SailRocket

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2009-10-27T12:40:00.000Z

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Ficaram Lindas Nossas Fotos!

2009-09-17T14:51:00.000+01:00

olaa!!

Por que você faz isso comigo? Passou por mim ontem e fingiu que nem me viu... será que poderíamos conversar um pouco? Não sei se você lembra dessa foto que tiramos juntos. Espero que goste um pouco de mim, nem que seja pela nossa amizade. Beijos, te adoro muito. !!

Beijos!

anexo: DSC043288.jpg (16kb)

Not the recommended way for celebrating your 50th!!!

2008-06-06T08:53:00.001+01:00

Two days ago we completed Run number 48, 49... and most of run 50.
Run 48 was done with the main rudder up but I struggled to turn VESTAS SAILROCKET away from the shore and passed very close to the beach before regaining control. So close in fact that I passed between the RIB and the timing hut... at over 42 knots of boat speed. I had the wing angle set out at around 20 degrees and figured that this contributed to the boats reluctance to bear away. At this stage I also believed that I was using the full range of the skeg steering. When you are fighting to avoid both the RIB and the shore at such high speeds you don't have time to look at the instruments... we will do that later when we consult the PI RESEARCH data logger. Another noticeable factor was the pod as this was flying cleanly throughout the top speed phase. Not skipping or even bouncing... but flying.

It was a glamorous day so we returned to the top of a very sunny 'speed-spot' for run 49. I was figuring on sheeting in the wing to a tighter angle and leaving the big rudder down just as a safety. This run went very smoothly and VESTAS SAILROCKET virtually sailed herself down the course with very little input from me. We peaked a fraction of a knot under 40 but completed a very smooth run with neutral helm.

The wind had picked up a little and we still had some time left. Should I tempt fate and do our 50th run down the Walvis Bay speed course? Absolutely. This game is not about being shy. I was determined to do a big run and see a new high peak speed to celebrate surviving to our 50th run. I sheeted in to around 10 degrees as VESTAS SAILROCKET accelerated like a... like a rocket I guess! The lee helm began very quickly. I eased the wing a little to lessen it but we were already well over 30 knots and I couldn't turn the bow up onto the course... even with the foot steering and the large low speed rudder. We were away from the flat water along the shore and out in the rough. I held it for a little while and then decided to bail out. The ride got bumpy. I heard that horrible noise of crisp composites failing. I figured that it might be the aft planing surface and focused on stopping the ride. Then all the steering went limp. Nothing! Something serious had happened. The boat swung wildly into a round-up and we were about to confront our old nemesis. The wing was now king and I was a spectator. It backwinded and sure enough... collapsed the beam. The beam folded to 90 degrees as VESTAS SAILROCKET effectively tacked to be pointing a full 180 degrees to course. The wind got under the back side of the wing and the whole show blew over. We had capsized. I was out of the cockpit and slid over to the bottom of the cockpit as if I was tipping a small beach dinghy over.

Helena and Hiskia were quickly on the scene and we managed to secure the scene by making sure all the data loggers were safe and that all the components were with us so that we could look into the cause later. I have been in this position enough times to know that we have to be very careful. The damage may not be as bad as it seems and we could easily make it a lot worse by doing the wrong things after the event. We nursed our crumpled boat back to the shore and began sorting it out. As we inspected the pieces the chain of events became obvious. It took us a few hours to get everything safe. The tide was very low so for the first time we had to leave our poor broken, wet and sandy boat over on the course along with the wing. We returned well after dark to an empty operations base on a near to moonless night.

I didn't sleep very well but with the new day comes the new challenge. We waited for the tide to come in and went and retrieved all the pieces. It really isn't that bad. The wing has once again amazed us by it's ability to resist major damage. the beam is simply broken in the same spot it always breaks. I'm good at repairing that part now. there is no point in making that area stronger. Something has to break in that situation. All the damage is very localised. There are broken bits literally from the top of the mast to the very back of the boat... but we have sustained worse.

I don't feel that bad about what happened because we didn't do anything wrong or build anything badly. A whole rudder bracket had simply been torn of the transom of the boat in a manner we hadn't figured on. It must have taken immense force. Much more than was ever accounted for.

It was akin to a Tyre blow-out on a race car that leads to an accident. The tyre is at fault and not the car.

The fixed skeg is locked off against these rudder brackets so once the rudder was gone... the skeg was no longer fixed. We effectively lost the 'tail of the aero plane'. When we rebuild it there will be a complete redundant system. All the data from the skeg, wing and wind was recorded as was the onboard footage which clearly shows the chain of events. Of course we aren't happy to be fixing the boat instead of sailing it but then this aspect of our project is just as much a part of the project as the more successful times. Each time we come back smarter and better prepared to move forward.
We will take around two weeks to get VESTAS SAILROCKET back in fighting shape.
In that time we will go over all aspects of what happened and what needs to be changed.

I'm already looking forward to Run 51 (it's my old motorbike racing number).

Cheers, Paul

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Run 47... very clean, skeg flap steering all the way.

2008-06-03T13:09:00.000+01:00

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Great to be back after a few days spent waiting for the tides to fill in again. Yesterday was a glamour day although we had to leave the course early due to the outgoing tide.
I had a few new things to try out including new spray rails fitted to the forward planing surface, a new fence added to the skeg flap to stop ventilation down the hinge line and a new setting for the whole skegs angle of attack relative to the main foil. We have begun dialling out the lee-helm of the boat. Small adjustments of a fraction of a degree have a large effect at high speed so it has to be done gradually.
The wind was relatively light with measured gusts peaking at 18 knots... this means that the average is likely to have been around 16-16.5 knots.
I wanted to do a tighter start up sequence so that I would bear away down the course in close to the beach. As I was doing this the large rudder was tripped up way prematurely. I wasn't even up over 'the hump' and planing. It was either an abort or... I tried something different... I went straight to the high speed steering. Even at these low speeds it had just enough authority to steer VESTAS SAILROCKET away from the beach. With every knot she accelerated the steering got better. I was now well positioned up on the beach and had around 4-500 meter sto build up speed. the only problem with going to hand steering so quickly was that I was one hand down for pulling in the main sheet. VESTAS SAILROCKET accelerated sharply with every handful of mainsheet I pulled in. The visibility was great. I got the wing into the low 'teens' angle-wise and noted that I was beginning to use alot of skeg flap angle to hold the nose up on the course. The steering remained positive. I think I peaked at a skeg flap angle of 8 degrees out of a possible 10. The fact that I didn't lose grip would suggest that the flap did not ventilate and that the fence was working well. In these moderate conditions we peaked at just over 37 knots. It was a nice clean run. I am getting very comfortable with the hand steering and want to use it all the time now. There is no future for the large rudder.
Today is forecast for quite a bit more wind so we are running around in anticipation. We will try the same setup in stronger conditions and see what happens. If i get overpowered by the lee-helm then we will dial it all back another notch on the skeg... and go again.
I think we are getting down to the nice details of going fast now. When we get this configuration right... it really should be game on for some big numbers. I think it will still take a little while... but the tides are with us and it looks like the wind will be also.
A local friend by the name of Fi-fi is busy helping us by turning out new and improved stainless fittings for the hand steering in order to remove all the play in the system. It's amazing how much it improves the feel. The final product will be swee-ee-eet.
Righto, time to start prepping for Run 48... and on.
Cheers, Paul.

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Low tide down time until Sunday.

2008-05-29T16:34:00.001+01:00

The high tides have now moved into the late evening leaving us with low water in the afternoon. So no sailing I'm afraid. We haven't missed out on any wind as the coming of the low afternoon tides also seems to affect the afternoon breeze. This has happened a couple of times now so we will watch it in the future to see if it is just coincidence or a reliable relationship. Having said that, the wind has returned this afternoon.
Boating projects are affected by two tides, one involving the water and the other involving the job list! It is the latter that we are still doing battle with. I have been focusing on areas beneath the water over the last two days. The silicon seal around the main foil has been replaced, the rudder sensor has been relocated from the large low-speed rudder to the skeg flap (seeing that we will now be steering with that at high speed) and I have extended the anti-ventilation fence on the skeg all the way to the back so that it envelopes the skeg flap. This is the area most likely to ventilate so it is worth the effort. Making an airtight articulated fence took alot of thought. I had a chair positioned at the back of the boat and I just sat there and stared at it for hours until the build process was clear in my mind. I think that the final result will be quite elegant and hopefully quite effective.

On that last run, Run 46, I was using the full range of the skeg to hold VESTAS SAILROCKET up on course. Based on 'Malcs Calcs' this should have resulted in quite alot of turning force. We can only guess that the skeg flap had ventilated. As mentioned previously we can also do a number of things to balance the boat out at high speed so the steering loads are lighter and we have in fact already done that. The extended fence is just extra security.

The support RIB is outside getting a complete steering system overhaul and general service. Things were getting tight and although we pull it out of the water for a washdown on a regular basis... we do sometimes forget we are a multiple boat family that definitely has its favourite sibling! Support boats need love too.

Helena is constantly improving the electronics package and keeping my head screwed on right:)
So all is well as we prepare for our next session of afternoon high tides and belting winds.
I can feel the pressure mounting to go out and pull off a big run.

Cheers from the container at Walvis Bay Yacht Club,
Paul.

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A GORGEOUS DAY WITH TWO MORE 40+ KNOT RUNS POSTED...BUT...!!!

2008-05-25T14:17:00.001+01:00

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Yesterday was one of the best days I have seen over at the Walvis Bay 'Speed-spot'.
The water was a beautiful blue as was the sky and the wind was pumping in at around 20 knots with higher gusts. We weaved VESTAS SAILROCKET through the ever increasing fleet of Hobie cats present on the lawn of the Walvis Bay Yacht Club and made our way across the lagoon.
As ever I was keen to make a big run and continue our climb up the numbers. Rough rides in bumpy water with the large rudder down are no longer acceptable. The last two runs were both done with the large low speed rudder up and it felt great. Today I would test the effectiveness of the hand steering/skeg flap at speeds over 40 knots.
New guy Klaus would be our fifth man.
The first run went well. I sailed in nice and tight and had a relatively smooth ride. This had the double benefit of keeping the spray down. I used the hand steering for the whole 500 meter course and it seemed quite effective. The low speed rudder failed to kick up due to... and I'll be honest... user error on my part. In the long list of checks I do in between dropping the tether at the start and actually turning VESTAS SAILROCKET onto the course and accelerating, I hadn't released the rudder pull-down line and this held the rudder down after I released the 'up' trigger. By the time I realised we were already approaching 40 knots. A mistake on my part but it didn't involve any risk.
So we hit a peak speed of 42.3 knots. The wing was sheeted to only 20 degrees throughout this run. The reason for this was that I sheet in initially when both my hands are free as it is harder once one hand is being used for steering. For these first high speed runs using the hand steering I am concentrating very hard on this aspect and not so hard on the wing angle. It will all come with practice and familiarity. The wing flap sheeted on nicely and it all felt fine. Although VESTAS SAILROCKET responded well to the hand steering... it still didn't feel entirely precise. I was still weaving around a little.

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RUN 45, MEAN WIND SPEED 18.5 KNOTS, TOP SPEED 42.5. WING ANGLE AT 20 DEGREES, WING FLAP ON, LARGE RUDDER STILL DOWN. USING HAND STEERING. POD VERY 'FLOATY'... AS IS FRONT END!

At the end of the run I was keen to get back up the course and try it again. The wind had built a little and I wanted a new top speed but more importantly... I wanted to nail a 42.5 knot average over the course. This is a performance milestone that we have set ourselves which we are now slightly overdue to achieve. I know we are more than capable and want to get it in our wake ASAP.
In my mind I was going to focus on sailing in tight, making sure the large rudder is kicked up and making sure that the wing was sheeted in harder before going to hand steering. Vestas SailRocket strained at the tether line as she swung her nose away from the beach in a long arc prior to release. She quickly powered over the 'hump' and up onto her planing surfaces whilst I began to bear away and line up the start of the course. This is always a sensitive part of the run as it is usually the phase where, if we are not careful, a rounding up force can overpower the steering and send me into the beach. This time we were OK and I felt the reassuring force of leeward helm which signalled that all was well and VESTAS SAILROCKET was sailing as she was designed to do.

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HEADING UP TO THE COURSE THROUGH THE START UP SEQUENCE FOR RUN 46.

I sheeted the wing into 15 degrees and went to the hand steering. We were quickly up to 40 knots but I noticed I was using the full range of the skeg steering to hold the boat up onto the course. The aerodynamics were overpowering the hydrodynamics and the only way I could hold VESTAS SAILROCKET up onto the course was to put in a little bit of foot steering via the still deployed large rudder. This initiated a sharp turn to windward which is a little unsettling as it can instigate a high speed round-up. I was still at full forward lock on the hand steering so it was obvious that I couldn't kick up the big rudder. Visibility was good enough for me to be able to see the course. I held on for the full 500 meters and then brought the show to a stop.

The top speed was only slightly higher than the previous run but the run involved alot more weaving. I wasn't happy. We should have done at least 45 knots in these conditions... and I mean at least. It was a perfect day.

So what happened? My first guess is that by sheeting in harder in slightly stronger winds on the second run, we simply had too much lee-helm i.e. the balance of the boat was making her want to turn away from the beach too hard.
This can be quite quickly and easily compensated for in a number of ways. VESTAS SAILROCKET is a highly adjustable boat. We can either move the wing aft by swinging the beam or wing aft. This is done by simply adjusting the lashing lengths on the end of the fore and aft supporting cables. Another means of trim adjustment is to adjust the angle of the rear skeg to the main foil. This is done by a screw adjustment and is also quite simple.
In all fairness, we can't expect our first stab at a high speed configuration to be exactly right and it will probably be something that we will be playing with until the end.

What does impress me about our current status is how smooth the whole operation is becoming. The overall, comfort, stress and functionality levels are all very good. We have the ability to just plug in a new team member and go and punch out consecutive 40 knot runs with little or no fuss. Although we still have many obstacles to overcome I really feel that we have emerged from our darkest days and that we are in great fighting shape. Our last big crash was on Run 23 and we have now doubled that amount of runs without incident.

I tried to go back for another run but as we got to the top of the course... the sun had made it to the horizon. We reluctantly packed up. I felt frustrated that we hadn't topped 44 knots at least but the fact is that we are always learning and in some cases it doesn't really matter if there is a tick or a cross in a certain box... as long as it answers a question that will show you the next direction you need to take.

CONCLUSION: Right now, at high speed in winds over 20 knots, the current boat configuration appears to be imbalanced to the point where the skeg steering cannot correct it. We need to reconfigure the boat. One good aspect is that VESTAS SAILROCKET is trying to turn away from the beach and hence danger in this setup. The visibility was improved in the cockpit by sailing in closer to the beach and hence in flatter water.

The data from the PI RESEARCH, B and G and TACKTICK loggers has all been downloaded and sent off to Malcolm. Both the onboard footage with pilot audio and the onshore footage with audio has been downloaded and co-ordinated with the PI RESEARCH data so that we can watch all the data and footage together on the computer in real time. It is a brilliant system that allows you to go back and really study the reality of a certain moment in time in intricate detail.

The weather does not look that favourable today as it is forecast to be quite light. In fact the rest of the week looks pretty average which means we will lose the remainder of this afternoon high tide. Things might change so we will stay on standby nonetheless. One of the main contenders for 50 knots, Hydroptere, is now back in the water and ready for sailing. She looks fantastic and I am eager to see what her new configuration will yield. Of course we want to beat her on the water and are doing all we can to do so. I am honestly glad that they are back and as hungry as ever to go faster. The competition is a healthy one.

Cheers, Paul.

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Runs 43-44. the wind comes, the wind goes... so do the spray deflectors!!!

2008-05-22T22:50:00.001+01:00

We arose early this morning as the miraculous Mr 'M's time was up with us and we had to post him off to the airport.
I finally got a great little boat builder down here at the Walvis bay 'coal-face'... and didn't break the boat once!
Typical.
Helena and I returned to the slightly emptier container and pushed on with the joblist. Within an hour I was back in the mixing pots doing odd little jobs. We put the newly skinned wing back on Sailrocket and wheeled her into the hangar away from the UV rays. I gave the wing a thorough inspection and she seemed in pretty good shape considering the hard life we have given her to date.

Today marked three more months for us in Namibia on this latest trip. We were due to fly back but chose to stick around until we get some definitive results. We have now done 21 runs with no mishaps. Today was shaping up to be a great day. The newly logo'd Musto tops came back from Gino and the folks at DREAMWORLD in Walvis Bay... and we wear them with pride.
The day looked great and we ran around all over the place looking for a good hand to replace Mr 'M' for the days sailing. In the end we were all standing around in drysuits... but couldn't go anywhere as we were too short staffed. As a last ditch effort I called a mate Gary who runs the best bar in town and he put me onto 'Sammy'... short for Samson. It was samson's day off from running the bar and a couple of weeks earlier we drove a 2000 km round trip to go to Samson's traditional wedding way up in the North near Angola. We had his awesome smiling 'dial' in a drysuit in ten minutes... and we were off to 'speed-spot' once more.
The day just seemed to get better and better. I wanted to set a new best speed and a good 40+ average so that I could call Mr 'M' whilst he waited in the airport for his flight back to the UK. With this in mind I swung VESTAS SAILROCKET out onto the course for the 43rd time. As I rounded up onto the course I noted that she had adopted a rather nose down attitude and was stubbornly refusing to 'pop' up onto the plane. I tried all the tricks but she just mushed along. The spray deflector which hadn't hindered us on lighter days was now acting like a drogue. I had no option but to abandon the run somewhat disheartened. Our spray issues have not been resolved. Fortunately we had only stuck it on with Sika-Flex and I could cut it off with a piece of fine line.

