This year Glenn Ashby was present again at the Formula 18 Worlds 2015 in Kiel. Ashby is one of the many sailors who, after many successfull years, made it to the professional sailing circuit. Glenn wasn’t able to attend at the prize giving ceremony because of his busy schedule: A-cat Dutch Championship, next the AC45 in Gothenburg (Sweden) followed by the A-Cat Worlds in Italy. But, he found some time to give the F18 class feedback about his F18 experience this year in Kiel.
Glenn Ashby: “The Kiel Formula 18 Worlds were very enjoyable for the most part and I very much enjoyed getting back on the C2 with Brett Goodall again. A year has passed since the fantastic F18 Worlds held in Bangor – Northern Ireland. I was for sure pretty rusty, but really enjoyed getting back into it. A year is a long time to not have put a trapeze harness on for me, compared to my life in previous years where you had the thing on most days it seemed…..! Sailing for me has taken on a very new path these days with my role in the Americas Cup and Emirates Team New Zealand, but I really enjoy it when I can get “back to basics” and learn how to sail again, simply pull the Cunningham on hard, lean back, and send it!
The F18 has been a big part of my sailing career (and many others) over the years and I have been fortunate to sail quite a few different ones. It’s so great to see the class with lots of different manufacturers all performing very well. So many of the different designs are competitive which is not only great for the racing side, but also keeps the costs down so you can be competitive and race well against the good guys for a fraction of the cost of some other classes. This is a big plus for the F18! The F18 is robust, can be pushed hard and is fun to sail. It has all the attributes that entice people to keep coming back to the class.
For me personally, I really enjoy the big fleets the F18 seem to enjoy at the Worlds. There are lots of boats on the water, big start lines and plenty of action that keeps you on your toes and re-connects me to what are the reasons I enjoy multihull racing. The class is also full of great people and I feel privileged to have the opportunity to be able to step back into the class from time to time and race in a boat that has done so much for my overall yachting development over the years!”
On behalf of the whole F18 scene we wish Glenn all the best in Grosetto (Italy) at the A-cat Worlds next week. And, of course, also him and his team members in the Americas Cup. We also would like to invite these guys to join our Formula 18 events as well… if they have time of course 🙂