Rafferty Read: Finding the fun on the way to a world top-20 finish
- Team OTC
- 57 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Rafferty Read’s top-20 finish at the Formula WingFoil Racing World Championships in Istanbul came with an unexpected lesson: taking the pressure off can help bring out your best.
Arriving the night before racing after three consecutive events, Rafferty had little of his usual preparation. But with an old 5.5m wing and a determination to enjoy himself, he secured top-ten finishes in the gold fleet and showed the speed to challenge the leading racers.
There's no better time than now to speak to Rafferty as the Holy Moly League Festival is this weekend at The Official Test Centre and with Rafferty so excited to see it come together after months of work.
By Emma Maguire
Reflecting on his result, Rafferty said:
“It’s feels amazing and to be honest something I didn’t expect with my preparations towards this event. I’ve been higher up the rankings in previous years but after taking on so many new projects recently along with the level of these events constantly increasing, it feels epic to still be right up there.”
An unconventional build-up
For most competitors, arriving early offers valuable time to settle in, check equipment and get familiar with the conditions. Rafferty’s schedule left him with a very different start.
“Completely changed my normal preparation as usually I have a couple days at the venue before a world level competition along with having days at home training but here I came straight from 3 back to back events.
“I had a non-conscious prep of mentally not giving myself any pressure to perform due to the little ‘standard’ prep I had, and physically of pushing my body to edge the previous week so just keeping my body on the edge!
“And then to practically, I missed the rider and equipment registration but luckily got that all done the morning of the racing so I had one early morning of practical prep.”
Once racing began, the conditions offered little opportunity to ease into the competition. Wind coming off the city made for an unpredictable racecourse throughout the week.
“Super gusty and shifty all week as the wind was coming off the Istanbul city.
“Some days light, some windy. But all mega unstable!
“It was very challenging as it was almost impossible to ever be comfortable due to being overpowered or underpowered on equipment, and was sometimes luck of where the wind would be on the course.”
Trusting an old favourite
One of Rafferty’s biggest decisions was to use his old 5.5m wing for every race, despite having a bigger, newer option available. His priority was choosing equipment he would enjoy riding.
“I chose that wing because I wanted to have the most fun riding at the event. I did have a bigger and newer wing but as a general fact, majority of the newer generation wings are a lot harder and less enjoyable to use.
“And that turned out to be a great decision because I felt very comfortable, had fun and so raced very well!”
That comfort helped him find strong speed in the difficult conditions, although the smaller wing required extra effort on parts of the course.
“Taking the old smaller wing really helped as it meant I was super comfortable in the tough conditions. It didn't have as good performance down wind but there I just worked very hard with pumping.
“But I wouldn’t have taken this without having the mindset of not putting pressure on myself for the event so that helped with everything.”
Racing at the front
Rafferty’s top-ten gold fleet finishes provided tangible results, but his position during individual races gave him further encouragement. He was regularly mixing with the front of the fleet.
“In the majority of the gold fleet races I was actually always doing well at points within them and often to the first mark in top 5.
“But then dropped either to crashes, wind changes, or mistakes.
“So in one way the top ten finishes weren’t actually very significant to me as I knew I can be there if everything goes to plan, but it was significant in that it meant I could back up my performance with results.”
Finding the consistency to turn those promising positions into stronger finishes remains a challenge. Asked what prevented him from staying near the very top, Rafferty was open about the questions he is still working through.
“The crashes, wind changes and silly mistakes directly caused the prevention.
“But to know what caused them, I’m not 100% on.
“I’d say prep and training as I had such little/ opposite of it for this event. But then I feel a lot of the success of the event came from that!
“Any coaches out there, please let me know haha.”
One particular race captured just how quickly fortunes could change in Istanbul.
“One gold fleet race I had an awesome start then half way up the first leg I crossed everyone and was leading the race. Got excited to extend my lead by seeing a gust coming to me but then it was super strong and different direction causing me to crash hard and rip my wing badly. Cool how fast the best thing can go to the worst thing.”
Despite those setbacks, Rafferty left with a clear lesson about trusting his own judgement.
“Don’t follow the trend. If you think you’re going to be faster, more comfortable and have more fun by doing something, follow it. And that even if i go in with solely fun and learning, i can still perform to the highest level.”
A growing British presence
Beyond his own racing, Rafferty is encouraged by the increasing number of British wingfoilers competing internationally. Having more familiar faces on the circuit brings both company and opportunities to improve together.
“Mega encouraging. I was the only British person competing in the international wing events for some years which was tough in some ways but having more and more joining not only makes it more fun, but also makes it easier to train and push each other to improve as a nation.”
Life between competitions
Istanbul was part of a demanding month of events across Europe. Keeping up with the travel, racing and practical arrangements required considerable physical and mental energy.
“Very physical as I’ve pushed my body to the limits with doing all this sport and also partying throughout. Mentally as I’ve had to stay on top of everything and keep myself up to date with what my next plan is.
“I did have a month similar to this earlier on in the year where I fully had nothing left for the last days. But this time I was still grooving and I’m confident this is because I didn’t put as much pressure on myself to perform. But in the end I actually performed the same if not better!”
Recovery time was scarce, with travel between destinations often providing the closest thing to a break.
“To be honest, there was no recovery during this month.
“Sitting in a tiny airplane seat for a several hours working to the next destination was the closest thing to it!
“When I have some more time in between, I recover physically by doing admin work I need to do and mentally by free riding wing, kite, or windsurf on the water.”
Rafferty also acknowledged the support of Starboard Wing & Foiling, ION and CHUBANGA Foil in helping him compete.
“Huge part in making it all possible. They’ve all helped to allow to be comfortable and take stress off my equipment as I know I am riding the best.”
Bringing the energy to HOLY MOLY
At the time of the interview, Rafferty had just two days until the HOLY MOLY League’s festival. The event will expand to two days, combining accessible racing, a party and a show day.
“The holy moly festival is first ever two day event so will be the biggest to date.
“We have stoke filled accessible wing racing on the first day, a big party Saturday night with loads of prizes and Sunday a show day with the biggest brands in the industry.
“And of course the same holy moly energy throughout.”
For anyone wondering whether they have enough experience to join in, Rafferty explained who can take part and where to find the details.
“Anyone that can stay upwind wingfoiling can take part in the fun racing and show day.
“And anyone that likes a party can join the afters and prize giving for free!
“Can get involved and all useful information through here: https://linktr.ee/HolyMoly.League?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=96cb4e39-ef7b-46a1-88cb-126856fa61b8”
Looking ahead
With more competitions on the horizon, Rafferty wants to carry the mindset that served him well in Istanbul through the rest of 2026.
“Well from this event, I’ve learnt to try and not put too much pressure on myself so I suppose that’s the goal for all my remaining events of 2026 such as the holy moly festival, my first wave competition, x15 world championships and World Cup final.”
His performances have strengthened his belief that he can compete consistently with the world’s best. Finding the time and resources to pursue that ambition remains part of the challenge.
“I know it won’t take much to get there. I’ve done it inconsistently so I know what it takes to make it happen consistently.
“However, I don’t currently have the resources for it as I need to the spend time elsewhere just to be able to get to these events.”
For young or developing wingfoilers hoping to race internationally, his advice returns to the theme that shaped his championships: keep enjoying the sport.
“Don’t let yourself or others put so much pressure on yourself that you start to lose the fun and reason why you’re doing it in the first place.
“I believe when you enjoy the process, you perform best!”
Comments