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VISIBLY NOSE DOWN ON RUN 43

We took VESTAS SAILROCKET back up to the top of the course but as luck would have it... the wind was dying out. And die out it did. So run 44 went by in a low riding mode... so low in fact that I sailed the good ship all the way across the lagoon to the Yacht Club and parked it on the beach out front.

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COMING INTO THE WALVIS BAY YACHT CLUB... PURE AFRICA.

Ho-Hum. No joy there. We were a little late onto the water due to being a man down. We should be back up to strength as of saturday when we will gain another local team member.
Overall the boat and team gets stronger by the day as the detail work gets attended to daily. The spray deflector did work... but it wasn't perfect. We still have it with us... but I will try some side skirts on the forward planing surface next... and a new forward planing surface after that.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Cheers, Paul.

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Run 40 flies by, high and dry...

2008-05-20T13:08:00.001+01:00

Although it was far from being the fastest... I would have to say that Run 40 was the cleanest run we have ever done on a number of fronts.

It was an extremely grey day which started with very little wind. One of the best 'care' packages you can ever recieve in a sailing project arrived in Walvis Bay today in the form of two big boxes of MUSTO clothing! Inside, amongst many other things, were 5 new drysuits and they couldn't have arrived on a bleaker or more suitable day. We were busying ourselves with sorting through this, cutting down neck seals and so on and had all but given up on sailing as 3pm came and went.
The smell of sulphur was strong in the air. I mean real strong. In fact it stank of sulphur... like walking up a volcano. You get this from time to time as algae dies in the lagoon and decomposes on the bottom. The water goes milky and the smell of 'rotten eggs' fills the air. It's usually not quite this offensive.
I walked out of the container and saw that the wind was building. The walls of the container had begun to close in as we hadn't been sailing for a week or so. I leapt at the opportunity to go for a sail. I rang Hiskia and told him to forget the bike and get a cab in ASAP. The sun sets around 5:30 pm so we had to jump to it. It was an absolute pleasure to put on the MUSTO gear. The wetsuits they had previously supplied had done a great job... but drysuits bring a whole new level of comfort. It really blew Andreas away when he first walked into the water... and didn't feel the rush of cold and damp. He quickly understood what we had been making a fuss about!

Man it was grey. It was even hard to see the timing hut at times due to fog! I will add the real pictures next to the digitally modified ones just to show you how grey it really was! We set up the course and prepared for run number 40. The wind hadn't built as much as we had expected but it still seemed enough for a run. There were a number of changes from the last run. They were as follows...

-The new carbon spray deflector on the forward planing surface. It's a light but significant structure that needed to be tested. It would be submerged through the start up sequence and lift clear of the water by a couple of inches at speed. It's low speed effects on the craft were yet to be seen.

-The new PI RESEARCH wiring and complete BandG sensor package was now installed so we would have a complete integrated data logging system up and running

-The Gecko VHF headset had broken once again so we have gone back to an ICOM headset for comms. It is an area we continue to struggle with. You would think it would be simple... apparently not.

-The hand steering system had been upgraded to make it much more functional and the large low speed rudder kick up mechanism had also been improved

-The system for sheeting in the main flap on the wing had been re-adjusted so that it would come on in automatically in a nice and progressive way when I pulled the mainsheet into the 10-15 degree range.

So all in all there was plenty of things that needed to be 'speed-spot' tested.
The launch went well but the wind was light. Mr 'M' was reading winds as low as 12-13 knots on the TACKTICK shorebased weather station. I could feel the extra drag of the spray deflector on the start up. It wasn't huge... but it was noticeable. Vestas SailRocket lifted her skirts in a puff and we were away. The water was very flat in the lightish conditions but the reduction in spray was noticeable. In fact it took me a while to remember to lower the visor. I could see a jet of spray from the planing surface out the leeward side... but only flat deflected spray out to windward. I lined up with the 500 meter course and went to hand steering. The wing flap sheeted on nicely with the mainsheet and all the telltales were flying. Every thing was working perfectly so I pulled the rudder trip cord and up popped the large low speed rudder. For the first time we were steering under the skeg flap alone... and it felt lovely. I could see clearly, I was dry, The ICOM VHF was as clear as a bell and the steering was sweet.

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A visibly smaller 'jet' of spray to windward due to the muffling effect of the spray deflector. This is a 'brightened' up shot... the following is the actual shot showing the true 'greyness'.

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Pretty grey hey? Put a rotten egg under your nose for an extra touch of reality.

I held Vestas SailRocket on course until we passed the last SEAFLEX buoy marking the end of the course and then checked out how well the skeg steering would function during a slow down sequence. It maintained control for all of the necessary manoeuvres. The large low speed rudder came back down nicely and all was back to normal.

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Here the rudder is kicked up, we are doing about 32 knots and look how much less spray there is off the back of the boat with it up. She felt light and slippery.

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And the grey version again...

So overall it was a very clean run where a number of necessary improvements were trialled. We went through a full sequence of what needs to be done for a record run and everything worked well. Now I am more aware than anyone of how easy it can all look in lightish conditions and how pear shaped it can go in a blow... but, from my perspective in the cockpit... this was a good day that lays a foundation for runs to follow.
The MUSTO gear had us smiling throughout a rather cold old day. In fact the contrast in the modified and the real pictures above could also represent the change in our comfort level.
Happy days.
Today also looks good with even more wind... so let's see if the ease of run 40 will translate.
Cheers, Paul.

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Light wind days still count!

2008-05-18T08:56:00.000+01:00

No joy over the last two days... and today looks like it will also be light. We will remain on full standby until this is a certainty. If it does turn out to be light then we will remove the AEROTROPE wing-sail and begin the long process of re-skinning it with a fresh layer of clear heat-shrink film. The current one has been on for some time and whilst it is still fully functional for sailing... it is becoming a little worn in areas. It also gives us a good opportunity to do a full internal inspection of all the FIBRE FUSION wing ribs and COMPOTECH carbon spar.
We are now moving into the area where VESTAS SAILROCKET will begin to feel the full force of the environment she was designed for. Although we only aim to sail in 22 or 23 knots ideally, we know that days that deliver those averages will also deliver gusts of up to 15% above the average. This means that the boat will have to be ready for it. Structurally I am pretty happy with everything... as I am with all the rigging. There are some areas that may suffer but the ones we know of are not major and we are forever on the lookout for other possible problem areas.
Non- sailing days should not be wasted as these are the days that can make the biggest difference to the end result.

Cheers, Paul.

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Working Vestas SailRocket up for Run 40...

2008-05-16T12:55:00.001+01:00

The Vestas SailRocket operation base is a busy little spot at the moment as we prepare the craft for another outing. The high tides have moved into the afternoon once more which means we can access the amazing speed sailing location on the other side of the lagoon entrance. The wind typically arrives after midday so early morning high tides are unuseable.
A care package from PI RESEARCH has arrived which will allow us to get the complete electronic data logging package up and running. The package includes a complete new wiring loom which has been custom built to fit Vestas SailRocket and a spare B and G wind wand to back up the existing one.
We are also trialling a new spray deflector on the front planing surface to reduce the amount of water hitting yours truly in the face during a run. Clear visibility will make a big difference to how well we run down the course as it will allow me to line up on the shore alot better. I have really struggled during the last two runs. It may be because we are now setting up a marked 500 meter long course using two bright orange SEAFLEX buoys. This means I have to focus on hitting a particular point on the course and can no longer just do random 'blasts' in a general direction. It has made me realise how bad the visibility can be at times.
The hand steering system has also been greatly improved and the low-speed system has been serviced and overhauled.
So we just keep ticking the boxes and making step by step progress.
The forecast this afternoon is for 26 knot winds which will be too much. Nonetheless I have called Hiskia in and we are getting ready for whatever happens. High tide is at around 1330 hours and we should be able to operate up to three hours after this. We'll see.
Cheers, Paul

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Blown out...

2008-05-08T20:10:00.001+01:00

Whilst the huge predicted swell hasn't materialised in the manner the forecast described... it's not exactly flat out there. There is alot of water moving around in an ominous manner. It was forecast to be around 22 knots today so when the wind came up we headed out to speedspot. The tide was coming in when we crossed the lagoon so it was pretty rough.
During the morning we had angled the forward planing surface to slightly raise the windward rail. Hopefully when the pod flies now this means that the planing surface will ride more like it has in previous runs when the pod was down in the water. I'm not overly happy with this as a final solution... but more as a trial. I think the real solution will involve a new forward planing surface with either a longitudunal step i.e. running fore and aft like some speed boat hulls as the contact patch will naturally get smaller as Sailrocket goes faster and the steps will then act to stop the outward flying spray. Other options include V'd surfaces, double concaves, assymetric surfaces, spray rails... or any combination of these. You have to remember that Sailrocket will roll a little bit as the pod flies higher and lower down a run. I don't think that active beam-flap control is worth exploring yet for a number of complexity related reasons.
This new issue of roll induced spray has temporarily put on hold the program of stepping up through the rudders to the high speed system... and this was what I was thinking about as I looked out at another 'top-end' day from the timing hut at 'speed-spot'. I knew I could probably punch out another top speed in these conditions but I also knew that it had all the potential of being another 'rodeo-ride' that would involve a level of risk and wear and tear without necessarily providing answers to the immediate issues of spray control and fine control. Ultimately we should be able to go out in this stuff... but only after the issues are resolved. Today I didn't want to just prove I could sail. We've done that.
The day did feel ominous. The surge of water brought on by the swell heightened the sensation and in the end I decided to can it. The wind quickly built to well over 25 knots... perhaps even 30 at times and the ride across the lagoon was the roughest yet. Really punishing the boat. We were glad we had built the extra flotation for the pod as it saved our bacon today. We had to hold the boat down as we wheeled it up the ramp out of the water.
Needless to say, I was pretty happy to get it all away today. All the windsurfers came back due to being overpowered.
So not our day... but we tried... and you get that in this gig.
Meanwhile we start designing a second forward planing surface to plug and play with.
Good to see ol' Walvis pumping out the big days from time to time. Only on odd occasions does it get any windier than this.
Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Cheers, Paul.

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Runs 35 and 36 ... 4th and 3rd fastest respectively.

2008-05-07T18:50:00.001+01:00

Hi folks... a quick one here as it is dark and we are cold.
Run 36 has just been completed and it was our third over 40 knots... in fact we averaged 250 meters over 40.
On run 35 we hit 39.4. I have been visited by an old nemesis I though was no longer a problem... hard spray in the face badly affecting visibility. I don't really know what has changed... but perhaps it is this... and this is good news... The temporary changes we made top the end of the beam and beam flap have managed to make the pod begin to fly clear of the water. Today it flew very cleanly. It is possible that this slight change of angle at the outboard end is rolling Sailrocket a little over towards the windward side and hence more spray is coming off the windward rail of the fwd planing surface. Maybe!
We have been setting up very clear 500 meter course with the SEAFLEX buoys but I haven't been able to get in close and hit the flat water due the visibility issues. So more details to be dealt with.
Of course it's nice to be effortlessly hitting 40's now with no real drama.
Anyway... like I said, it's late and we are cold. A hot pub meal beckons.
More later.
Cheers, Paul

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The week shapes up... but so does the swell!

2008-05-06T11:18:00.000+01:00

Hi all,
So now the high tides have moved back through into the afternoon and the breeze looks set to return after a brief absence. One worrying aspect is that a swell of over 5 meters is predicted to be rolling up the coast. Typically we get the residual swell from this that wraps around Pelican point and rolls up to 'Speed-spot'. If the tide and wind is right then we can actually get substantial breaking waves across the lagoon.
Hopefully we can get out today... we'll see about tomorrow.
Meanwhile l'Hydroptere is getting put together down in Toulon and another Australian project is getting prepared to hit the water in 'WotRocket'! The latter sounds pretty wide of the mark... but perhaps they are working an angle that we haven't considered. I can't see them achieving the levels of efficiency they will need to make the boat work... but whatever... the more the merrier.
Cheers, Paul.

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Lowtide down time!

2008-04-29T22:07:00.001+01:00

The low tides have moved into the afternoon preventing us from launching and crossing the lagoon so we will not be sailing for the next few days until the high tides move past midday.
So we carry on with the job-list and maintenance. We are setting up a fixed 500 meter course to focus on during the runs. We will set up the start at the timing hut and then place the large orange SEAFLEX buoy 500 meters down the course. It will also mark the closest depth I can sail relative to the beach. I think that we are at a good stage to start focusing on hitting high averages in a controlled manner and that by focusing on this it will put other areas of the boat, team and sailing into perspective.
Back in the UK we are getting great ongoing support from existing sponsors. Both MUSTO and PI RESEARCH are sending packages which will respectively greatly improve the teams comfort whilst over at speed-spot and the quality of data coming off the boat. MUSTO will supply us with drysuits and mid-layer clothing whilst PI RESEARCH are leaving nothing to chance with the data logging system. A complete new, custom wiring loom is on its way along with a spare B+G wind wand. This should complete the system and have our total electronics system not only back and fully functional... but functioning better than ever.
Happy days.

Cheers, Paul.

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Getting ready for what's to come...

2008-04-26T10:29:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Well we are trying to get out at every opportunity and have in fact been over to speedspot on both of the previous days.
I got in Run 34 two days ago but it was pretty much an exact copy of run 33 where I had to coax Sailrocket up over the 'hump' and onto the plane. I went to the skeg steering again and played aroud with its limits. It has very positive control but can be ventilated if I push too hard. It still works well even down to 10 knots! I'm not yet sure if that is a good sign. We went out yesterday and the wind was only marginally stronger. I decided not to run as there was quite a large swell surging onto speed-spot and it was shifting alot of water up and down the beach. The beach at the end of the course drops away quite steeply into the water and I didn't want to risk damaging the boat for a run which in the big picture would have little overall impact. We no longer need to go out and just make runs for the sake of it.

We took the wing off the boat and into the container in between the last two days. the Hot east winds that have been blowing in the morning bring alot of dust and she was pretty dirty on top. It was also good just to have a general inspection and re-tension the skins with the heat gun. The wing is loving its new home in the soft-hangar. We haven't had to reskin the wing once in the previous two months. The boat has come a long way since the first time we came here over a year ago. Lessons have been learnt the hard way... but they have been learnt and we have moved on. Situations that would have lead to crashes no longer bring us unstuck. I feel we have the handling well under control on and off the course. Personally I am very comfortable with the boat and where we are going with it. I just need to see that the skeg steering is suitable for high speed work and we are there. By 'there' I mean able to take Sailrocket to the arena she is designed for. In close to the beach in top end conditions, sheeted in and focusing on 500 m averages aiming for big speeds... the limits.
It will be great to begin focusing on solid 500m averages as eventually we will need to be hitting a preset course and we will need to determine the best place along speed-spot to place this. We have spent so long struggling for control that it is hard to contemplate what life will be like if we get this sorted. I would expect that the 500m averages will rise significantly.There are a number of target averages to beat along the way including those of the other boats that have attempted the record, the logshots, Technique Av., Hydroptere's current best and of course, Yellow Pages. I'm not saying it will be easy or automatic but that's the direction we're headed.

The SW wind is already blowing this morning which means it will be windy this afternoon. The high tide is late in the day so we can't get on the course until around 3-3:30 at the earliest. As mentioned, first I have to make sure that the skeg steering is a viable system at speed... and I have to be real sure as the next stage will be to kick up the big rudder. We have a small 'intermediate' rudder which we can fit for this stage just as a safety. It's made out of the tip of a windsurfer fin and will give me a little backup if the skeg system struggles. But I doubt it will.

cheers, Paul.

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blogs from here on in...

2008-04-22T23:12:00.000+01:00

Hiya Dan, how do we go a bout posting blogs from here on in... or for the while?
can I still attach pics etc.?
Cheers, paul.

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Latest Sailrocket video

2008-04-22T21:28:00.000+01:00

Hiya all, well here's the link to the latest Sailrocket video from run 32. We are making some mods to the blogspot but generally it should be buisness as usual. We are absolutely clawing the walls here to do the next runs. In relation to this run we have at least 15 knots of 'spare' speed up our sleeves and we only need another 6 to hit that magic number. By 'spare' speed, I mean the speed that can be gained by sailing in close in flat water, by sheeting on the main flap, by kicking up the big low speed rudder, by dropping the uphaul rigging, by removing cameras and data loggers, by fairing the strut, by making the pod fly... and more. Get the idea? Of course we cannot go 15 knots faster... but I'm pretty sure we can easily go a little quicker.
Read the text alongside the video, it pretty much says it all.
Would I swap this boat for any of the competition?
Errr... No!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw_kIaKI2pk
Happy days!
Enjoy.

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Run 33 in very light conditions... skeg steering works a treat!

2008-04-21T19:36:00.001+01:00

Hi all, well mother nature dealt us some nice cards over the last couple of days. In less than thirty hours we have set a new top speed, been forced to focus on a certain area... and then been given a very easy day to do so.
In winds gusting to 15 knots and no more we hit speed-spot with the agenda of getting onto the skeg steering and trying it out.
It took me two shots to get Sailrocket 'unstuck' from the water trying all the tricks in the book. I only got going just past the timing hut and even then had to nurse Sailrocket to keep her going. Once 'up' I quickly shifted over to the hand steering which is linked to the 'skeg-flap' steering. It worked beautifully and was very natural. It had loads of power... maybe too much... once again, just like Malcolm predicted. I only hit 24.3 knots but focusing on outright speed wasn't todays issue.

