Inflatable dinghy regatta, assembly required

Fifty-three TIWALs met in the Golfe du Morbihan of France for the 4th edition of the TIWAL Cup on June 3, 2017. Participants came to compete in this inflatable dinghy event from the United States, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malta, Sweden, Germany and all over France to take part in this fun, sporting challenge! In 4 years, the number of participants has multiplied five-fold, making the TIWAL Cup an unmissable event in the Gulf of Morbihan, where this innovation was born.

The competition begins with the bags lined up on the beach ready for the assembly challenge. The designer and co-founder of TIWAL, Marion Excoffon, starts the clock. They’re off! double and singlehanded, 85 people get down to work: opening bags, inflating the hulls, assembling and setting the sails. A new doublehanded record of 6 minutes 28 seconds was set, while the singlehanded time this year was 10 minutes 41 seconds. Then the boats set off for a course of navigation between the islands in the Golfe du Morbihan before returning to the port.

Today, there are almost 700 TIWALs sold sold in more than 40 countries. The young designer, Marion Excoffon, has received awards in the United States (boat of the year), South Korea (boat of the year), Germany (prestigious Red Dot Award Best of the Best prize) and France (BFM Académie company creator award). Recently, this young company raised 800 000EUR in funding for its development in the United States.