WASZP Class in search of the limit

The WASZP Class has a clever yet simple initiative – speed. The 11-foot foiler is a very fast one design class, and is encouraging the international class membership to find the limit.

The latest limit was found by teenage British sailor Toby Smith who holds the new speed record of 31 knots. But instead of coordinating a windy forecast with an ideal venue, Smith got lucky during a UK regatta in Datchet.

“I’d just crossed after a race,” he recalls. “I looked behind me and saw this huge gust rolling down the course. And I thought… this might be the moment. I threw in a jibe-there must have been about 35 knots of breeze-set the boat up quickly, put my shoulders out, shut my eyes… and just went for it.”

Racing out of the Royal Hospital School Sailing Academy in Suffolk, Smith is part of a strong junior U18 pathway. He had set the fastest speed of 30.4 knots earlier in the year, with the record raised by Connal Green to 30.9 knots at the 2026 WASZP Australian Championships.

Despite setting the record, Smith contends it is not the limit. “There’s definitely more speed to be had,” he says. “How much there is still unknown, but I think around the 34-knot mark could be possible. When I set the record, I wasn’t set up for speed. I would have set up the boat slightly differently.

“Having colder water is a lot harder to set the record in, so maybe in the summer I can try again. Flat water is also a big factor, and obviously, the wind has to be the right strength. There’s definitely loads of factors that contribute, and I think they can certainly get better.”