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LIGHTWINDS FOR RUN 33 AS WE HEAD IN TOWARDS THE RED HOUSE, THE WALVIS BAY YACHT CLUB
ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAGOON.

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COMPARE TODAYS SMOOTH AND CLEAN SAILING WITH...

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YESTERDAYS WILD RIDE!!!

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So what we have installed works well and I will be happy to try it out on a somewhat wilder ride. I would also be happy to reduce its effectiveness by reducing it's area. This could be easily achieved and I'll speak to Malcolm about it a little more first.

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THIS IS A PIC SHOWING A FEW OF THE MINOR BREAKAGES FROM YESTERDAY. VERY MINOR
CONSIDERING THE 'OFF-ROAD' NATURE OF THE RUN. A BROKEN SEAT AND A MISSING 'FENCE'
OFF THE SKEG. YOU CAN STILL SEE THE WHITE EPOXY FILLET WITH BITS OF CARBON STILL ATTACHED.
I'M HOLDING THE BIG LOW SPEED RUDDER WHICH I STEERED WIOTH YESTERDAY AT HIGH SPEED.
TODAY I STEERED WITH THE FLAP ON THE BACK OF THE SKEG WHICH RUNS DOWN THE TRAILING EDGE.
IT STARTS BEHIND THE EPOXY FILLET AND RUNS ALL THE WAY TO THE TIP. MR 'M' HAS ALREADY
FIXED BOTH COMPONENTS READY FOR TODAYS SAILING.

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HAPPY DAYS FROM THE DAY BEFORE. I'VE SINCE BEEN TOLD THAT IT EQUATES TO 49.9998 MPH!

Cheers, Paul.

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44 knots peak on run 32!

2008-04-20T20:52:00.002+01:00

Hi all,

A big run in record breaking conditions i.e. 20-22 knots wind.

The big rudder proved to be unsuitable at high speed and kept me out in the rough stuff. I didn't even pull on the wing flap! The ride was so rough I broke the seat! Overall Sailrocket behaved herself beautifully, we just need to focus on the progressiveness of the steering. If I could have held a tight course, got the flap in and the rudder up... we would have done 50 knots EASILY. This boat has so much stability and power it is ludicrous. It is only a relatively minor steering issue that needs a solution and we are there.

Overall I don't feel that this run was a clean one... but then we always knew that we shouldn't be steering with the low speed rudder at such high speeds. The spray was blinding in the rough water and there was no question of changing steering systems for the first time... it was a case of hang on and see. Sailrocket tracked true but took ages to burn off her speed at the end.

44 knots is great, especially when there is still shed loads in reserve. This boat will eat 50 knots for breakfast. She's entering her domain now.

A lot more to come, graphs, videos, data etc. I'll try and get it all up tomorrow.

We are all stoked... but also safe in the knowledge that there is plenty more to come. That is officially the fastest I have ever been in a yacht. We did 44 on Maiden II during the 24 hour record run in 2002 but that was with the assistance of the Gulf Stream. Sailrockets speed was pure.

I love this boat... I dream of where she is about to take us.

Happy days.

Cheers, Paul.

DESIGNERS COMMENT - PERFORMANCE UPDATE

2008-04-19T14:19:00.002+01:00

Since our return to Walvis Bay in March we have completed 7 runs, mainly in the lower end of the operating windspeed range – 14-17 knots.

While the absolute speeds achieved are sub 40 knots and may not seem too impressive , they are consistently in line or above the predicted level for the wind conditions. At least as significant as the absolute speeds is the fact that the predicted very high sensitivity to windspeed , a feature of this configuration, is also reflected in the data, giving strong grounds to expect large increases in speed going from 17 knots up to 20-21 knots.

Retraction of the very draggy low speed rudder is the other big trick we have yet to deploy . This will reduce wetted area by 30- 40% and as 60% of our drag is frictional depending directly on this area, it is not hard to see why 4-5 knots speed increase may result from this alone.

Paul is also reporting good consistent control at speed . If the control remains as good into the mid to upper 40s there could be very little standing in our way.

Strength can be an issue . As we go faster the loads begin to wind up. At 50 knots there will be 55% more load in the wing and foil and connecting structure, than at 40 knots , so we will be keeping a close eye for signs of distress strength of highly loaded parts becomes.

All in all we are in a good position , performing to expectations and supported by a very strong and professional crew.

I am looking forward to analysing the data as we go faster and of course going down to be with the action sometime in the next 2 months

Malcolm J .Barnsley

Repairs completed, speed-spot beckons again.

2008-04-18T15:07:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
we got up at first late and came down to the container. The foil and front planing surface were reinstalled with a few security improvements (flash talk for nyloc nuts). We had to do it early to give the silicon time to go off before sailing. it cops a fair bit of pressure around the foil root.
So as I write this, high tide has just left and we have three hours of water left. We are heading towards a full moon so they tidal range is getting bigger and more respect needs to be given to the depth on an outgoing tide. As mentioned in last nights blog, we were left to half carry sailrocket back across the shallows of the lagoon yesterday!

The Miraculous Mr 'M' is already in his wetsuit ready for today and a one shot 'get out of jail' card has been handed to yesterdays less punctual team member.

We have begun construction of a filming balcony on the roof of the Timing hut on speed-spot. This should give the onshore camera man/woman a better viewing angle, better radio reception and get them away from the swirling sand on windier days. It's a work in progress that should benefit all.

Righto, it's now an hour later... the wind hasn't built significantly. The RIB's packed, three people are in wetsuits, the hangar 'flap' is open and all the electronics are in place. We are approaching the critical time where we have to make a decision on whether we go across or not.

Meanwhile the big french foiling trimaran should be loaded onto a container ship by now and heading down to La ciotat in the Med. If all goes well then she should be in action within a couple of weeks. I bet they can't wait to see how well their new mods will work. Neither can I. They are going to dedicate a full year to breaking 50 knots. It's great to see them sharing the love with the wider public on their website whilst many other projects go quiet. I believe that the Aussies on Macquarrie Innovations are also still on standby down in Victoria... albeit quietly. I have no idea what that 'Wotrocket' team have been up to since their launch around xmas time last year. I would love to go and watch another team in action for a day. I think I would find it quite relaxing:)

The wind is still soft... so we wait and see.

Cheers, Paul.

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Runs 30 and 31 completed... The cup is half full!!!

2008-04-17T21:34:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Quite a good day in the 'cup is half full' frame of mind!
Good to be out sailing with all the PI RESEARCH and TACKTICK instruments back online thanks to their UK support teams. This means that Malcolm can also go 'sailing' once the data is collected. I can't stress how vital all this collected data is to the project. The data itself is pretty useless unless it is well interpreted and that is done by Malcolm with the aid of my 'seat of the pants' input and video referencing.

We got geared up as the wind built knowing that the tide would be leaving us within a couple of hours. One of our local team was dragging his heals in getting ready despite living on the premises. We sat their in our wetsuits waiting until Hiskia eventually took the other guys gear over to him. I'm pretty impatient in these situations so we took Sailrocket down to the water. When the other guy was still late I had had enough. We had to leave... so we did. I don't know why he was behaving like that... it was as if he was trying to teach us something for some reason. He did... we learnt how to raise the rig and sail the boat without him and managed to get two runs in with a team of only four! Of course it's not ideal, but it can be done safely and will be done again if necessary!

So the wind was gusting to 19 knots for Run 30 and I was keen to get steering with the skeg-flap. The miraculous Mr 'M' was now on 'launch control' and responsible for getting Sailrocket off to a good start. Sailrocket picked up quickly once pointed up towards the course and I sheeted in relatively quickly but noted that I was requiring more and more rudder to bring the boat in line with the beach. I sheeted in hard but the boat was 'out of mode' and still accelerating.
I sheeted in hard to stall the wing and managed to turn away from the beach. The speed quickly dropped off. By this time I was down near the timing hut with two thirds of the course still remaining. I came up and had another go, the same thing happened and once again I oversheeted to stall the wing and slow the boat. Not a good run... and a little annoying to be back in the old 'mode'. I thought about it and put it down to trying too hard to accelerate quickly. In the critical stage of the run-up where Sailrocket is initially accelerating from the mid teens to the mid/high twenties, the balance of the boat is changing dramatically as the apparent wind angle changes rapidly. It is also the stage where I go from sailing back in towards the beach to create apparent to bearing away to line up with the beach and hence the speed course. Alot is going on. I was determined this time to shorten the time and hence the distance involved in this manouver. I think that this lead to me oversheeting at the wrong time instead of leaving the wing a little more eased whilst I bear away and letting the boat accelerate through this phase. Once the apparent is forward and the flow is attached to both the wing and the foils... Sailrocket is locked in. It seems that once this state is achieved, it is pretty hard to come out of it.
We used our new four man method of juggling all the control lines, dropped the rig and went back up the course for another run. Another good launch. I tried the easier sheeting method and Sailrocket quickly dropped into mode. There was less wind in this run with the wind only peaking at 15 knots before the run. We managed a 34.3 knot peak, good control and overall a solid run in tight to the shore.
During the run I noticed that the front of the boat lifted a little and stepped sideways. Later on when fitting the skid shoe to the bottom of the skeg for towing across the shallow lagoon I noticed that the main foil was loose. It had slipped about 10-15 degrees more vertical during the run. This meant that the wing and the foil were no longer in allignment and that the up force of the wing wasn't matched by the down force of the foil... hence at top speed the wing was lifting the main hull out of the water. I'm surprised that even at speeds in the mid 30's that the foil didn't rip out of the side of the boat. The strength designed/built into this area is substantial so apart from a bent M8 bolt, very little damage was done. The silicon seal around the bottom had ruptured which meant the foil case was full of water.

All the new electronics worked well... but for the second run the new solid state video recording equipment dropped out. I'll reserve judgement on it... but for the moment I am not overly happy with it as there is very little warning of battery state or lack of memory... unlike a camera. The footage once recieved is pretty good and it is alot lighter than carrying a video camera.

We slowly nursed (manually carried) Sailrocket across a very shallow lagoon and got her out of the water for a good inspection. The main foil and planing surface were removed and cleaned ready for refitting tomorrow. The problem area was identified and will be modified for the next run. It was something I was aware of but had sort of put aside as it hadn't given us any problems or indication in over 75 runs in the last four years. No excuse... that's just how it happened and I sort of kick myself for it now. Luckily it reared its head during a mild run... It could have been much worse. We will be back in action tomorrow.

So I became more familiar with an aspect of the boats handling and we gathered alot of data to associate with this familiarity. We sailed safely and efficiently with one less person although the onshore filming did suffer a bit. The fact that we found a fault in a critical area without serious consequence should also be seen as a blessing.

I look forward to tomorrow as the tides are getting better each day now... for a while anyway.
Cheers, Paul.

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The moons the boss for the next two days!

2008-04-14T10:18:00.000+01:00

Hi all, Low tides in the middle of the afternoon will keep us off the speed strip for the next couple of days. On neap tides we can sometimes squeeze across as the lows aren't too bad but as we head back towards a full moon the sand bars start to rule. Once over at the course it's not too bad for the first 3/4 of the course... but I would definitely run aground at the end. It's not ideal and really not worth risking as I generally use the whole course now during a run.

Both the boys at PI RESEARCH and TACKTICK have components racing towards us in order to get our data logging system back up and online. These parts should be with us in the next couple of days.

Cheers, Paul.

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The consequence...top end borderline frustration!!!

2008-04-11T07:26:00.001+01:00

The Walvis bay wind machine was back in form today.

We waited for the tide and then headed across the bumpy lagoon to speed-spot. The chop was really kicking up just around the corner from the launch ramp where the tide is rushing into the lagoon directly against the building breeze.

Earlier in the day we tried to ressurect the Tacktick wind wand but to no avail. We have three seperate wind measuring systems and today they were all down for different reasons. Whilst all the emails have been sent and orders placed...today we were short and we paid the price. We drove all over town looking for a replacement of some sort. A few places have weather stations mounted on their roof or balcony but their accuracy is always debateble in relation to what is happening over at speed-spot. The day was really shaping up so we headed across. I have a pretty good feel for the wind over there now and can usually guess within a knot or two of what is going on.

The strength was good when we arrived... probably sitting around 17-18 gusting 19-20... but it was a little west. The windsurfers were struggling to sail back upwind to the top of the course. Old Johan back at the yacht club had dug out an old mechanical wind guage, the type with the floating disc in a clear tube (the name of which escapes me). I brought it along. We stopped at the timing hut and watched the conditions. Due to the slight west component there was a small swell rolling down the course which had come from the 'second lagoon' which curves around upwind of the top of the course. I knew that any run done today would be fast so I wanted the water to be as flat as possible. I knew that the wind would square up to the beach... and probably build. It's not warm over there on speed-spot and the wind chill wears you down. It's relentless.

Sure enough the wind swung around a few degrees and increased by a few knots. The small westerly swell subsided.
It was now classic speed-spot conditions... 20-22 and gusting. The old wind guage is marked in M/S and I was doing the maths in the sand to check if the old 'Just double it for knots' rule is truly accurate(It pretty well is). I stood out in a clear flow of wind away from the timing huts and measured away. the wind gradually creapt up until I was seeing the odd 12 m/s gust and later even a little over. The course looked good.

I really wanted to go. Sailrocket is behaving well and I was confident that we could do something special in these conditions... but... but we would have virtually no wind data. As I stood out there measuring away with Johans old guage I pondered this aspect of the project. Getting accurate wind data off Sailrocket has been an issue from day1. I never expected it to be a problem. The trouble seems to be in combining a wind instrument with a data logger that is not the size of a laptop. Think about it, how many high speed small dinghies can do this from onboard? I'll make it easy for you... none! We are working hard with PI and B+G to get this system up and running on Sailrocket but it hasn't been easy or automatic. New software and hardware have to be made and put in place. The wind data is an absolutely crucial part of the equation for determining the boats real performance. In fact it is the first number you enter into the performance equation. Sailrockets performance is super sensitive to a knot or two difference in wind strength at the top end and here we were in conditions gusting slightly above our top end pondering a run which would give us inconclusive results at best. Whether we set a new top speed or even crashed... the reasons and re-enactments would all be speculative. For all I know we could get hit by a 25-6 knot gust down the course and later we would never know.
These were all the thoughts that were going through my head as I stood out there watching that little red disk float up and down inside the tube. The team were getting cold, taking it in turns holding onto sailrocket, standing in the timing hut or running up and down the windy beach to keep warm. I really wanted to sail. I felt confident in the boat and the high speeds that would follow but I had to take the 'cowboy' hat off and consider the big picture. The pressure is not on us at this stage to force us into risky scenarios. This day was a great one for taking risks. The rewards were right there and in 30 odd minutes we could all be jumping with joy and one step closer to our goal. On the flip side of the coin a crash or breakage caused by being overpowered in rough water due to a bad weather call because you didn't have your full array of instruments would have you kicking yourself.
Some times I feel I have to let these days go. They will come again and it is our job to be as prepared for them as we possibly can. When we are under real pressure to get results, we will use and abuse them. That was not the case, we were missing vital tools and that was that.

I quitely called it off.

Whilst putting Sailrocket safely back in the soft hangar I noted how windy it was. I think if we had our regular system over there we would have canned the day quicker. Still... it was an interesting day that forced me to review certain aspects of the project. It brought it home on how reliant we are on so many individual components if we are to function properly as a team conducting a big experiment. In some areas we are quite exposed without spares and backups but overall, considering our remote location, we are pretty good. As stated above, we had three systems for measuring wind and two for recording... we just got caught out this time.

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Wind looks good for later today...

2008-04-10T13:33:00.001+01:00

Hi all, yesterday was a shade too light to go sailing with the wind a little west and hence too 'down-wind' for us.
Helena managed to locate exactly where the Tacktick gear came off and found the wind wand straight away during the low tide. It obviously had a hard time hitting the water at near on 30 knots and spending the night 1.5 meters underwater. hopefully we can resurrect it.
The guys at PI RESEARCH have shipped off the replacement data logger so it should be here around Friday!

The wind is currently blowing at around 16 knots. The tide is low but coming in. We ourselves are feeling a little 'dusty' after some in house celebrations last night... more on this soon!

Cheers, Paul.

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Run29 goes well in moderate winds...

2008-04-09T10:41:00.000+01:00

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we hit the course again today although the breeze felt a little soft.
It was worth it... but it also cost us. Overall I had a great run and hit 37 knots. In the medium strength winds and flat seas, sailrocket felt great. For the second run in a row I lost the mainsheet over the back and had it trail at high speed. By the time I got it back in I was well past the speed hut and decided not to go to skeg steering. I know it will be fine but it is a slight matter of confidence and that confidence will come with time in the cockpit. On the first run yesterday I did hit the beach. Not hard... but it was a control issue brought on by my start up procedure. I was probably only doing around 18-20 knots when I hit the soft shallow slope which absorbed the impact relatively progressively and gently. About ten minutes later we pushed off from the same spot and completed the run... and two more after that without incident.
The fact is that Sailrockets cockpit can get quite busy and I want certain reactions to be automatic. If a high speed roundup begins with an unfamiliar steering system then I need to be ready.

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Overall we seem to be at a pretty good stage with the boat. We are doing good controlled runs with the boat behaving in a predictable manner. The structure is in good shape and I'm getting comfortable in the cockpit. Hopefully the weather has settled somewhat and we can get in more runs on a regular basis. We seem to have solved the problem of the boat tracking sideways down the course and Sailrocket is now trying to turn away from the beach all the time when at speed. the high 30's seems very comfortable from my perspective and this allows me to focus on sailing in closer to the beach in flatter water. These higher speeds are no longer spikes in our performance... but the norm. A couple of local kite boarders chased me down the course the other day but once the 'rocket' lit up there really was no competition.

