Hot and flat... no joy.
Well the weather has remained stinking hot and the wind is eluding us. We continue to sweep back the tide of corrosion at Walvis Bay. yesterday as we prepped to go for a dry run over to the speed spot the onboard camera system packed up. The small Sony Handycam that we use as a recorder simply stopped working... so that's that. The audio and visual data that this records is quite important on a number of fronts so we want to get it up and running asap. I will order an entirely new system now.
On another front we have recieved back all the 40 signed prints from Bernard Smith which commemorate our 40-knot run and the relevance to the vision he had over 45 years ago regarding the design of a 40 knot sailing boat. Bernard is nearly 98 years old and is delighted with our progress. I believe he has also sent a number of tips for us to get the maximum out of our design!!! So there you go... 98 years old and still living the dream!!!
The wind is not forecast to blow soon so we will simply continue with our preperations.
It was interesting to note that the new world record holder, Antoine Albeau, thought that the conditions he had were far from ideal. I personally think that they are asking alot for perfect 50 knot conditions. I can understand how a kiteboard can find it... (but would still question the validity of that regarding depth and its benefits to the crafts hydrodynamics). I look forward to the day when we begin hitting their speeds in our 'Joe average' 20-22 knot winds. Maybe then it will dawn on some of them as to why we are doing what we are.
Cheers from the sweat factory...
Paul.
On another front we have recieved back all the 40 signed prints from Bernard Smith which commemorate our 40-knot run and the relevance to the vision he had over 45 years ago regarding the design of a 40 knot sailing boat. Bernard is nearly 98 years old and is delighted with our progress. I believe he has also sent a number of tips for us to get the maximum out of our design!!! So there you go... 98 years old and still living the dream!!!
The wind is not forecast to blow soon so we will simply continue with our preperations.
It was interesting to note that the new world record holder, Antoine Albeau, thought that the conditions he had were far from ideal. I personally think that they are asking alot for perfect 50 knot conditions. I can understand how a kiteboard can find it... (but would still question the validity of that regarding depth and its benefits to the crafts hydrodynamics). I look forward to the day when we begin hitting their speeds in our 'Joe average' 20-22 knot winds. Maybe then it will dawn on some of them as to why we are doing what we are.
Cheers from the sweat factory...
Paul.
posted by Paul at 12:54 pm
8 Comments:
Paul, Paul, Paul - you have got to stop being so negative about what the windsurfers HAVE achieved and with due respect concentrate more on actually achieving something yourself - let the results do the talking for you !
With respect your 42.1 Vmax wouldnt get you into the top 50 of either gps-speedsurfing or kitesurfing (65th on gps-speedsurfing I think) and you havent done enough runs in a day (5 needed) even to get a gps average.
Ye, 42.1k sounds fast but I bet Crossbow II probably did that as a peak on their way to their 36k outright record back in 1980.
Antoine very nearly did 50K and the conditions were not great - Mistral wind incredibly gusty, peaking to 65k and with Antoine the only one able to sail - a lesser wind but more constant and he will do 50k for sure. It could happen Monday at Southend.
Sailrocket looks great and you guys are doing a good job. But don't lose sight of the fact that the windsurfers are going A LOT faster than you on stock kit available from any shop for a few hundred quid - they can sail all day on both tacks, dont need a team of helpers with ribs, their kit is bomb-proof, they can go cruising, looping, racing on the same gear and at the end of the day they can pack it into the boot of the car and drive home !!!!
Good luck with your project but me suspects you have got a long way to go yet - as to your 'ordinary 20k knot days' - well MI have spent months waiting for same and are notable only by their complete silence and lack of recent results.
I certainly had no intention of being negative as in fact we probably share the same heroes... I was just putting forwards my observations (which I still standby.
A perfect 50 knot day is very hard to come by. It may well exist but how long do you want to wait? Waiting for perfect 20 knot conditions took so long in weymouth that we bought a house there... and even then we gave up and shipped the lot to Walvis Bay(project, not the house). It was one of the best things we ever did. The day will come when wind and kite surfers will be sitting around... waiting for the perfect 60 knot day. The power is limited so the future is small refinement and more wind down-wind.
I absolutely agree that the modern sailboard is an amazing craft. I have three of them myself and the moment Sailrocket goes away, they come out. But for such a simple craft it has still taken many decades of evolution to get to where they are now.
Thankfully you guys and girls didn't give up when Yellow Pages convincingly took the title for 11 years. No, you kept evolving and now you are at the top again.
Relative to the 'simple' sailboard, Sailrocket is evolving quite quickly. We have done only 75 runs down a speed course and we are already digging into the 40's. Included in those are all the crashes, slow and shitty runs. With all the data we are now collecting off each run we can honestly see that we are hitting our targets. Believe it or not we are actually matching prediction from time to time which tells us that we are currently on the way to 50.
