DING, DING... ROUND 2. WE ARE BACK!

So we copped a bit of a kicking in Round 1 againstg the amazing Walvis Bay Speed strip when our rig came crashing down seconds into our first run.

It's all been repaired now and we are ready to re-enter the arena. Conditions have been superb over the past few days and we don't expect them to stop. If tomorrow is good then we will go for it.

 

Sailrockets designer, Malcolm Barnsley, arrived from the UK a few days and quickly got into the swing of things. Malc's calc's are the backbone of the project and often determine our path forward. We have made modifications to the steering system and worked out a sailing profile that should make SAILROCKET a bit safer to handle.

 

On Malcolms second day here we took him over to the speed strip and showed him what all the fuss was about. Coditions were a bit above what we are after but he clearly got the idea about the quality of the location and my concerns about any tendency for the boat to round up. The fact is that you can sail so close to the shore that turning into the wind is just not possible for a second. It spells disaster. We have designed a sailing profile where I oversheet early and then ease into the power zone. This will give the boat  more of a tendency to turn away from the beach should I have a steerage issue.

 

We have full remodelled the steering system and it feels much better from my perspective. The crash harness has also gone in.

 

I must say that I'm a little nervous as it has taken us a long time to get back to this stage of the game. I don't want to break the boat again. It puts too much strain on our small team. Trouble is that I also want to go very fast!

We will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to rig SAILROCKET in the calm morning air and make sure that everything is just as it should be before we head across the lagoon. If we have a good first run then we will head back up the course for another.

 

I hope that tomorrow is a big day for all the right reasons.

 

Stay tuned, Paul.

 

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com