On the downside... whilst we are waiting for the data logger problem to be resolved, we have gone back to the ever reliable Tacktick system... and yesterday the wind wand broke free and came off the boat at speed! Fortunately we caught it on two cameras and were able to narrow it down to a GPS position. We will go out at low tide and see if we can't find it. There are a few cool things about Tacktick wireless instruments that should help us. We might be able to use the data display to locate the wherabouts of the wind wand. The wind angle should still be sending a signal... even underwater. Hopefully the display will pick this up when we get close and let us know that we are in the right area. Fingers crossed as this gear still provides vital data for the project even when not on the boat.

I believe that there will be more wind today, the boat is ready and rigged, so hopefully we can knock off a few more runs.

Cheers, Paul.

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...and today is shaping up as well...

2008-04-08T14:27:00.001+01:00

This morning we put the heat gun over the wing and shrunk all the outer skins tight. The wing is in pretty good shape considering the life it has lead. It's now back on the boat.
The new pod support float has been finished by Mr 'M' and is ready for its first trials across the lagoon. The idea is to support the float across the bumpy sections as we head across to speed-spot. Also on windy days the pod struggles when we are pushing Sailrocket back up the course against the wind. I don't want to make the pod bigger or heavier as it is good for sailing activities as it is.
We are busy downloading all the data from the various different 'cobbled' components. Trying to get them all co-ordinated time wise is a nightmare. The guys at PI research are working hard to rebuild a spare logger and send it out to us.
Meanwhile today looks pretty good and the tide is just filling in. The wind is around 12-14 knots at the moment so we will go over to speed spot and see what the afternoon brings. If it is only a light day then I will practice steering by the skeg rudder and maybe even kicking up the big rudder. That should provide a significant performance gain.
Right beside me at the moment, Mr 'M' is working to extend the range of the beam flap so that we can pull some more on. I want to see this pod fly. I've seen it 'float' in the air during earlier trials with the lighter soft sail and once during the 'dodgy' run 4 after the aft planing surface came off (on youtube). Sailrocket is still making alot of spray and I would like to begin cleaning it up.
Righto, gotta go.
Cheers, Paul.

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Three run Monday...

2008-04-07T18:42:00.001+01:00

Just in after our first three run day. the wind was mild at around 15-17 knots and we topped out on the middle run at 36.3 knots. Very smooth water and good control with 0 rudder angles and positive lee helm. I have no idea if the cameras worked... Food first.
More later.
Cheers, Paul.

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Gearing up for 26!

2008-04-07T13:25:00.001+01:00

Conditions look good and the soft hangar door is open. Hiskia has just arrived and is scurrying around loading the RIB up. We have spent all morning chasing the electronics around. The new solid state onboard video camera is giving us grief and only recording random bits of footage... so I in turn are giving the manufacturers grief for charging us £600 for something that needs a technician to operate. Exactly what we don't want out here. I personally hate paying money to develop other peoples products.
Righto, enough of the moaning... time to get sailing. We have cobbled together a system for recording wind, cut and shut the data logging system so at least the displays on the boat will display real values from the wing angle and rudder angle sensors and hopefully, this dodgy Onboard camera system will work so that I can call out the values whilst thumping down the course... That will be our means of data logging!
Last time I think the boat had slipped back into it's old mode of sailing... i.e. sideways. This time I want to make sure we get it straight. If we don't then I will abort the run half way and try again.

Cheers, Paul.

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Happy days... Run 25 completed, sailing again.

2008-04-04T18:21:00.001+01:00

Hi all, just a quick one from the container before we head home to go through all the data from Run 25.
This marks our first sail since our return to Walvis and it was done on a near perfect day. It just goes to show that no matter how ready you think you are... you can't beat actual time on the water to show you the real state of play. Overall the boat was pretty good... but the electronic systems were average at best. The new solid state onboard camera system failedjust before the run started. The I(can't)COM VHF's were worse than hand signals, the gecko headset failed despite just coming back from a factory service and so on. This annoys the hell out of me as we spend so much time and effort on this stuff. I find it just as hard to have a successful run electronically as I do with the boat itself!!! It's a necessary evil in this game I'm afraid and one that is more than a full time job for Helena.

So, how did the run go? Pretty good overall but I will reserve judgement until I see the numbers. We hit 37 knots and probably did a good 500m average. The wind was dropping off as was the tide. seeing that the new solid-state onboard camera wasn't functioning and hence recording my audio... I decided to head back to The Yacht club and be content with a good shakedown run. The joblist has grown but it's all good.

From my perspective it felt great to be back in the cockpit. The ride was pretty bumpy but I felt good control. I got moents of lee helm but not as much as last time. I'll be interested to see what the data from the PI RESEARCH black box says.
I'll let you know... cheers, Paul.

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Suns shining...and winds blowing at last!

2008-04-04T15:11:00.001+01:00

Hi ho, ho ho... it's off to speed-spot we go. The wind is around 15 knots and the tide is good for the next few hours. Hopefully it will pick up a little more and allow us to do a few worthwhile runs. We'll be on the water in half an hour.

Righto... let's go see what happens.

Cheers, Paul.

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More odd weather, jobs and April folls memories...

2008-04-01T11:26:00.000+01:00

More of the same confused weather with stiff South EAST(!!!) winds through the night bringing warm weather and sending us scurrying down to the container to check out how the soft 'hangar' was riding. We double pegged everything down and sleapt better for it. I know I keep saying it but this weather is very unusual and we have to consider how this will affect our immediate future. We have 7 1/2 weeks left to prove that we are record 'worthy'. Around 1/3rd of that time can be dismissed due to low tides in the afternoon when the wind blows. I'm pretty happy that we are doing all we can as we couldn't be more on standby unless we sleapt in our wetsuits!
Mr 'M' is busy building a hard flotation jacket for the pod so as to give it more bouyancy for when we cross the 'bumpy' lagoon to get to speed-spot. The pod is well sized for sailing activities but often struggles when we push it back up the course on windy days and when we cross the lagoon with the force of the wind pressing the wing and hence pod, downwards. This will reduce the risk for one of the more 'sketchy' aspects of windy operations. Once this is done we'll begin focusing on the aerodynamic detailing of Sailrocket. Smoothing out all the little lumps-and-bumps on the boat with lightweight fairings.
Wind is forecast for today but it will have to fill in early if we are going to catch the tail of the mornings high tide. The 'usable' portion of the day will only lengthen now as the tide is now high at midday.

Ah April Fools day... it was exactly 8 years ago today that we towed Team Philips backwards into Dartmouth after its port bow had broken off during initial sea trials. A Tug had been commissioned to tow us slowly backwards from the Isles of scilly and we went part way up to Brixham waiting for the dawn before entering the narrow entrance to Dartmouth. They were a dark few days after the jubilation of the launch and naming ceremony. Many of our core supporters came down to see us in and help shoulder the burden of bitter disappointment. We all felt as broken as the boat but at least we were back in familiar waters and the team could begin to pick up the pieces and plan a way forward. It was truly an amazing and inspirational project. Sailrocket wouldn't be here without it!

Paul.

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Strange weather continues to hamper efforts...

2008-03-30T10:16:00.001+01:00

The high tides are getting very late in the day now but yesterday we hung around just in case. I went windsurfing in the lagoon as I don't need much water and can get a good feel of the depths and general conditions. The wind swung into the SW and the tide came in enough... I decided we should take Sailrocket across to Speedspot and see what happens. It would be good practice for Ian to see how we do things anyway.
There was a fair bit of swell wrapping around Pelican point and rolling up the bay so we had to keep a constant eye over our shoulder whilst launching. It's been a little over four months since that fantastic last run on November the 27th. We set up the weather station at the speed-hut and rigged up the video camera. The wind was looking perfect for our first outing with gusts up around 18 knots. The sea was flat. The sand along the speed-strip always moves around a bit depending on what the recent weather has been. On this 'lowish' neap tide it was a little heaped up at the water line which meant that it dropped away steeply into the water. This is a good thing.
We took Sailrocket to the top of the course and prepared her for sailing. Whilst dropping the anchor which the launch tether is attached to we heard thunder in the distance to the North. A large thunder cloud was rolling South against the present wind. This was odd. We watched it for a little while and sure enough... as it rolled up the sandy Namibian coast towards Walvis Bay, the wind gradually faded to nothing. It was obviously raining quite hard with occasional lightning flashes.

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Ho-hum, this seasons weather is really beginning to mess us around. Last years consistency is just not with us although we do still get some great days. We raised the rig anyway just so we could go through a full sailing sequence and make sure everything is as it should be. When we were sure that the wind was not coming back we packed up. For the first time in the seven plus months I have been here I saw it rain out to sea. This made me a little more eager to put the boat away in case we got a bit of nastiness with these clouds. A westerly wind filled in as we headed back for the Walvis Bay Yacht Club.

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Well it was still nice to get wet and one more step towards sailing. The conditions would have been fine and there was enough water on that tide and at that time. This means we should still be able to get out if possible tomorrow night.
Believe me... we are on full time readiness. The team and the boat. I call in Hiskia (local team member) for even the slightest chance of sailing. Our time will come.
Later in the night Walvis Bay got dumped on and it rained like I haven't seen here before. The streets flooded as they have no provisions for drainage.
Yup... it's a strange ol' season alright.
Our time will come and spirits are high.

Cheers, Paul.

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Standby... to standby

2008-03-28T10:00:00.000Z

Greetings all, not much to report... first we didn't have any wind... then for a few days we had too much... and now it has gone again. The high tides are leaving us at the end of the day but we may stilkl grab their tail end over the next couple of days. After that we will have to wait a few days until the mornings highs move into the afternoon and hence windy part of the day.
There is very little we can do about it but remain on standby and keep paying attention to the details.
We are starting to focus on some different plaing surface shapes for slightly choppier water surfaces. It may help us now but will definitely help us later.
Sailrocket remains fully rigged and ready in her now well-tested shelter.
Two days ago we thought we had a good day coming. I was up at the salt pans showing Ian what's in the back yard when I noticed the fog rolling in. We raced it back to Walvis in the car which indicated it was coming in quick. The wind came in as if a switch was flicked. It ramped up another notch later in the day with a gust front of over 35 knots. It was accompanied by heaps of dust and debris. This was pretty unusual for Walvis Bay and I have only seen it 'ramp up' like that once before. Imagine getting hit by that half way down the course? I think I'd end up... errr... somewhere inland!

Cheers, Paul.

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2 days all dressed up but too much wind!

2008-03-25T08:00:00.001Z

The good news is that the wind is very definitely back. Trouble is that there is too much.
For the second day in a row we got all geared up and ready to roll... but didn't hit the water. Just as the tide came in enough to allow us to cross the Lagoon... the wind picked up to what I feared was above our range. I continued to take wind readings out on the point of the yacht club. There are three young pelicans there using the point as a place to strengthen their wings in preperation for flying. They have come from a sort of open air rehabilitation sanctuary where they are looked after but are free to come and go on their own terms.

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Helena went over to speed-spot in the RIB to double check conditions on the actual course and verified that the wind was reaching 25 knots. We were forced to bin the day. The covers came back down over Sailrocket. We are already getting itchy to get back on the water. Everything is ready but the tides are getting later in the day. The SW wind was already blowing this morning which usually indicates that it is really going to howl in the afternoon. As usual, we will wait and see.

Cheers, Paul.

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No go yesterday... and brief update.

2008-03-24T09:43:00.001Z

No joy yesterday I'm afraid. The wind and water was by all means pretty good and at the top end of our range. This meant gusts up to 24 knots but with the main range around 20-21 knots. We have been out in stronger but I didn't want to push it for our first sail back. I know we may have to make use of every day but we still have two months under our belt and would like to start off by exercising a little caution.
Still... it was great to see Walvis Bay back in form after a long spell of light wind.

Right, so what have we been doing? We finally shifted living quaters from the container to a real house as we prepared for the arrival of another team member. Our last four months in Walvis Bay have been spent living in the container. It has been more of a help than a hindrance as we were remarkably undistracted and were always here to deal with immediate problems. Our equipment wasn't spread between two locations, we barely needed a car, it was cheap when it really mattered and combined with the facilities provided by the Yacht club... relatively comfortable. We're fond of our humble container and feel a little extravagant in getting a house. With three people it is however necessary.

On the 20th I left the comfort of the house early and embarked on a 900km round drive inland to pick up the Miraculous Mr 'M' aka Ian Munslow from Windhoek Airport. Ian will bring our team here to 5 which means we are self sufficient for all sailing activities. From our past experience we decided that the third core team member must be a pretty handy boat-builder. Ian has just come fresh from Sweden and building Volvo 70's so he's pretty handy with the sticky stuff as well as being a highly experienced sailor in his own right with a circumnavigation and three solo trans-atlantic crossings (3rd in the Route du Rhum) under his belt. I'm sure that we can provide Mr 'M' with plenty of thrills, spills and busy periods to keep him entertained.

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Mr 'M' came bearing gifts in the form of a new solid state onboard video/audio recording system which is much lighter, smaller and more robust than what we had before. He also brought more Carbon fibre and some HARKEN spares. The video system has already been housed and installed so we will see how it performs.

We have also erected the makings of the 'soft-hangar' which will protect the fully rigged Sailrocket from the combined evils of blasting wind and UV rays when it is ashore. Sailrocket is already housed inside as the pictures show and the hangar has already survived its baptism of fire with two windy days.

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It will need some tweaking in order to get it all tight and super strong but the makings of a very handy addition are there. By being fully rigged and prepped all the time with a full team on standby, we can hit the water in relatively short notice if conditions are changeable. As Sailrocket requires quite specific conditions this is pretty handy.

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So we are pretty much up to full strength and on permanent standby, the high tides are getting later in the day now but wind is forecast for both today and tomorrow as well so we will try and get out there if possible.

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Rigged and ready...

2008-03-23T10:33:00.001Z

Alright, just a quickie before we head down to the container. Sailrocket is rigged and ready in her new soft-hangar. yesterday it survived a baptism of fire with a stiff Walvis wind and the wing sat inside with barely a rustle.
Having the boat sitting in this constant state of readiness will be a huge bonus as it is also safe from the elements. Our third hand has arrived and I will introduce him in my next update... so we have a complete team down here and no longer have to grab random people off the stools at the Yacht Club bar!
So now we are all set for full-on sailing and will try and use every day including this one. Helena continues her never ending war with the onboard electronics in this highly corrosive environment.

Today the sun is shining and the wind has begun to blow... so let's go down and see what happens.

a much more comprehensive update will follow...

Cheers, Paul.

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Third man inbound...

2008-03-13T16:00:00.001Z

So we've decided to halt our sailing until our third team member comes down. We told him that the 'gig is on' so he has finished up his current job and is working his way down here. His ticket is booked for Wednesday night, arriving in Namibia on Thursday morning. It will be quite a contrast from the wintery depths of a boat building shed in Sweden.
He will come down via the UK where a number of items will be picked up as required.

Truth is that we haven't missed much wind by halting the sailing. Maybe one or two days but other than that it has been quite light and even from the wrong direction. Soon we will have a new soft 'hangar' to store Sailrocket in after sailing. This will keep both the sun and wind from damaging the boat whilst it sits outside. The containers continue to be stocked and prepped for the upcoming month. It's turning into quite an operations base.

Cheers, Paul.

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Back to the waiting game...

2008-03-09T14:30:00.001Z

We totally missed yesterday. The unseasonal hot weather threw us completely. The morning was a scorcher and the forecast predicted nothing. By midday we canned it... By three the heat was blown away and it was almost perfect over at speed-spot. It was too late to round up the team and rig the boat. There was nothing left to do but go sailboarding. Ho-hum!

Today we rigged up regardless. The Rocket is still rigged up outside right now in fact. It was windy early which usually indicates a blow... but today it didn't come. Nearly, 14-15 knots maybe... but not quite.

On another note, we are waiting for the final stamp of approval on some ongoing funding to allow us to bring down a third person as a skilled hand. It is something we lacked last time. Finding a third skilled hand on sailing days is always a hassle and one that can have serious knock on effects.

So ah, once again, we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Cheers, Paul.

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Hot and flat... no joy.

2008-03-07T12:54:00.000Z

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.

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Sailboarders raise the hurdle...

2008-03-06T07:28:00.000Z

Yesterday in the 'French Trench' Antoine Albeau caught the gust of his life and has set a new unofficial world speed sailing record of 49.09 knots. The wind was reported to be between 45 and 50 knots... with gusts.
I'm pretty sure that these guys have their act together to get this record ratified and that Antoines run will be the new hurdle. Great stuff... but still not quite what they were ultimately seeking. It is now so tantalizingly close.
Here's a picture of Antoine at last years Walvis Bay Speed Week in September...

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Regardless of the whole 50-knot thing, he must be stoked to be at the top of the pack. I would be.

It was a stinking hot night last night. We had the fan running throughout. There was even light rain falling on the container in the morning. The weather is quite different from last year alright. The last two days have been on the light side and pretty much unuseable for us.
yesterday we were at war with the boats electrical system as we chased a fault through the wind data logging network. Today the battle will continue.
We will still rig up today in preperation as it will no doubt be good to do a dry run across to speed-spot to make sure the rest of the show is up to scratch.
The new 20' container has arrived and is sitting beside our current 40 footer. We are expending. Today I will begin fitting it out for boat building.
So plenty to do as always. The wind WILL come.

Cheers, Paul.

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Light winds and even some rain!!!

