Launched in 2017, the ETF26 Series, which will feature five events in 2026, the first from March 11 to 14 in Mar Menor (Spain), are reaching a new milestone with a boat that now also flies upwind. An opportunity for Sailorz to take stock of the circuit and the class with its promoters and several skippers.
Five months after the previous season ended in Mar Menor (Spain), which crowned the Entreprises du Morbihan team led by Matthieu Salomon for the third consecutive year, the 9th season of the ETF26 Series, a circuit launched in 2017 by Jean-Pierre Dick and acquired five years later by Pierre Picot through his company Anemo Sailing, gets underway at the same venue, near Murcia, from March 11 to 14. The major new feature this season is that the foiling catamarans will now fly not only downwind, but also upwind, thanks to the combination of rudder winglets, new foils and a new set of sails.
“It is the culmination of several years of development,” comments Pierre Picot. “We had already modified the rudders last year by adding winglets and a differential adjustment, while the new foils [designed by Guillaume Verdier and built by Avel Robotics] were tested at the final Grand Prix of the season, with a longer tip, reduced chord and a more aerodynamic and more cambered section providing greater lift. As for the sails, designed by Mathieu Guillaud of North Sails, they help reduce aerodynamic drag.”
As a result, the ETF26 will now fly all the time and earlier, from 7 knots of wind downwind and around 10 knots upwind, explains the man who says he has invested 150,000 euros in technical development of the catamarans since 2022. “The goal was to give the boat a second life to start a new multi-year cycle and continue attracting teams aiming for the highest level,” adds Pierre Picot, with eight teams entered this season.
Attracting the “Olympians”
What do the sailors think? “The new version of the boat played a major role in my renewed commitment this year,” replies Matthieu Salomon, who is embarking on his fifth consecutive season. “It will significantly change the nature of the racing, particularly tactically, with a more demanding platform as we will reach higher speeds upwind. And from a sporting perspective, everyone is starting somewhat from scratch, it’s going to be very open.”
For Léo Chapalain, who runs the ETF26 program within the K-Challenge Academy (two boats entered, as last year), moving to full foiling meets the expectations of a team competing on the circuit this year with a view to the Youth and Women’s America’s Cup (spring 2027 in Naples). The youth and women’s crews are currently being selected, with the announcement due in late March/early April, so K-Challenge will not be present in Mar Menor. “The ETF26 in its new version is a great platform for crewed sailing on a high-speed foiling boat, it is getting even closer to the AC40,” he comments.
Attracting America’s Cup teams is indeed one of the ambitions of Pierre Picot and Maxime Grimard, the class manager, who are also targeting SailGP teams as well as Olympic sailing, particularly sailors competing in the 49er and Nacra 17. “We will take advantage of the World Championship in May in Quiberon to offer teams the chance to try the boat. We clearly position ourselves as a bridge between Olympic sailing and professional sailing; the circuit is perfectly suited,” confirms Pierre Picot.
Budgets of 100,000
to 200,000 euros
And indeed, the circuit is attracting “Olympians,” with Nacra specialists this season including Tim Mourniac, back with his father Jean-Christophe and Team Pro (they were absent in 2025), and the British pair John Gibson and Anna Burnet, reigning world champions – as well as 49er sailors Clément Péquin and Erwan Fischer, 2024 world champions, who join the circuit with Team Sport Bams.
“Bams, who support us in the 49er, wanted us to run another project that would allow us to make a living from our sport while keeping the ultimate goal of Olympic gold in Los Angeles,” explains Erwan Fischer. “Often, dual projects help improve performance, but also allow us to race more, as there are fewer and fewer regattas in the 49er. Since we had the opportunity to discover the ETF26 circuit by doing two Grands Prix with Tim (Mourniac) after the Paris Games and we loved the boat, we approached the class to see how to align the calendars and enable us to compete in the full season.”
Team Sport Bams has therefore purchased a second-hand ETF26 – 150,000 euros with the new foils (55,000 for annual charter, sails included) – for a total budget, “including the boat and payroll, of around 400,000 euros,” according to Erwan Fischer. Average operating budgets range, depending on the team, between 100,000 and 200,000 euros. “The boat and the circuit are really great for a reasonable amount; my partners are extremely satisfied with the sailing/visibility mix we offer them,” comments Charles Dorange. At the helm of Blueshift Sailing Team, he has assembled a European crew this year, with Belgium’s Henri Demesmaeker and Sweden’s Rasmus Rosengren, on a 100,000-euro budget.
“We’d like 10–12 teams”
For Matthieu Salomon, who continues this year with the same crew (Franck Cammas, Solune Robert, Valentin Bellet) and is targeting a total budget of 200,000 euros, the ETF26 allows partners to “get hands-on experience of a boat otherwise out of reach for most people, knowing that on corporate days, we take around a dozen people sailing each day. It’s a very strong team-building platform, and during regattas they are truly immersed, often in great locations.”
This year’s venues are Mar Menor to open the season, Lake Garda in June and July, Lorient in mid-August and Quiberon in October, five events organized by the class with a total budget of 100,000 euros and self-funded through entry fees (11,000 euros per team). “The main new venue this season is Lorient, where we’ve wanted to go for several years and which has a somewhat historic significance for us, because the boat was born there,” explains Maxime Grimard. “We’re finally going there on a high-attendance weekend (August 12–15), and we hope it will boost the circuit’s visibility among the general public and partners.”
The class’s objective is to secure a title sponsor – around 100,000 euros – “to grow the events, improve communication and provide more services to the teams,” explains Pierre Picot, but also to attract more teams, particularly international ones. “Four boats are still available; we would like 10–12 teams in the near future,” he adds.
Image : Clément Gerbaud / Qaptur / ETF26 Series
