Graeme Harbour, the 2016 Worlds Chief Equipment Measurer has issued a letter and guidelines as detailed below.

It would seem that new designed 'A' cats are like buses - you wait for ages, then two come along at once. (An old British joke, not sure how it works in other countries!)

Piet Saarberg has announced the new 2016 flying version of his Vision.  Developed from the experience gained last year, and sailed to victory by Dave Shaw in the NZL Nationals, this new version is due for launch.

See the Catamaran Parts website for further details.

So far the organisers of the 2016 World Championships have received entry fees of 108 competitors, which gives them financial security for a fantastic event.

With the 120+ registered competitors, they will split the fleets in a similar way as in Punta Ala.  ie Two fleets randomly split initially, then the top half of each fleet will join together into a Gold and Silver fleet.

The board shape stats are -

Z - 68

C - 35

J - 12

S - 5

Other - 5

Finally, the beast has emerged into the daylight, eyes blinking, to stretch it's legs and show you what it is made of!  The 2016 DNA has finally been revealed to the World at last, just in time for the new season, and for the hotshots to ride at the Worlds in June.

The AFCCA today received a communications from the French Sailing Federation giving their consent to foiling and non-foiling boats sailing together. A result for the French A Class and it's friends!

The communication was as follows (Translated) from the original here.

'The organization of the National (French) A Class presents a problem to this day despite the efforts of each other to find a consensual solution.

Italian aerospace engineer, Ubaldo Cella, has recently had his research on A-Class sail design methodology awarded 'Best in class' CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) application by the ANSYS “Hall of Fame” competition.  For those who don't mix in these elevated circles, ANSYS is the World leader in engineering simulation and 'develops, markets and supports engineering simulation software used to predict how products will behave and how manufacturing processes will operate in real-world environments'.

A petition has been set up in support of the French 'A' Class Association's (AFCAA) fight against having restrictive rules imposed on 'A' Cat regattas by the FFV.