Kai Lenny, going fast. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
Kai Lenny has said it before and he’ll say it again: he likes to go fast. He famously loves F1, which is handy because Red Bull owns a few racing teams. Recently, he had the chance to put that speed to the test in a race against what he says is the fastest sailboat in the world — but he wasn’t on a sailboat himself. No no, he was on a foil.
Lenny draws a lot of comparisons between riding on water and F1. “My relationship with my shaper is about as close to F1 as you can get in our world,” he said when asked how he would compare the relationship between surfer and shaper and the relationship between driver and constructor. “Keith Taboul at KT surfing has been working with the best materials and developing the most innovative design ideas. We draw a ton of inspiration from the Formula One and the America’s Cup sailing through their aerodynamic innovations, as well as hydrodynamic innovations.”
Lenny, has always dreamed of racing his wing foil against the AC72, which is a class of wingsail catamarans.
“One of my dreams came true when I got the call up to not only race my wing foil against the AC 72 (Alinghi Red Bull Racing America’s Cup) but to be a crew member on board cycling,” he wrote. “The biggest surprise while I was there was getting to helm the AC40, something I definitely didn’t think I would ever get to do!”