2008-03-03T12:53:00.000Z

Rain in Walvis bay is a strange occurrence. Whilst there has been plenty inland at the moment it usually doesn't make it down here. Well it rained last night but today you wouldn't know it. The dry, thirsty ground rapidly sucked it all up.
The winds are light so we are carrying on with our preperations for the days to come. Little details are being addressed. We went to put the new batteries in the GPS yesterday and when we turned it on it still had the readings from the last run displayed.

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Ah, the joy of seeing those numbers for the first time. But that was then and this is now... so out with the old and in with the new!

Hopefully in the next few days.

A second 20' container has been ordered which will be put alongside the current one. We will set it up for boat building projects as everything has to be constantly re-arranged in the current container everytime we need to laminate. You couldn't ask for a better spot than the Walvis bay Yacht Club to run a project like this. They have been very generous in their support of us as we do take up a bit of space. Being right next to Namibias main shipping port... and I mean right next to it... hang on, I'll take a picture from where I am sitting now

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You can see the stacks of containers just across the carpark... and our new vice... and the string of Mumm champagne corks hanging on the wall that represent the first sail and then every 10 knot increase in speed that followed. The cork which Lady Caroline launched Sailrocket with back in April 2004 is fitted in the handgrip of the skeg steering system on the boat.

Where was I? Oh yes, being this close to the shipping port has its advantages. A 20' container will be delivered to our door for the grand total of... ten pounds... inc VAT!!!

Happy Days.

Cheers, Paul.
Cheers, Paul.

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First full rig up for Round 3

2008-03-01T11:30:00.001Z

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Not so much wind today and the tide will not be very good until at least Tuesday. So we will spend the time just rigging up Sailrocket and getting her ready for her first outing.

The picture here shows Helena re-calibrating the onboard data collection system from PI Research. This includes wing, rudder and wind angles along with a host of others.

The job list is relatively small for a boat as complex as this one. Because the design of most of the components aren't settled on, we don't spend ages detailing certain aspects. As long as most things are strong enough for the trials then that will do. The cosmetics will come later.

The sun is very strong and I'm getting increasingly aware of the UV damage to unprotected areas of the boat. The project has taken longer than was expected at first.

One of our side projects will be to build a UV and wind proof shelter in which to store Sailrocket between runs.

This next picture is of 'THE RETURN OF THE WUYANG'. We use the 'WUYANG' for doing fuel runs. I would like to be able to say that the years have not been kind to the Wuyang... but it is only just one solitary year old. The Chinese built bike has desolved before our eyes like an aspirin in the harsh Walvis Bay weather. Aye yi yi... our poor cameras!!!

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Cheers, Paul.

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Ding, ding... Round 3 at Walvis bay begins!!!

2008-02-27T14:01:00.000Z

There's no place like home... or in our case... the container.

Both Helena and I were delighted to 'clunk' the doors of the container open and lay our eyes on all the familiar tools of our trade.

Namibia had recieved alot of rain recently and the inland regions were as green as a golf course. Unreal. I have never seen it like this. As we drove towards the coast it gradually becam drier until we got into Walvis where... as usual... it was still as dry as a bone. the unusual weather had been playing havoc with the wind and the locals were telling us how we had missed very little in our three month absence. I was a little worried that the disruption to the regular winds might continue as our first day here was pretty calm. I needn't have worried as Good ol' walvis bay turned it on over the last two days with world-class conditions.

Yep, it's good to be back.

So we moved into the container... which means that Sailrocket had to move out. She sure is looking a little battle-worn. The varnish on the topsides has had a hard time and everything looks used. Good... so it should. We brought down bags stuffed with goodies to fix and replace all the necessary parts. Thanks to all of our sponsors who once again chipped in SP GURIT, EKSPAN, VESTAS, MARLOW, PI RESEARCH, HARKEN and BAYLISS WARE. The product support alone is great but the morale support is just as valuable.

So what next?
Our first goal is to replicate the last 40 knot run... to prove that it wasn't a fluke. Once this has been done, then we can begin focusing more on speed. this will involve trimming the boat by firstly raking the rig aft and then bringing the beam back. this should reduce the amount of lee-helm. Once this is achieved we will focus on raising the large rudder. I will do this progressively by going to an intermediate rudder first... and then, if all is well, to simply steering with the fixed skeg and its trailing edge flap.

Whilst all of the above runs are taking place I will also incorporate the aerodynamic fairing for the wing 'strut'.

All the while through this we will be kept on our toes by the difficulties of keeping this wing under control during all phases of operations. we are very aware that it can bite at any time.

We plan to bring down an extra set of skilled hands and the sooner the better. I have a few guys in mind who are not only very good boat builders but also pretty 'cluey' sailors as well. I just hope that they can be available.

We are currently at 'war' with the local internet system and borrowing time from day to day until we get our own established. Everyone wants you signed up for life or else to pay through your arse. Ho-hum.

So SAILROCKET is coming together nicely and we should be ready for sailing over the weekend. The first run back will always be a little 'nervey'. I look forward to getting it out of the way. the 'above' is our current plan... now let's see what really happens.

Cheers, Paul.

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B-I-T!!!!

2008-02-20T13:19:00.001Z

Back In Town.

Flights are booked for Friday the 22nd for our return to Namibia. We are super eager to pick up where we left off.

Recent efforts to secure the future of the project have gone very well and we believe that we are well positioned for the challenges to come.

Whatever support we get it is always performance driven. The boat must reach targets. This is the way we want it as it keeps everyone on their toes.
We've already begun packing... this is great news.

Cheers, Paul.

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speed sailing issues... defining the apple!

2008-02-11T16:44:00.001Z

Here's what we think on recent issues including Tilman's runs. I do have opinions on certain issues and hope that they are seen in the constructive context with which they are put forth.

The whole idea of the WSSRC from its inception was, to borrow a phrase, 'to compare apples with apples'.
The majority of these 500m claims using hand-held GPS systems is for 500m travelled on the water, not in a straight line i.e. if you run at 50 knots in a zig-zag course down a 500m course, you may be doing 50 knots but your average will be less. Rightly or wrongly, this is simply how it is done.

I personally feel that this is the correct way as I believe that the 500 metre course is there to demonstrate a controlled and sustainable average. To show that a relatively steady state has been achieved.

Another issue worth raising whilst on the subject of 'Apples with Apples' is the one regarding depth.
The rules currently don't state any minimum. It is only a matter of time until the rules, or lack thereof, regarding the 500m Outright record course come into question. Whilst the rules for open ocean records are pretty straightforward, the Outright record rules are not.
I would like to think that the pursuit of the outright record is a pure demonstration of the relationship between a craft, wind and water... nothing else. It is the essence of sailing. This breeds the amazing diversity of expression currently attempting the outright record.
Hydrodynamic 'Ground effect' in relation to the bottom is a phenomenon simply not available or practical for most other craft and the WSSRC's position on it should at least be stated.
Is there a limit?
As the WSSRC are the body governing these attempts, it is their responsibility to put the endeavour on a firm foundation by removing much of the vagueness and defining the 'apple'. Sounds easy... maybe not. It will probably mean that they will have to define a sail boat by setting parameters i.e. a balloon in a gale dragging a line in the water is one extreme not currently outlawed. Considering the current debate over a simple term like 'keel'. This represents a minefield!!!
For teams like ourselves, these rules will determine our future directions and we would like some form of certainty so as to remove any confusion or dispute which will inevitably arise.

Tilmans speeds are nonetheless very impressive, he probably did go faster than the current world record but probably didn't do 50 knots over the standard 500m course. I would shout about it too... and then I would quickly call the WSSRC to come and ratify it to remove all doubts. It is done like that for a reason.
No one likes the cost and hassle currently involved with ratifying this record but independant ratification is the only way to do justice to the title.

There is currently alot of activity surrounding the Outright record. There is also plenty of debate from all angles. It all seems healthy and constructive.

The Sailrocket project will resume its sailing program in Namibia this month. Whilst we aim to do 50 knots, our overall aim IS to be the outright fastest. If the kiters do 50 or 55 knots we will keep going.
Whilst the current Sailrocket is a Mk1 prototype, part of the reason we chose the concept underlying it is because we know it has the ability to be realistically developed for much higher speeds. If we can do 50... then we believe that we can do 60.

Cheers, Paul.

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Back in February.

2008-01-23T14:17:00.001Z

Greetings all,
Well we are working hard over here in the UK to make a funded return to Walvis Bay at the very start of Feb.
Mostly the support is coming from existing sponsors. That last 3 month session pretty much drained all the available resource that we ourselves had to offer...

BUT DAMN...IT WAS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

So the plan is to come back and take up where we left off. We will start by trying to replicate that last fast run. If we are happy that we can make SAILROCKET sail 'in mode' every time then we will begin tweaking the boat for speed. We will start by bringing the beam aft to reduce the amount of lee-helm experienced as the boat speeds up and the apparent wind moves forward. If everything continues to go well we will move on to raising the large rudder. This should make a significant difference to speed.
After this there will be all the detail work like removing the extra rigging (easy) and fairing in the wing strut (supposedly good for 1.5 knots). Hopefully after this we will be focusing more on the conditions and the actual sailing side of things.
That's the rough plan anyway.
I went back down to Australia over christmas and during my visit I popped down to see the Macquarrie Innovation crew. They were on standby for a run. The course looks great... although a bit smaller than I remembered it. I looked at the weather and the sketchy window they were waiting for, I considered their remote location and the size of the team they needed (12-14 people) to operate... and I came away feeling good. Good about the way we have approached the whole logistics of speed sailing.
The volunteers on site were chirpy enough but in the end I just felt like I was intruding so I didn't hang around. It struck me as strange. Maybe they don't rate our project. I don't know... but if I was them, I would have wanted to sit down and discuss the various paths we have taken. The Sailrocket project has always been a completely open book... to anyone. Oh well, I suppose that these guys have been around for awhile and will buy themselves some time by watching us make the same mistakes they made throughout their own learning process. But then we are beginning to emerge out the other side of our own process and now would be an interesting time to share experience.
Whatever, the weather window didn't happen (surprise, surprise, been there, done that), they packed up... and that was that. Their day may still come and I do admire their persistence.

So in the remaining 10 or so days in the UK I will gather a heap of spares to restock the larder(container) and do all the nitty gritty associated with what is to come.

Oh yeah, this is cool. I managed to track down the address of Bernard Smith via the internet. Bernard Smith first wrote up the concept of force allignment which SAILROCKET is based upon back in the early 60's. He published it all in a fantastic book called 'THE 40 KNOT SAILBOAT'. I came across this book working in a chandlery back in Queensland, Australia and it ended up changing my life. When I first saw SAILROCKET as a 1:5th scale model I knew immediately the theory it was based upon.
Well with our last run, we actually became... the 40 knot sailboat!!! The first one ever based upon that concept. I wanted to contact Bernard and let him know. Trouble is that he would be over 97 by now. I chased up a number of contacts who told me he was still alive but doesn't do e-mail. They passed on his phone number and last night I called it... and spoke to Bernard Smith himself for about five minutes!!! He would like us to send him a letter with some diagrams of what we are doing which of course we will do. But if Sailrocket does what we think it can... then I think we will go one better and fly the team over to Florida to pay homage to the man himself. 97 and sharp as a tack... what a guy!

Righto... back to the paperwork.

Cheers, Paul.

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Back in the USSK! and video posted.

2007-12-03T10:16:00.001Z

Hi all, well it's pretty surreal sitting back here in 'Grey'mouth, England after all that has happened in the past week or so. I'm already working hard to update all the media and lay a foundation for our return to Namibia ASAP. I miss the place already.
So here is the latest video posting from our last run... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zuh198jdZSc
We are still buzzing from that run and what it represents.
Cheers, Paul
p.s. This is now one of my favourite SAILROCKET pictures. A rose amongst the thorns!

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Holy shit and Hallelujah... Sailrocket hits 40 knots

2007-11-27T17:51:00.001Z

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What a day.
1 run and the speed strip was peeeerfect. The best I have ever seen it.
I'll cut it short as I'm buzzing from joy, tiredness and champagne.
Sailrocket showed us that she is a contender and hit 42.4 knots in full control.

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I was stomping on the big lo speed rudder to hold her up to the course as she just wanted to bear away.
After the speed hut I got a gust and she just lifted her skirts. I knew it was fast. My visor blew up.
The slow down took ages and I lost track of the course. When the spray and pace all dropped off I gingerly looked down at the GPS. It read 42.1 (later on the download 42.4).

Holy shit and Hallelujah.

All the hard work over the past four days (five years) paid off. Four days ago we hit the beach at 20 knots out of control and later slammed the rig into the water and snapped the beam clean in half.

I couldn't do any of this without Helena's faith in me, Malcolm and the boat.

I am so happy for all of us. I skyped Malcolm and I swear he was tearful.

We finally cracked the 40 knot bottle of Mumm. Now we are into Vix's crate of champers.

Can you believe it. Our last run of our last day after a big bust up. It's almost corny.

We're all buzzing. we saw a 50 knot boat today. Raising the low speed rudder is straight away good for 5 knots. There is so much junk still hanging on the boat that I know we can get in the 50 knot ball park with what we have already.

I decided not to go for a second run despite the awesome conditions. We have worked so hard and rushed the boat onto the water. I know that somewhere there is likely a trap waiting and I don't want to find it now. Today is our day. The teams day. It's going to be a night of joy. We deserve it, we got what we wanted and I don't want to risk it.
We are also now armed with proof that this boat can be a world record breaker.

Stoked.

Thanks to each and everyone of you who has helped us get this far, we will continue working until we take this bus all the way.

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Cheeeeeeers, Paul and the team.

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Back on the launchpad...

2007-11-27T10:50:00.001Z

Now I'm really tired... and concious of not making any mistakes.

Sailrocket is sitting outside and has been fully rigged and prepped for sailing.

The wind has just come in.... 5 words ago in fact!

It does that here. A visible line of wind on the water.

The tide is still low but flooding in.

There were a few other little breakages, bends and twists that needed sorting out but all that has been done.

I don't want to rush out to our next accident. But neither can we afford not to take the opportunity to sail today. It's a bit of a gamble but one I am willing to take.

As I was setting up the video cameras I went back to the last footage on the OBC (onboard camera). It seems like a month ago... not a few days. They have been long days but they have now paid off. I can't believe we have turned it around. We feel very tired but satisfied that it was all not in vain.

The Yacht Club are making up some sandwiches. It's important to eat when you're worn down. Then we are off.

Helena is behind me scurrying around preparing the bags to be taken with us on the RIB.

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!

Woohoo, let's go

Cheers, Paul.

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More comebacks than Rocky!

2007-11-27T06:00:00.001Z

The bitch is back.
Sailrocket is sitting outside with a fully repaired beam. I'd love to show you a pic but I don't have time to play with cameras as we are still on a mission.

Hell, we've been so busy that we haven't even changed the CD on the stereo. We've become pretty well acquainted with the 'Stone Roses' over the last 24 hours.

We need to be on the water in four hours.

Last night the beam was hanging over our bed whilst the hair dryer and generator cranked away. We have been up since 4am. I pulled the heater tent off and set to fitting all the pieces to the beam. We put on the track and moused all the lines.
Now we have to get the wing ready. The flaps are still over in the speedhut on speed-spot. We have to recalibrate the wing rotation sensors which got bent and a heap of other stuff.
I checked the main foil allignment and it is spot on so I don't know why the boat rounded up on the last run. I'll dial the skeg off a bit.
So much to do... but we can do it.
Hiskia has just arrived.

The forecast for today is perfect so if it plays out then... well... we'll be ready for it with a steely gaze.
We deserve some payback.

Cheers, Paul.

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Start praying for wind tomorrow...

2007-11-26T06:41:00.001Z

We can still do this. The beam is now back together... in shape anyway. I got to bed around 6 AM this morning. Had a shower under a hose and three hours kip. The final piece is curing under a 'bubble-bag'. Whilst this is happening I'll scoot into town and get some bits and bobs for the final carbon taping up in a few hours. If the sun shines it will be cured by early/mid afternoon ready for assembly back on the boat...

Now... where's the BIG coffee cup?

Cheers, Paul.

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Going 'offshore' in a container!

2007-11-25T07:13:00.001Z

Both Helena and I are going 'gang-busters' here trying to repair this boat in time for a possible sail on Tuesday.
We were up well into the morning with generators, vacuum pumps, hair dryers... and the stereo all cranking flat out.
Last night we built the new top section of the beam and the 'shear-web' bulkhead in between for which we had to make a mould. I pulled our generator out as a back up power supply so we don't blow the fuse in the Yacht-club when the hair dryer 'bubble tent cranks up.
The container was humming and rattling away. We finally got to sleep with alot more noise going on than usual.
I got up eagerly this morning to unwrap the presents. The new bits came out perfectly.
We have achieved one dead-line but todays will be even harder. Today we will know if it is possible or not.

We have to build the new bottom skin, install the top skin and the shear-web... and also install the bottom skin... we have to put it all back together today!!!

When you hit a storm in an offshore race you find yourself forced to deal with it and just keep working to go forward at all costs. You are driven by the competition and stopping, giving up or merely cruising just isn't even considered. You get so worn out and sleep deprived and yet you can't sleep because your head is full of thoughts about what really should be done now and what needs to be done next.
I was thinking about that this morning lying in bed. Thankfully with boat building there are periods where you have to stop and let things cure... but maybe if I plugged in the other generator and put the 'heat-gun' in a second bubble tent....

and so on.

I don't even know if there will be wind on Tuesday but I don't really care. If there is a slim chance then we will take it.

Like in a race, most competitors have optimistic views of what there life will be like if things all come together. Some peoples views and self belief in making that a reality are much stronger.