I think that you are missing the whole point of our project and where it stands. Our current speeds merely give an indication of where we are in our development. Of course our speeds don't rate against the current standards, but in relation to our rate of progress with a new concept, these speeds are highly relevant.
We are a prototype boat developing a totally unique concept. We are completely open about our highs and lows and our designs in general. We have already pushed this concept further than anyone has before.
On that last run where we peaked at 42.4 knots we had a real breakthrough. We found the settings that delivered solid control and from control will come speed. It's the first time we have seen that with the solid wing sail.
One day in the not so distant future you might realise why we were so excited about THAT run. The recorded 'mean average' windspeed was 17.5 knots although we peaked in 19.5.
That run may well be the most significant of this projects life... and I would say that if we smashed 50 tomorrow. If we didn't have that run, we wouldn't be back here now.
We are not out to win a GPS competition. We could feasibly do 5 runs in a day but there is usually no point as we have usually seen what we need to see after one or two. We did four during Weymouth Speed week 2004 with run times as low as twenty minutes apart.With the wing we can do successive runs in well under 30 minutes.
Sailrocket is built with one purpose and one course in mind... as are the modern speed sailing boards. Just for a laugh...and to have a bit of a dig at the reality of this wonderfully versatile craft... could you please post some footage of Antoine sailing back up the custom-man-made speed sailing trench after a high speed run... or do they come back by some other means;)
It is entirely possible that a variant of our concept could cross oceans and cruise the world... but that is not our quest.
I see some big winds heading for the Channel so I hope the gang at South End get their magic day. It would be good to see the record return to open water... and the UK for that matter. I think this year marks the 25th anniversary since the Outright records departure from the shores on which it was founded.
Cheers and good luck, Paul
Hi Paul,
Well thanks for your comprehensive response !
I wasn't meaning to be negative at all about your project - quite the opposite. Clearly you are trying something new and it is going to be a painful process at times. You do, however, sometimes seem to put a bit of a negative slant on other efforts.
To answer your points:
As we all know Antoine gets a lift back up the course - looks like a cattle truck to me ! Saying that with his skill I be he could sail back if he had to !!
At most speed events and locations (including Walvis, Southend and West Kirby) neither really 'open water' most guys do sail back to the start, or part walk, part sail.
Walvis is a pretty tight angle course for the boards and it is unlikely they will break the outright record there. Are you not going to have the same problem with apparent wind angle if you start hitting higher speeds ?
Regarding the time that MI held the record, to be honest windsurfer speed sailing pretty much died a death from Bielaks record in the mid 90's until just a couple of years back. I have to say that with the improvements in kit since that time, I am surprised the speeds are not higher - maybe the boards have peaked out and any improvement is now going to be very incremental ?
I do think you are giving it a good effort and on a shoe-string budget, which must be frustrating for you. I do also admire your perseverance in the face of adversity (the last rebuild) - saying that I do recall that you did still manage to keep smiling when the bows broke off TP off the Scillies - I think you were the only one though !
I hope you do manage to give the boards something new to chase in due course.
One question not answered on your site - how are you going to be measuring your 500m when you get to that point - transits or Trimble GPS ?
Good luck.
Well guys i like the discussion u have.
OK 42.1 knots in terms of the ultimate record is not amazingly high but lets put in this way: If we look at this new record in 45-50 knots of wind, this would mean that the Sailrocket would easily fly by at approximately 90 knots...
No offence to anyone here, just a little comment of another sailing freak. Keep going. Nicolas
90 knots - now we are talking !!!!
90 knots... that will be the Mk III you would be talking about then;)
We will probably use transits for our runs to begin with. I kind of like the beauty of hitting a 'real' physical course and knowing almost instantly if that was the run. Sitting around waiting for a computer down load is not how I ever envisaged the magic moment.
Mind you, we are also aware of the advantages of the Trimble system and have used it before.
Cheers Paul.
"It is entirely possible that a variant of our concept could cross oceans and cruise the world... but that is not our quest."
Yep, very possible indeed. This is my quest. I'm convinced my variant has the potential to do very well in long distant racing but also make an ideal cruising boat, depending on what version you build just like normal sailing boats.
Could use help though. I'm getting there but money and time is in short supply.
But confidence is never better, just keep on going, just like you guys, we'll get there !!
Cheers,
Johan
I'll answer that tools Question on tight angles at walvis.
The tight angle is perfect for SR. It powers up on the AW moving forward. Thats why it only needs 22kts to hit 50kt.
Everyone ones an expert on speedsailing, but very few people understand SR............it just too far out there for most!
I never knew Paul to be negative about any one having a crack at anything, he is a supporter, not a knocker.
I however, think the KB's need their own category as they are not conventional sailing craft and do not sail in normal conditions. Even the trench is an unreal environment. "bring it back to open water", and we'll start seeing more development in design rather than most trying to find the Perfect conditions for their 2" draft craft! You know it makes sense!!!!!!!
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