France sweeps Formula Wing European titles in light-air Naples regatta

France left Naples with the clearest possible marker of form in Formula Wing racing: both European titles, four medals overall, and a week that rewarded the sailors who could read shifting pressure better than anyone else on the Bay of Naples.

The championship, held from 8-12 April 2026 and hosted by Reale Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia, drew more than 100 riders from 16 nations, with sailors arriving from four continents because the event had open status. That depth mattered. Formula Wing is raced on registered series-production equipment approved by World Sailing, with each competitor limited to two wings, one board and two foil glider systems, so the margins in Naples came down to tuning, starts, and the kind of racecraft that survives when the breeze will not cooperate. The same waters are set to host the America’s Cup in 2027, giving the championship extra weight in a city where foiling now feels more like a proving ground than a novelty.

The final day turned into a test of patience as a north-easterly breeze blocked the reliable Neapolitan thermal wind from building. Race officials cancelled racing progressively through the afternoon before confirming abandonment, freezing the leaderboard after 12 women’s races and 13 men’s races. By then, France had already done enough. Italy, buoyed by home-water support, had to settle for two silvers.

In the women’s fleet, 16-year-old Vaina Picot produced the week’s sharpest breakout. The rider from French Guadeloupe won nine of the 12 races and became the youngest Formula Wing European champion, a result built on consistency rather than flashes. Picot said the conditions had been “super tricky” all week and that she adapted well, and that was exactly what separated her from a 21-strong women’s field that kept changing with the breeze. Defending champion Maddalena Spanu stayed in the hunt and claimed silver, but Picot’s control of the shifts defined the title race.

The men’s side was tighter on paper and just as unforgiving on the water, where Julien Rattotti’s steadiness carried him to the continental crown. Already a wave world titleholder, Rattotti added another major line to his résumé by staying composed across the full series and refusing to give away the kind of points that disappear into a light-air week. Behind him, Poland’s Kamil Manowiecki, New Zealand’s Sean Herbert and Italy’s Alessandro José Tomasi underlined how international the front of the fleet had become, even if only European sailors could claim the medals.

There was one more twist before the event shut down: the Golden Ticket race briefly opened a path for Italy’s Francesco Cappuzzo and Charlotte Baruzzi into the medal series, only for the quarter-finals to be cancelled as well. By then the story was settled. France had not just won Naples, it had set the pace for the class.