I'll share my little driving dream with you...
I have a view now, that in a few days time, Helena and I are sitting on an aeroplane laughing all the way back to the UK with a stonking Champagne hangover.
It could be our finest hour.

Of course the odds are slim. The repair could hit a brick wall or the wind may not blow but that's out of our hands.

Righto, gotta get up on decks and shake a reef.

Cheers, Paul.
That's the thought that drives me now.

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Repairs already underway...

2007-11-24T08:55:00.000Z

As the title states... repairs are already underway.
I'm just about to cut the beam open and see the real extent of the damage internally. Fingers crossed that it hasn't torn off the 'shear-web' inside. This is like an internal bulhead that runs the length of the beam to link up the tensions and compressions of the top and bottom surfaces of the beam when it is bending. If this is only damaged locally then we could repair it all relatively quickly... if not, like last time then it is a far bigger job.

We were out on speedspot from 1-2:30 AM this morning checking that the wing was OK in the spring high tides. It was a full moon and therefore quite a nice, quiet place to be (see pics). Now we are waiting for the tide to come back in so that we can get over there in the RIB and retrieve it all before the wind picks up.

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STASHING THE FLAPS AND STOWING THE WING AS THI SPRING HIGH TIDE COMES IN AT 2:30 am ON SPEEDSPOT

For now... and bear with us here... we are going to go for the impossible and try and fix the boat by Tuesday and go sailing if the conditions are favourable. Of course it's a longshot... but that's our only shot and chance to turn this around. It gives us an objective and a challenge for our last remaining days.
Cheers, Paul

I don't get so emotional anymore...

2007-11-23T17:13:00.000Z

Well that didn't go so well.

The day we asked for was delivered but today we finally paid the price for being stretched too thin.

I started Run 23 as per normal. Sailrocket picked up and took off... and then for some reason as yet to be determined... she began a round up at a little over 22 knots. I couldn't correct it and I was in close.

No problems... I quickly dumped the flap and let the wing go. The power turned off as we hit the beach only 150 odd meters from the start. We plowed a bit with the main foil and then Sailrocket feathered and stopped. Everything was stable so I jumped out and held the bow myself until Andreas caught up.

I was obviously concerned about the round-up but equally happy that we had manouvered out of a situation that would have previously led to a wipe-out.

The joy was short lived.

I thought about what might have changed. I had removed the main foil to re-seal the centreboard case the previous day. Maybe it hadn't gone back quite in allignment despite my attention to this very point. I hadn't measured it accurately but then it does sit down on a fitted surface. I thought that it might be out of allignment with the fixed skeg so I did a pretty coarse adjustment of the fixed skeg so it would bear away if that was the case. I knew I wouldn't be that far out.

Seeing as I hadn't come that far down the course we prepared to finish the run and see if the new setting worked and explained the issue. It was either that or return to the shore and spend the remainder of the day re-checking everything. We don't have the time budget for that luxury.

Whilst I was double checking the mainsheet system I heard a commotion and looked up to see the wing had backwinded. This wasn't the end.

The wing compressed the beam. It shattered and collapsed.

The wing then swung aft and fell into the water... before I could get to it, it picked itself up and blew back fully upright and slammed down in the front of the boat... and then picked itself fully upright again and fell over backwards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Each time the beam would bend to stupid angles and the pod would pick up and fall into the water.

I jumped on it and proclaimed " Well that's it, she's F$%&'d... you've just seen the end of Sailrocket".

Once the situation was stable and we gradually untangled the mess it became clear that the wing was totally unscratched. The lightweight skins weren't even punctured. The beam was a mess but the COMPOTECH strut was still in one piece. The damage to the beam appeared pretty local as compared to the end of Run 7 where it was trashed along its length.

I know what had caused it. User error. Too many inexperienced hands handling a difficult craft. It's by no means their fault. I'm responsible for the whole scenario. It's all the result of trying to do a difficult and technical project with no money.
The boat is fine and capable as I believe we are... but we need a regular team of skilled individuals if we are going to do this properly. If this stuff-up hadn't of happened now it only would have happened later.

I didn't even get that pissed off. We gave it a real good stab this time. I can honestly say that it was our best shot... but we stretched it too thin and we paid.

It's fixable... as always. It makes me more determined to get it right. But we need resources. We need financial support. We have to re-address this issue. Not a half-arsed sponsor who only wants a result... but someone who wants to be part of the story and ride the rollercoaster.

I hope that we have proven our committment to this venture.

Anyway, we got the bits and pieces back to the container. The wing will spend the night at Speedspot. It's a full-moon so we will have to go and check it at high-tide as speed-spot can go under on spring high tides. We don't need that sort of misery.

So what now?
well we go through all the data and perform the allignment checks to try and understand what happened with the initial round-up. I pull on the white suit and cut the beam open to ascertain the extent of the damage and get as much of the repair done as is possible in the next four days. Who knows, maybe I can go 'gang-busters' and get it done in three days and pull off a 40 on the 4th. (I'm sure there will be a few more detailed problems to fix.)

I'll know alot more tomorrow after all the info is in and the accident has been torn apart over numerous beers.

Sigh.

Fuckit.

Never give up eh? It can be a real ball-and-chain attitude.

So close... so close.

Cheers people, Paul.

The wind tunnels winding up and we're in wetsuits.

2007-11-23T11:10:00.001Z

We're off, the wind is around 12-15 and we have about 3-4 hours of tide left. We'll be wet in 15 minutes.
The gig's on and the champagne is in the fridge.
Come on mother nature.
Paul.

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Wind has swung... wing is on.

2007-11-23T10:11:00.000Z

It's a hot morning here but the wind has swung into the WSW and the wing is on the boat. We are in 'GO' mode now and will get over to speed-spot ASAP.
Paul.

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Focused on the 'push' to 40 knots.

2007-11-23T07:01:00.001Z

Hi All,
We've emerged from the Sailrocket 'bunker' as the howling winds seem to have finally abated.
The last two days have been really honking down here. The forecast and tides for today look great.
Helena is outside re-installing the seat belts in the cockpit of Sailrocket.
PI RESEARCH have dispatched another Data logger and it has already been tried and tested on the shore. This is a vital piece of the days that are to come.

We only have four sailing days left until we simply have to depart. We will pack everything away on the fifth day and fly out on the sixth.
These next few days really count.

The wing has been re-skinned and the main foil and planing surface has been removed and reinstalled as there was asmall leak into the centre board case.

A new 'throttle' grip has been added to the hand steering to release the 'skeg-flap' rudder.

I have three runs in mind. The first will be a run with the big rudder down so we can measure the leeway accurately for future reference. I will push hard in this one and try and get he wing into 10 degrees with the main wing-flap sheeted in. I will check the flap deployment system on the slow down without easing the flap bridle line. The flap should pay out at 2:1 as it is also linked to the mainsheet system at that ratio. At the end of the run I will mark the flap bridle line at the cockpit cleat so I know where to sheet it to next time.
On the second run I will fit the small high speed rudder. I will trial the skeg flap steering before raising the big rudder... but I'm sure it will be OK and the small rudder will be there as a progressive safety measure.
The third run will be an all out run with all the 'spare' up/down haul rigging removed and focusing on sailing a clean and tight 500 m run.

I will try and sail in close on all the runs as you can never be too sure here if you are going to get another.

That's the plan I have in my head anyway. What happens out there will depend alot on the conditions. So.... like the conditions, it is all subject to change.

Please Mother Nature, give us a couple more good days.

Cheers, Paul.

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Maintenance...

2007-11-18T08:20:00.001Z

The tides will not be favourable for the next few days so we have dismantled the wing with a view to reinforcing a few areas and re-skinning the top surface. It appears that the African sun has weakened the thin, clear skins and that the UV has made them very brittle. If you just flick the surface with your finger it shatters and it crumbles in you hand when you 'scrunch' it up. The bottom skin seems OK.
So we will complete this today.
The next good tides will not be until later in the week.
We will use the week to continue detailing SailRocket. Tidy up all those little loose ends.
We have ben sailing the boat in pretty coarse trim as we have been focusing more on the general handling issues than the details of speed. I will probably do this for a couple more runs as I get used to raising the large low-speed rudder. I don't have fond memories of the last time I did this (the wipeout on Run 7) but then that was not caused by the rudder. I'm sure that the boat is now behaving much better. Malcolm believes that raising that rudder is good for 5 knots alone.
Ahhh, here comes Helena with the mornings coffee....
Cheers, Paul.

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Tough calls as the seasons change.

2007-11-16T19:20:00.001Z

Today we have been tricked by the weather.
It was perhaps our last opportunity to use the afternoon tide so we watched the weather closely. Helena monitored it in as many formats as possible. As the weak neap tide flooded into the lagoon we watched the wind build. It continued to build until Helena took the RIB across to speed spot to do some wind readings. It was already hitting 22 knots. I was determined to get a run in and later tokk the RIB over myself. When the wind gusted to 24 on the TACKTICK instruments I called it off. On the last two evenings the wind had continued to build through the sunset and into the night only abating in the early morning. Not today though. The wind dropped and at sunset it was perfect SAILROCKET conditions... albeit on a lowish tide.
It's gone and got me all pissed off and I'm still pissed off. It fills me with the dreaded 'rage' of impatience.
We should be going home...but we can't.
Not if we are ever going to succeed.
We'll stay... again.
Cheers, Paul

A priceless day slips through our fingers as 'life'gets in the way....

2007-11-14T16:24:00.000Z

So here we are where every day is golden to us. We just need one more good day where it all comes together.
Today we got the former but not the latter.
It was/is a great day. We called everyone in and prepared to hit the course once more.
Helena noticed that the data logger for the TACKTICK weather station was left over at speed-spot so she went over there to collect it.
On the way back the RIB bagan acting funny. I went and tried it out. The RIB cut out 50 meters from the yacht club jetty and wouldn't start again. There seemed to be no electrical power getting through. The alloy webbing fastner for the battery box was corroded so I cut it off with an old rusty knife we had on hand... a little later I noticed that I had also cut my shin to the bone! No pain and not too much bleeding... but a nice wound. So I waved down a guy on the jetty who towed us back in and we pulled the RIB out.
I had a look around but didn't want to waste the day so we called in the local Yamaha outboard guys whilst a local friend went and got a DIY first-aid stitching kit.
It really was the day we had been waiting for.
I was uploading the latest sailing video to youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X6l-xFFP7A) whilst Helena tried to stitch up my leg. I can tell you this... skin is bloody well tough stuff.
So we isolate the problem with the outboard and it seems to run fine. My leg is all bandaged up so we head for the boat ramp. I decide to jump in the boat so as to keep my leg dry. Helena and Hiskia are pushing the boat and trailer and as it comes off the ramp and onto the sand... the damned axle shears off and the RIB goes skidding into the sand. I was holding on but the anchor came and cut open my little toe.... more blood.
This day is cursed.
The outboard seems to be running fine but there is a new noise. I don't like new 'noises' in engines... I don't think anyone does.
I decided to shelve sailing for today. I hate the fact that we have missed a potentially great day. I don't think it would be strong enough for 40 knots but it would have been a very constructive day for practice and refinement.
We need to be 100% confident in the RIB as its failure could have all sorts of knock on effects.
So here is the video of our last run where the 'black box' flew off. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X6l-xFFP7A I will try and make it better as it is a bit crappy on youtube.
Meanwhile Pi Research have dispatched a new box which should be here in a few days. we decided that it was absolutely essential to have it.
We really do only have a scant few days of decent tide left. Then we have to make another big decision. The trouble is that the change of seasons will present the ultimate answer.
Aye yi yi... some days you just have to shake your head.

Cheers, Paul.

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Happy 21'st run Sailrocket...and 22nd...and damned near 23rd!

2007-11-11T20:34:00.000Z

Hi all, so today we got a call from Frank to go and watch him fly his remote control jet. The good tide wasn't until the arvo so off to the desert we went. There was a case of jet envy as the local 'whizzers' watched the 'Gripen' whistle out onto the runway. Man that thing hustles... and it sounds like a jet too. I stood by Frank in case he got out of shape and needed someone to jump in but he seemed to be fine so I picked up the camera instead.
Once again the forecast wind wasn't shaping up but we decided to go on full standby anyway. I called Hiskia in early as he was on the 'Wuyang' and needs a bit of warning. That trike-bike is a mule... not a thoroughbred. The wind swung into the West and began to build. It had been North all morning. In fact, the change had come in the wee hours of early morning. We have developed a good ear for it in our steel container. Both Helena and I pick it up at the same time. It means that we have to get up and go and spin the boat around to face the new breeze. I must admit that I do this in the minimum of clothing and as quick as possible i.e. this morning I didn't even put on the lights.
So Hiskia arrived but we struggled to find the random fifth person. I called around but everyone was busy. Mind you, we have a wierd agenda and all these other locals have jobs, families and other more normal committments. Sometimes sailing Sailrocket is just testing on the patience or plain stressful. I try and share the load amongst the volunteers as much as possible but occassionally there just isn't enough. Today we came up short and couldn't find anyone. I was determined to get out there and try the new mods. we HAVE to get a money run sooner or later.
In speed-sailing terms, Life begins at 40 knots. Sailrocket has to get over that 40 knot hurdle to really be considered anything close to eligible for a crack at the title. Only four boats have ever pulled off a 40 knot run, five if you count Yellow pages and Mac. Inn. as two boats (which I guess you should... sort of). The other three are Hydroptere, Longshot and Technique advancee... all hydrofoilers.
In true sailrocket form we grabbed a guy from the bar at the yacht club. Roelof had parked up his 'dart' catamaran for the day and thought his sailing was over for the weekend. "Not so, my friend, chuck this here Musto 'wetty' on and let's go-ho-ho". We had a team.
Conditions looked awesome. we set up the 'Tacktick' weather station and saw exactly what we wanted. Winds of 17-19 knots from the ideal angle... occasionaly touching 20. Purrrrfect.
We quickly shot up the course to sieze the day before anything changed. the first run went well and for once I was aware that I was looking where I was going with the pointy nose of Sailrocket squarely in the middle of the frame. This was a good indication that the boat was tracking as it should. She just felt different. She felt fast and stable. I knew we were over 30 knots and it wasn't a battle. I played with the flap control but fumbled for the line. I concentrated on getting in close and a few of the other controls and it was over. I did a hard 'handbrake' turn in an aggressive round-up at the end. It worked great. Gotta be careful I don't get too cocky. we recorded a 34.something run. It was a good test of the rather major mods and I was happy. I don't think that I sheeted in to the buisness end of the range much below 18 degrees. The next run was going to be the 40 knot run. I was fired up so we quickly dropped the rig and headed back up the course.
I got on the course in nice shape and was happy with my line. My objective was to focus on sheeting into around 10 degrees which should be optimal. the first run was a shakedown but this time I just BADLY WANTED to punch through 40 knots. Right when we had settled into a mid 30's speed and I was about to initiate the details of speed i.e. sheeting angle and main-flap engagement, I became aware that something was wrong. A chunk of boat was slamming against the side of the cockpit. Damn it, it was the bloody 'black box' data logger. We had to mount it externally on the leeward side for a number of reasons including 'loom' length, GPS reception and general space requirements. The cable ties had failed and now it was flailing around hanging on its cords at 35 knots. I grabbed it with one hand before it destroyed itself or the side of the cockpit and then worked like mad with my other hand to bring the whole show to a stop. I did another wild round-up at speed where I had to drop the box into the water again for a second or two... better that than the rig. I'm stopping so quick now that the RIB barely has time to catch me before I'm on the beach.
We hit 37 knots during all that. I'm sure that we are pulling off some good 500 m averages.
But still no 40's. Damnit.... we would go again. we dropped the rig and headed up the course for a third attempt. The tide was going out and the wind definitely wasn't any weaker. It was now solid 20's and gusting over. By the time we got the rig it was more like 21-23 knots. The sun was going down. Bugger it. I decided to go anyway. Even if we did a slower run, I could try out a few other things like the skeg-flap steering. Three of the team left Andreas and myself alone at the top of the course as they took their stations down by the speedhut. I was standing by the cockpit when I looked forward and realised Andreas was in trouble holding the boat. A swell had surged in and he was up to his neck. he was off his feet and sailrocket was blowing backwards. I ran forward to help but it was too late. sailrocket was tied at the transom by it's anchor/tether and all hell was about to break loose. I clambered on the boat and shot back to the cockpit furiously putting on the foot steering and getting the controls in order. I was going to dump the tether and try and sail out of trouble. Sailrocket lunged forward and sailed over Andreas. He was now on the inside of the bow and hanging on for dear life. I eased the wing well out to try and feather the boat but the tether was pulling the transom. I was neither here nor there and had to watch to see which way the boat would go. Andreas had somehow managed to climb onto the bow and was now hanging onto it like you would straddle a log stuck out off the top floor of the Empire State Building. He had a leg and an arm either side and a death-grip. Sailrocket sailed forward to shallower water and Andreas slipped off on the right side and grabbed the bow. I quickly slipped the tether which allowed the transom to swing freely and once again Sailrocket feathered back into the wind.
Cheeerist!
For a moment there I honestly thought I was going to be headed down the course with Andreas as a 'hood' ornament. We both cracked up laughing. I wish someone had of filmed that. when I saw him on the bow I frantically turned the camera on but I'm not sure what came out. Somehow we survived. I called the third run off. It was shallow and dark. The wind was up and it was choppy. we headed back to the Yacht Club.

What a great day. 40 knots WILL fall very soon and then we will begin picking off each knot from there on in up to 50. There are still devils in the detail but one by one we are exercising them. Experience is allowing us to be bold with this difficult boat.

We're ready to roll for tomorrow.

Vids to be posted soon.

