Walvis Bay, ROUND 2.
Righto, now that the Fastnet race is out the way our focus is now on returning to Namibia. We believe we know the path forward with Sailrocket and will implement a few basic changes that should make a big difference.
For now I will stay at the back of the boat. The steering system will be refined for high-speed work and the skeg which is already fitted will remain as is.
We will modify the wing so that it can be safely and instantly de-powered if anything else goes wrong with the handling.
After a long period of review we believe that the skeg and an improved steering system should make SAILROCKET manageable... but just in case we will set the boat up so that if our understanding is wrong, it won't result in another wipeout. We hope that we will simply be able to cruise to a stop, go back and try again.
We sort of lost focus on this basic aspect of practicality and need to make it a priority once again.
We hope to return with a new and much improved system for recording onboard data. Everything from wing and rudder angles right through to accelerometers which measure G-forces in 3 dimensions will be onboard in one neat and tidy box. These are the same boxes that are fitted to Formula 1 cars amongst many other things. I hope to have this system running on a test bench here in the UK very soon. I want to be sure that it is practical in our harsh environment. I personally like to keep the boat simple but the fact is that in the quest for understanding we need as much data as we can get.
As far as funding goes we are once again on our own. HOMETRACK very generously supported our first session down in Namibia which was greatly appreciated.
We have managed to put together a very small fighting fund for our return but it will be on less than a shoestring budget. The boat will have to work and work quite quickly for us to be able to really benefit from the next session. I kid you not when I say that we may well be back in the container after hours as well.
Chasing financial support is the least enjoyable part of what we do. It's one level up from self-flagellation! I don't know how we are going to get all the way to the WSSRC record stage but for now I will focus on the next step up the mountain.
I have added two URL's for your enjoyment. The first one is from the filming done for an upcoming documentary by our friends at ARCADIA. They followed our first week in Walvis Bay. This is just a teaser of what will be a great show involving many of the other contenders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAqgItqHVY (Sailrocket courtesy of Arcadia)
The next is a fascinating insight into Macquarrie Innovations. It is a rare find as there is so little footage of this determined team and their incredible craft. For now I am pretty happy that they don't have the Walvis Bay 'Speed-spot' on their doorstep. No doubt a big team of volunteers can be a great help... but it's also alot of baggage to re-locate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEVkNv6L6hE (Macquarie Innovations)
So I hope to be back in Walvis in around two weeks or less.
I can't wait.
Cheers, Paul.
For now I will stay at the back of the boat. The steering system will be refined for high-speed work and the skeg which is already fitted will remain as is.
We will modify the wing so that it can be safely and instantly de-powered if anything else goes wrong with the handling.
After a long period of review we believe that the skeg and an improved steering system should make SAILROCKET manageable... but just in case we will set the boat up so that if our understanding is wrong, it won't result in another wipeout. We hope that we will simply be able to cruise to a stop, go back and try again.
We sort of lost focus on this basic aspect of practicality and need to make it a priority once again.
We hope to return with a new and much improved system for recording onboard data. Everything from wing and rudder angles right through to accelerometers which measure G-forces in 3 dimensions will be onboard in one neat and tidy box. These are the same boxes that are fitted to Formula 1 cars amongst many other things. I hope to have this system running on a test bench here in the UK very soon. I want to be sure that it is practical in our harsh environment. I personally like to keep the boat simple but the fact is that in the quest for understanding we need as much data as we can get.
As far as funding goes we are once again on our own. HOMETRACK very generously supported our first session down in Namibia which was greatly appreciated.
We have managed to put together a very small fighting fund for our return but it will be on less than a shoestring budget. The boat will have to work and work quite quickly for us to be able to really benefit from the next session. I kid you not when I say that we may well be back in the container after hours as well.
Chasing financial support is the least enjoyable part of what we do. It's one level up from self-flagellation! I don't know how we are going to get all the way to the WSSRC record stage but for now I will focus on the next step up the mountain.
I have added two URL's for your enjoyment. The first one is from the filming done for an upcoming documentary by our friends at ARCADIA. They followed our first week in Walvis Bay. This is just a teaser of what will be a great show involving many of the other contenders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kAqgItqHVY (Sailrocket courtesy of Arcadia)
The next is a fascinating insight into Macquarrie Innovations. It is a rare find as there is so little footage of this determined team and their incredible craft. For now I am pretty happy that they don't have the Walvis Bay 'Speed-spot' on their doorstep. No doubt a big team of volunteers can be a great help... but it's also alot of baggage to re-locate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEVkNv6L6hE (Macquarie Innovations)
So I hope to be back in Walvis in around two weeks or less.
I can't wait.
Cheers, Paul.
Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
www.sailrocket.com
posted by Paul at 1:54 pm
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