Cheers, Paul.

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No joy!

2007-11-10T17:06:00.001Z

Hi All,
We rigged, we crossed the lagoon, we setup the weather station.... we waited with optimism... we waited... we waited.

The tide came and went...

The wind didn't.

We went to.

Even a reliable place like this can be hard to predict.

All the forecasts were wrong but we were ready anyway.

Maybe tomorrow.

Ciao, Paul.

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Here we go, hopefully for a happy 21st run!

2007-11-10T11:34:00.001Z

Well as all my old class mates will be tucking into the beers and the high-school memories back in Healesville, Australia, we here in Namibia are sweating away in our Musto wetsuits as we get set to launch Sailrocket across to Speed-spot for her 21st run down the course. Alot has changed and we are expecting big things. A chap named Arno came along from a film crew who's in town and he stood around for too long. He has been adopted and today we will have the luxury of a professional camera man shooting the action from the shore.
It's hot but the forecast wind hasn't arrived yet. we are sure that it will. For once I can't wait to get wet.
I hope that today makes my decision not to fly home and catch up with all my old friends worthwhile.
C'mon mother nature... give it to us.

Cheers, Paul.

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In the immortal words of Kevin 'bloody' Wilson....

2007-11-09T11:10:00.001Z

"It was over... before it began"!
Ombepo yoonkondo (Oshiwambo for 'strong wind')
The wind has come in before the tide. pretty much from the moment I sent the last posting it began to build.
Two of our regular local helpers work for a local tourism company called 'Mola Mola' which takes people out on seal,dolphin, whale watching tours as well as on desert trips down the coast. Wally and Naude were calling in the weather from further south and letting us know what we were in for.
The day was definitely building as forecast.
I was getting increasingly reluctant to pull the wing out however everything else was prepared. The RIB was stocked and fueled, all the cameras, VHF radios, data loggers and Gps systems were charged, zeroed and checked. Three bags of equipment and spares were ready and waiting to be loaded into the RIB.

As the wind built further I made the call to 'hang for a bit'.

Right now at 1300 would have been the time we would have been over there with suitable water depth. I just went and did a wind reading and it's already gusting to 24 knots here. The lagoon passage is rough and it's only going to get stronger.

We made the right call today and missed nothing. Phew!

It's not a good thing as we desperately want to get out there... but at least we know that there isn't any 'would've, could've, should've' about it.

So it's back to the maintenance and small improvement list.

Tomorrow is forecast to be lighter... but only a little.

This is a waiting game and I think we have proven that we can play this game.

Cheers, Paul.
p.s. the sand is starting to blow outside... it IS going to 'honk'!

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Will it or won't it???

2007-11-09T08:49:00.001Z

Today is shaping up to be the opposite of yesterday. It's blowing SW already and the forecast is for the wind to 'honk' today. We know it will. The sky is already clearing in the south which is an indication. The tide will be suitable from around 1230-1300 onwards.
The question is... will we get blown out before then?
Well, we aren't here on holiday so we will rig up and go for it. It may turn into a bit of a survival mission to get back. Today is pretty much the spring tides and this will mean that if we have to return across the lagoon around 1400 hours then we will be doing so in a strong wind-against-tide chop. Sailrocket rides pretty low and I stay near the stern with a manual bilge pump at the ready... but it's the beam and beam-flap which cops a real punishing.
The thought of sitting in the container having not given it a go whilst another great day goes wasted is unbearable.
We'll go for it and see what happens.
Cheers, Paul.

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Damn it... missed todays weather window!

2007-11-08T17:34:00.000Z

Hi all,

Well we made a bad call today with the weather and stood the team down a little too early. The wind was from the North and stubbornly refused to swing. It was still in the North at midday and the day was overcast. This usuall indicates that the SW wind will not come through with much strength and will probably have a large West component if it does.

I sent Hiskia home and cracked on with building a skeg-flap locking system. Whilst that was curing I headed into town on the motorbike and bought a bunch of necessary items such as a new cordless drill. The Walvis Bay weather siezed up the chuck on the last Bosch drill in around 6 months... my impatients with dodgy tools finished it off!

The bike decided that it would just pour petrol out of the carby overflow all day until I stopped and switched off the fuel. Then I would have to get on, turn on the tap and kick this big 650 single over whilst balancing shopping bags. Throughout this the bike doused itself with fuel. My plan in case of a sudden and semi-expected fireball involved alot of sliding down the road, rolling, wild flailing of arms and general acceptance of great waves of pain. Fortunately the flow would slow once underway as the fuel had other places to go. Thankfully she made it home... well... to the container anyway.

We also got a new Sim card for the MTC 3G box from Mobile Home in town. This is as close to Broadband as you get in these parts and allows us to get online from the container. Our project would really struggle without it. Besides updating websites and sending e-mails it also allows me to have long phone calls via Skype to the design and support team. You don't realise how important and dependent you are on these modern marvels until they are gone. In a gig like this, they are essential.

Whilst in town, the light breeze swung and built. The grey skies cleared and voila... The Walvis Bay wind tunnel turned it on again. It became a perfect Sailrocket day but it was too late to get out there. I sat inside and pretended it wasn't that good. Frank turned up thinking we must have already been out. I tried a few excuses that might have bluffed a less experienced local but he knew. We got it wrong today.

Oh well, that's the good thing about this place, it WILL come again and probably quite soon. As soon as we made the weather call we rolled straight into our alternative mode and worked on improving the boat. As of tomorrow we will have a neat little trigger mechanism which will keep the skeg flap locked in a central position until it is needed. Simple, light, functional and with a couple of neat little extras. That's how I like to build things.

Tomorrow we will go out no matter what... which I guess is what we should have done today.

Meanwhile, I will chuck in a few pics of us making the new skeg fences. The foil is also a new one fresh out of the wrapper. The one we have used to date is the first one that was built by Nick and the boys at DESIGNCRAFT. It had a couple of imperfections so they built a second one that came out perfect. I almost forgot we had it. This one is much cleaner in shape and it was a shame to add the fences. Makes the foil look like something out of the Jetsons. Who cares? As long as it works.

Cheers, Paul

Fencing the new foil....

2007-11-07T14:03:00.001Z

Hiya all,

Well the discussion between Malcolm, Richy and myself has lead to the fitting of three fences 100, 250 and 400 mm down the span of the foil with the first one angled at 2 degrees, the second at 1 degree and the third at 0 to allow for the waters deflected flow off the planing surface above. Making, fitting and shaping the fences took the best part of yesterday. This morning it was all fitted onto the 'rocket' and carefully alligned to make doubly sure everything was where it should be.

It looks pretty cool... in a modern F1 car sort of way. Lots of ultimately draggy crap everywhere that nonetheless looks 'purposeful'. I'll reserve judgement until I see the end result. Malc didn't want to insist on fitting the fences... but he persisted with the reasoning until I relented and pulled on my 'boat-building' hat.

It's a glamourous day here in Walvis Bay. Perfect for our purposes. It's always annoying to miss these days... but I'm delighted with the progress we have made in the last week. It's all vindicated some of our recent choices to fit a much more complex data collecting system. When you ask for the 'lights to be turned on' in a gig like this, be prepared for what might be revealed as it mightn't be what you expect!

I'm itching to get out on the water again and pray to mother nature to send us another day like today.

I know we can do this. When this boat finally lights up it's going to be a beautiful thing.

This afternoon I have to work out a system to lock off the steerable skeg-flap when I'm not using it. Malc reckons that the skeg is only 30 % efficient with a free trailing flap. This could be the reason that sailrocket is 'dropping' into a stalled state at the beginning of the run and remaining there for the duration... just a thought.

Righto...

Cheers from the Pelican Bay resort coffee lounge (our 3G card ran out so we come here for a wireless connection)

Paul

p.s. Brad, found the plug spanner... the plug was way loose!!! Took her out, cleaned her... first kick every time! Helena gave the bike the mother of all clean-ups and now she looks sweeeeeeet! Happy days ( I told you it was a glamour day).

Flawed assumptions revealed... but it's all good.

2007-11-05T12:47:00.001Z

Sooooo... we're still here!
We decided to stick around for a bit longer to have one more go at getting to the bottom of the Sailrocket puzzle.
We have made great progress with the overall handling of the boat and the new skeg has shown... so-far, that it dampens the boats evil traits down nicely.
Other issues have arisen with the huge amounts of leeway that have been discovered thanks to the onboard instrumentation and Pi research data collection system (literally, the 'black-box').
On Friday night we went around for a Braii (BBQ) at a local friends house. Besides being a commercial pilot and Namibian speed sailing record holder at over 40 knots... frank also builds the most amazing remote controlled jets to a degree of detail that is staggering. He's a pretty 'cluey' guy to have about and put on a Braii that made our simple affairs back home in Oz just look like a source of heat to stand around whilst we get mashed! Which, come to think of it, makes me wonder why I just put off going home!!!

During the smoking of the 'Angel fish' on the indoor braii (indoor... I told you these guys were advanced) I went through the problems we were encountering with leeway and what the possible causes could be.
Frank called up the following morning and said he had had a revelation. He came around to the container and explained it. He touched on many of the points we had already been considering and were aware of but he also went back to basics of the angle of the main foil. It should be mentioned that an assymetric foil can be very difficult to 'eyeball'. they often look crooked when they aren't. Whilst we have a simple jig to measure this (which we had a couple of times), Frank used another simple method of taping a staight edge to the Leading edge of the main foil and one to the trailing edge. The alignment of these two points represents the centre line of the foil and therefore... in many ways, the true centreline of the boat. when we sighted down this transit it became obvious that the foil was crooked. Now this wasn't so critical when we had a free floating rudder which would just align itself with whatever direction the main foil was going in and steer accordingly... but it matters alot now that we have a fixed skeg on the back. (Other aspects of sailrocket are also affected such as the beam/wing angle and the apparent wind angle information as these are all alligned to the boats centreline... when they should be to the foils centreline as this determines the direction that the boat is actually travelling in.)

After Frank left us with that little bombshell I went over and over Sailrocket trying to work out where we were crooked. No matter where I measured I couldn't find any flaws. Everything was straight as you like... but the foil was crooked. The problem came down to the pitch of the tapered centre board case. Whilst the chord of the centreboard is horizontal in relation to the boat... the centre-board case is angled at 4 degrees nose up to match the angle of the forward planing surface. as the centre-board case is angled to around 40 degrees to allow for the various adjustable angles of the main foil this means that the Leading edge of the foil touches the case further down towards the centreline of Sailrocket than the trailing edge. As our flat jig/template is also on a 4 degree pitch angle, it looks straight when it is held against the planing surface... but is actually crooked if it is held horizontally i.e. in the true orientation of the boat through the water.

This is quite a 'biggy'.

So we also recalibrated the instruments and the Pi research 'black-box' and found a few degrees discrepency. This all explained away about 7-8 degrees of the leeway. One big thing it didn't explain was the fact that for all 'normal' purposes, Sailrocket should have been bearing away hard every time it took off as the fixed-skeg was straight ahead whilst the main foil was pointing to leeward by 5 degrees. So why was the boat riding along nose high towards the beach making around 12-15 degrees of leeway... in a stable state? The only answer can only be that the foils are fully stalled and possibly ventilated. The boat is not hooked into the water yet.

Anyway, we have been going nuts over this all weekend and Malcolm has been going hard at modelling our new understandings and working through the solutions, implications and so on. The good news is that we have discovered a problem and have already dealt with it before anything serious has happened. We have come to understand the boats behaviour in the real world alot better. Whilst we are yet to get the boat working properly, the project itself is beginning to come on strong and one by one we are resolving issues. One by one we will get it right and bit by bit we will climb our way to 50 knots.

So once again I had to disappoint friends and family to sell my soul to speed sailing. I'm not going back to Oz for the high-school reunion this weekend. Some of my longest friends will be there. Old 'best-mates' whom I haven't seen for over twenty years. People who I first experienced the joys of wind and water with on small dams and ponds in the country. Oh well, this job simply can't be left unfinished... and it won't be.

Hopefully we can get out tomorrow as the afternoon high-tides are coming back around.
The main foil is now totally alligned on all axis and we will see what that does. This thing is going to kick-off one day or another. All the information is at our fingertips, the data, the pilot sensations, the audio, the video and the stills. In amongst all that is the worlds fastest boat.
Now let's start seeing it.

Cheers, Paul.

No sailing today...but video posted!

2007-10-31T18:58:00.001Z

Hi all,
Well today we have been busy in the container going through all the data and videos. It takes a loooong time as we now have so much thanks to the amount of sailing we have been doing.
I made a short video of our Run 16 outing which you can see on 'Youtube' at this URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbVYO9atBQA
That was our first 'windy' outing since our Run 7 crash ages ago.
I'm delighted with the recent progress and now it feels like we are firmly back in the drivers seat.

Some wierd stuff is going on with the boat. The rudder data is showing that I am going down the course at speed with the rudder hard over by large angles of over 20 degrees! It would appear that I am fighting to keep the boat up to the wind due to the fixed skeg setting and the boats current geometry. The funny thing is that there is so little load on the steering... and even when there is no steering load... the rudder indicator is still showing angles of around 15 degrees. Wierder still is the fact that some times I am even getting weather helm at these angles. It just doesn't make sense. We double checked the calibration of the instrument and it seems right. The OBC (onboard camera) footage also shows alot of rudder input. The only thing I can think of is that Sailrocket is crabbing down the course at quite large angles... but surely not 19 degrees or so. I suspect that something is wrong with the data logger on this channel. I will make a good visual reference for the OBC. I don't want to go making any big, coarse adjustments until this info is verified.
I did some steering with the skeg flap during both runs 19 and 20 and it feels good.
Time to kick up the big rudder now.
The slowing down procedure is also getting much slicker and taking alot less room.
We're at a good stage now.
Cheers, Paul.

Another god given day...

2007-10-30T18:10:00.000Z

Hi all, I'll be brief as I have to shoot out for dinner. The wind came late and we got on the water after 5 pm. It was a beutiful afternoon of mild weather gusting to 17 knots.. occasionally 18. We squeezed in two runs.

It was great practice for me. There seems to be something funny going on with the boat. In all of the last runs she is making a hell of alot of leeway. The rudder is on full lock all the way down the course.... but here's the odd bit... it feels good... but is draggy and slow.
We need to snap it out of it.
All good as we aren't crashing any more.
Will elaborate more tomorrow.
Ciao,
Paul.

Squeezing the balls!!!

2007-10-29T19:49:00.001Z

Another great day on the 'strip'.
Had locals Des and Andreas helping our usual team of moi, Helena, Hiskia and Andreas. The last four make up our core team. Andreas has been with us for every run and Hiskia for all bar one. The fact we can now sail consistently in our ultimate conditions is a credit to the whole team and the progress we have made with a very difficult and unusual boat.

So we went out again today in 17-21 knot winds with the strength typically around 20 knots. I wanted to prove that yesterday wasn't a fluke. The first run went well and we hit 32.4 knots. It felt like yesterday. The trouble with yesterday was that the data loggers and the onboard camera showed that I sailed the whole course at full lock on the big rudder and that explained the massive 'rooster-tail' coming off the back.
Wierd shit is going on back there. Huge drag but oddly.... good control. We are sailing in some sort of strange mode.
So I did the first run today and it felt the same. We went back for a second run and I was quickly aware how much more comfortable I was with the situation in the cockpit. I now began to concentrate onother aspects of the job at hand... the flap system, voicing my sensations to the onboard audio recorder, the rudder loads, the course etc.
It's hard to describe the intensity of one of these runs... It really is over in a flash. there is so much force, acceleration, spray...this is all mixed with worry at making a wrong manouvre in a new environment for which there is no manual or course and for which the program as a whole will pay dearly.
Anyway, we had another great day. We have a heap of data in 'the can' and we are more than ever in control of the project. All of the data collection systems are working perfectly. we are pinging of lowly 30 knot 500 meter runs with consistency... and I feel bloody great.
I don't want to leave Namibia.
In the next day or so I will have to question exactly why I should.
I know why... This project has torn me away from my family back in Oz for over five years now... and there has always been an excuse. It's either been the build, the money, the next sail or the work to pay for it all. Meanwhile all my beloveds are getting older.
I have to keep it real.
sigh.
Whatever... great day. We're getting this thing by the balls now.
I really want to squeeze them.
The locals have been so cool. I hope that they are a big part of the final team that brings world records down here.
Happy days.
Cheers, Paul.

Fantastic day... the floodgates are open!

2007-10-28T18:20:00.000Z

Hi all, well today everything sort of fell into place.

We have been sailing at every opportunity. We did another two runs yesterday but they were sluggish and unremarkable. I vented a bit at poor Malcolm afterwards.
Sometimes I do the mods before Malc has done the numbers and when he comes back with the numbers we find that the mods.... need mods!
Anyway, that's half down to my overenthusiasm and can be delved into more in the book.
We had big issues with the wing flap yesterday. I realised that the existing system had big flaws in that the arc that the flap bridle goes through is much greater than that of the mainsheet bridle which pulls at two points further forward on the main wing section. As I would sheet on the wing... the flap would pay out. It was a silly little thing that I spent ages trying to adjust but in the end... it was crap and a new system needed to be implemented. Thankfully the new system occured to me yesterday on the way to the pub/restaurant... and not on the way back. A local friend and Sailrocket helper, Des, had introduced me to a concoction called Stroh. Cheeeerist... 80% rum belongs in a different rocket program than ours!
I put the new system in this morning and... it's crazy enough... it just might work.
It should be mentioned that we have four sailing days left here in Walvis Bay.
Another local friend and helper, Terence, came out as our fifth man. The Walvis locals are proving to be a huge bonus to our program. Without them we simply can't go sailing. We are getting a pool of helpers that we call on from day to day. Some times we have loads and sometimes not. Whatever we get... we appreciate it immensely. A great day is great for all... but most days... your sitting on a windy beach for hours and nothing is happening... or likely to happen. That's how it works.
We headed across to Speed-spot on a good forecast. Conditions were good from the moment we dropped the camera gear off at the speed hut. We set up the tacktick wind station to check. Once this was done we headed up to the top of the course and rigged Sailrocket in gusts of well over 20 knots. This was stronger than we had ever attempted to sail the wing in before. Our stuff-up whilst rigging a few days earlier had prepped us for today and the wing went up without a hassle.
I dispatched the team to their stations down the course which left just Andreas and myself alone with the boat at the top of the course.
I was speaking via VHF to Terence and Helena down at the speed hut. The wind was hitting 20 to 22 knots. My mind was looking for ways to go... not to pull out. I tried to focus on the necessary areas and not get distracted by worries about scenarios which were out of our hands. We need to go back to the UK with some results. Sailrocket has to enter this windy arena if it is ever going to succeed and fuck it.... it was going to damned well do it today.
Helena had sensed that I was going to go for it.
Sailrocket is a different beast in this much wind. By the laws of squares, 20 knots is almoist double the strength of 15 knots. I climbed in the cockpit and went through the checks. My goal was to do a nice, fast and safe run in a safe mode for the boat in these potentially ideal, record-breaking conditions.
I would not pull on the wing-flap, kick up the draggy big rudder or sheet the wing in hard. I wanted to demonstrate to myself as much as anyone that we could rig-up, launch, sail in control close to the beach and stop in over 20 knots.
The launch went well and I slipped the anchor/tether once sailrocket had rotated to a suitable angle off the beach. I didn't want to get too far out into the chop so turned onto the course early. There was plenty of power there even without the flap on. Sailrocket lifted her skirts nicely with a soft wing setting and I focused on staying close into the beach. The spray off the front planing surface is still an issue in picking a line in close. I was past the speed-hut and noticed that for once I hadn't said a word yet. We were well over 30 knots and for once Sailrocket felt rock steady. The previous three times we had wiped out twice and luckily managed to survive with a new top speed once. I stuck to a nice course all the way down as I wanted to do at least a good 500meter run as well. I kept sheeting in all the way as I was aware that we were probably 20 % down on power due to the wing-flap not being activated. Once satisfied with the run I went into the slow down manouver. It took some time and as we ran away from the beach we hit the rough water. It got very bumpy from my perspective. This could be a real issue at 50 knots and something worth remembering as Sailrocket felt like she was shaking apart.

Parking was pretty straightforward and Hiskia's strong hands were there to catch Sailrockets bow. I got out of the cockpit pretty shaky. I felt a bit like a passenger on that run... but it quickly occured to me how well the boat had behaved at speed... for once. It made me eager to get back up the course and push her harder. I wanted 40 knots.
Helena parked us at the speed hut and we went and checked the wind strength out. The pod had been getting pushed well under water whilst coming up the course from the down force of the wing. Gusts as high as 26 knots indicated it was time to head home.
It was a slow and bumpy ride back across the lagoon to the Walvis Bay Yacht club.
I was stoked.
We had done a nice and stress free run in winds gusting well above what we need to break a record.
All the manouvers had worked well and felt safe.
Today we had come a long way and now the floodgates are open for sailing on these windy days.
The top speed was only 33.5 and our best 500 meter run was only 30.7 or something but that was not the point of the exercise. As I always new, speed will come with control and today we were in total control from start to finish.
This is a happy day.
I rang Malcolm with the news and as ever he was delighted... but eager to get his hands on the data.
All our systems worked, we caught video onboard as well as from shore. Wind data was collected from the Tacktick shore station and the B+G/pi Research onboard system.
Helena nailed some great pics as well which show the massive amount of spray coming off the large rudder. We'll worry abouit that on subsequent runs.

Helena and I are trawling through it all now and we will get it up on this very website asap.
Hallelujah... where's the Stroh?
Happy days,

Cheers, Paul.

Two run Friday... but not much wind!

2007-10-26T18:23:00.001+01:00

Hi all...
Well we finally managed to get in two runs in one day with the wing rig.
The wind was light when we left but it was warm and sunny all day. This is normally a sign that the breeze will kick in.
It did... a little bit... but not enough.
The first run was pretty light and I managed to get one 'surge' up to 19 odd knots. The wind felt like it had picked up a little so we went back for another shot but to no avail.
I sailed it all the way back to the yacht club.
Never mind, it's all time on the water and that improves all aspects of what we do out there.
I've modified the steering one more time. The hand steering is now all internal and the controls work in a way that feels natural. The hand steering now only works on the small skeg-flap and only operates it through a narrow range. That is because the tow tests and number crunching proved that a 25% chord flap is very powerful at speeds over 40 knots. Even when I was getting towed at 20 knots I found that I was only moving the rudder a few degrees either side to get big results.
It's one more thing for me to get used to but I think it's a step in the right direction. We all do.
So... let's see what tomorrow brings.
We had a good team on the water today and we all worked very well together. These days make us all grow in confidence.
Practice makes perfect and all that.
Cheers, Paul.

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Great tides... no wind!!!

2007-10-25T08:20:00.001+01:00

We are sitting here all ready to roll... as we were yesterday and as we will be tomorrow. Light Northerlies greet us in the mornings and crap out around early afternoon.
No good winds are forecast for today or tomorrow.
Sailrocket is rigged and ready and we just need to put on the cameras and our wetsuits.
We only have a handful of days left down here so we pray that the wind will return soon whilst the tides are nice and high in the afternoon.
Cheers, Paul.

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BIA (back in action)

2007-10-23T13:29:00.001+01:00

It's two o'clock and the wind is just beginning to trickle in. We have spent the morning putting everything back together. We found a little more damage but overall it is minor. The COMPOTECH strut had some minor damage but I replace it with the spare one anyway. Thankfully they sent us one after our last little misadventure.
The tears in the clear wing film have all been repaired and the wing has been shrunk down with the heat-gun. The brackets for the wing angle sensors have been bent back into shape and a few other little jobs have been ticked off.
I went over the beam with a fine-tooth comb and still couldn't find anyt external signs of damage. As mentioned, we sat over 300kg of weight on it mid-span yesterday and it handled it. Now I'm not about to cut it open to look for anything...but I may regret it. I'll discuss it further with Malcolm.
The wind is light now. I'm sure it will build but it will be by the time the tide has left us as it is already on the ebb.
The 'Goo' is still curing on the end of the new strut but it will be ready in half an hour. The wing is on Sailrocket.
If we can go we will.

The bastard wing. It's a love/hate thing for me. It's like living with a Grizzly bear that you raised from birth... but never trained that well. It grew into a big, beautiful and wonderous thing but if it gets it into it's head to tear down your living room wall... then all you can do is stand back and watch. Going out in 20 knot plus is like giving the bear some 'speed'.
I love the wings shape. It will give it great power and efficiency once it is pointed in the right direction. I'm blown away by it's ability to survive big wipeouts... but then those wipeouts come from its bad manners. I'd rather a more fragile beast that doesn't wipeout. A grizzly crossed with a cocker spaniel or something!
Anyway... I'm wondering here... the fact is that we are ready to roll once more.
Yesterday as it was all coming undone I thought we were screwed for this 'Round-2' journey to Namibia and that we would spend our last days repairing Sailrocket once more.
I'm pretty happy.

So I think I have my head around what happened yesterday. We just got all out of sync. with each other. The boat needs to be semi-free to feather itself to the wind and a few factors were interfering with this whilst my attention was elsewhere. I didn't think it would actually go into a non-recoverable tack... but it did... so we must pay more attention.

Cheers, Paul.

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The bastard 'beast within' re-emerges!!!

2007-10-22T16:12:00.001+01:00

Well we nailed the weather window and the tide window. We got onto a picture perfect speed-strip... and proceeded to tie ourselves in a big knot. A handling error occured once the rig was raised and the bastard boat decided to tack!!! Once you lose a little bit of control with this wing it's all over. You might as well just let it go, sit back and enjoy the show. First she tacked and the rig backed hard against the shrouds. The lower flap snapped clean off and blew into the water. Sailrocket then sat at a wierd angle with the back of the wing feathered into the wind. We all waited for the gybe. The trouble was that she was still tethered to the ground anchor and I was worried that she would take off at a stupid speed until the anchor would take up... God knows what would happen then.
The gybe came and the wing spun around past perpendicular to the boat. She stopped at around 100 degrees when the strut limited her movement. We couldn't spin the boat around and she sat stable side on to the 18-20 knot wind. I tried a number of things but she wouldn't budge. It was pretty tense as I waited for something to give and for it all to come raining down.
Nothing gave. I tried to pull the wing around with the mainsheet but she still wouldn't move.
The beam buckled.
Des was yelling out, 'What do we do'? My answer was' Err... I don't F%&*+*G know'!!! I managed to spin the wing by grabbing the bottom rib and eventually we spun Sailrocket back into the wind and lowered the beast of a wing down.
More swearing on my behalf. Very frustrtated as yet another awesome day goes wasted. Christ... The Macquarrie Innovation guys would sell their grandmothers for these sorts of days and here we are wasting one after another as this wing kicks our backsides time after time.
A part of me wouldn't mind seeing it destroyed once and for all.
Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful piece of design and construction... but it is a bitch to handle.
A clean sheet of paper would not be a bad thing.
I clearly saw the beam buckle but could find no damage. Helena recovered the flap and it was also undamaged. The wing was unharmed.
We nursed it back to shore in the building wind. I performed a strength test on the beam by sitting four guys in the middle of it and it passed.
The wing is inside.
I don't know how once again it all survived. It seems to be playing with us.
Des reckons this boat is just too stressful... and he took us straight to the bar afterwards.
So tomorrow morning we will rig up once more and do a full inspection.

The funny thing is that I never put the tip caps on the wing in case we had a situation like this. I was happy that this was behind us, put them on... and promptly trashed one of them.

We discussed it in depth in the bar (over coffee's... seriously) and I could only put it all down to 'user error'. We had made a mistake in handling the boat during the rig-up and it got away on us. The person who holds the nose of the boat is the most important person during this phase and should be co-ordinating everyone else. A lack of communication will lead to two people fighting each other and losing the 'feel' of what the actual boat wants to do.
I suspect this is what happened. So the answer will lie in technique.
Aye yi yi.
Well it's honking outside now so I'm going to enjoy the simple life of windsurfing.

I'm pretty gutted about today. If it's not one thing it's the bastard other.
Sometimes it all feels so close... and others...

Cheers, Paul.

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Fingers crossed... for today and the rest of the week.

2007-10-22T09:43:00.001+01:00

Hi all, well as I sit here, Sailrocket is only a few meters away and fully prepped for sailing. It's a cloudy morning and ominously... the wind has started early. This usually means that it is going to blow hard. The high tide is around midday so this may be a good thing as we will try and make the weather window. One of our difficulties is getting other helpers as our sailing times are always random and changeable.
I've fitted the 'tip-caps' to the ends of the wing to finish off the lovely elliptical shape.
Hiskia is outside polishing Sailrocket. He just got news that he got 87% in an engineering test and came 4th overall out of all the candidates. He's pretty excited.
Righto... gotta fly. Let's see what the day holds.
Cheers, Paul.

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...Sigh.....

2007-10-18T10:15:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was Malcolms last day here so we were very keen to get in a good run. The day was looking good. It was shaping up for a late afternoon sail as we waited for the tide to fill in. The wind was hitting 20's but we were ready for it.
We got the team together and took Sailrocket over to the course around 3:30 pm. As I set up the Tacktick weather station I wwas watching the wind carefully. It had dropped down to 14-17 knots. This would still be enough for a mild run but there was every chance it would fill in again.
We quickly took Sailrocket to the top of the course and got her ready.
I busied myself with all the details of turning on all the sensors, data recorders, videos, mic's etc.
Once everyone was in place I slipped the line and quickly noticed how flat everything was.
The wind had gone.
We wallowed down the course in 11 knots of wind.
The weather is mocking us. Even here in Walvis Bay it can be so hard to get the right wind.
I sailed Sailrocket right off the end of the mile long course and up into the lagoon area where we did a slow fly-by of the pub.
We were all bitterly disappointed. We had spent alot of our very scarce resource to get Malcolm down here and once again he hadn't been able to see the Rocket fired in anger.
So this morning he has left us and returned to the UK. You need to dedicate alot more time to these projects as they usually don't deliver when you want them to but at more random times. You need to be in a state of perpetual readiness.
It's the hardest part of all. The waiting... and the frustration that goes with it.
So we sit here... ready once again... and waiting.
I might go and completely rebuild the rudder system... again... just to fend off the insanity.

Paul.

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

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Careful... you might just get what you wished for!

2007-10-15T18:57:00.000+01:00

Aaaauuugh.
That's three days out at Speedspot and not a single run to be had.
Malcolm has been here for four days now. The first day was good. The next two days were superb. They emphasized the old catchphrase "careful, you might just get what you wish for"! Super steady 20-22 knot winds sweapt the course from the perfect angle on nice high tides. Two days in a row.
We tried to hit the right window as the wind built but the tide wasn't always there OR the wind hadn't yet swung around to the desired angle. This gig can be sooooo frustrating. You sit and wait for hour after hour but the Walvis Bay wind tunnel just doesn't abate. I was constantly weighing up the pro's and con's of having a try. Both Malcolm and I knew that it would 'probably' be right... but then there was also a percentage chance that things wouldn't be right and that these were not the conditions to find out.
The trouble is that as the wind builds, a number of factors need to be considered. These are...
- Much more power and hence rapid acceleration
-rougher water so you need to be in real close or otherwise the rough-ride and associated spray can be blinding and/or boat breaking.
- The need for total confidence in the steering and ability to position the boat so as to 'nail it' down the course.
-The possiblity of running out into rough water at the end of the run in order to slow down... and not slowing down as soon as you might think due to control issues etc.

The flip side is that we know that these are the ultimate conditions that the boat is built for. We can't hold it back forever.
For hours my mind reeled through the possibilities, concerns and solutions. In the end I felt that I was not confident enough in myself.
I simply didn't feel rehearsed enough to deal with a situation given the aforementioned factors.
Sailing Sailrocket is a little like flying in that your boldness needs to be carefully measured out.
Yesterday we got set to retire for the day but neither Malcolm nor I felt right about leaving speed-spot when it was just so perfect.
I decided to go for a run.
Malcolm stayed at the hut to man the stationary video camera. We took Sailrocket to the top of the course... but conditions built some more and I eventually canned the day.
We packed up and headed home... or to the container anyway.

This morning we took the wing off Sailrocket and set her up for a bit of towing behind the RIB. I wanted to get familiar with the new tiller arrangement as the way it steers is a little back the front to what your natural reaction is i.e. I steer with my left hand and have to pull back to turn right and push to turn left. It goes against the way you would twist your body to turn. I have considered a number of ways to reverse it but it is not that easy for the ranges we require. I felt that with a bit of practice I would adjust. The tow tests were great. I felt comfortable with a bit of practice in the cockpit. It was much more productive than sitting stationary on the shore. Water was rushing by at 20 odd knots and I had things to consider such as boat wake, spray, position and so on. It also allowed me to look around at other things like planing surfaces and the wash they generated. Another thing I wanted to try was kicking up the big rudder and feeling the 'step-change' to the smaller rudders. The truth was that Sailrocket was much nicer to steer with the small high-spped rudder than the big one ( probably due to the rake in the large rudder which was added to stop 'over-steering'). We took Sailrocket to the shore and I removed the high speed rudder so as to see how she would respond under the new skeg rudder alone.
She handled perfectly.
Woohoo. We can get rid of some junk off the back. Save weight, reduce drag... go faster. I will keep it for a couple of runs just as a safety measure whilst outright speed is still not the focus.
This was all great stuff to be trying out. You always learn things trying something new.
We went back to the beach once I felt comfortable with the steering and I put Malcolm into the cockpit so he could see first hand what I was seeing. He looked apprehensive but it wasn't a problem. Eventually we had the RIB going flat out with Malcolm driving Sailrocket and steering under the skeg rudder alone.
It was good for him... and wierd for me as I have never seen the boat from that angle either.
It was pretty cool to see Malc at the controls of the boat he envisaged nearly ten years ago... even if it was only under tow.

Anyway, we were hoping the afternoon was going to build enough to go sailing. We went over to speed-spot but the wind stayed below 12 knots. We stood and waited on this desolate strip of sand which is of no use to any human but speed sailors... all to no avail.
It wasn't to be.
If yesterday was today we would have gone.
Should've, would've, could've. Rah, rah, rah.
Next time we will, we've practiced, we've tweaked... We simply have to.

These are the decisions we make. None of the above should be seen as a means of justification. I don't know if some of our calls are right or wrong. They are what they are at the time.

Cheers, Paul.

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

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Run 10 completed

2007-10-12T22:16:00.001+01:00

So we made it into double figures in Walvis Bay with Run 10 now completed.

It was a great day on the water and we came so close to pulling off the daily double with two runs. After the first run we went back to the yacht club, carried out some mods on the slipway and headed back out again... but conditions had strengthened so we pulled back.

We had a great group out with us today. Sailrockets designer, Malcolm, arrived shakily last night after being robbed in Windhoek and having his laptop, passport and various other gear stolen. The pricks lined him up and one guy diostracted him whilst the other thieving dog wrenched the goods. Welcome to Africa Malcolm.

Mind you... it could just as well happen in the UK!!! We took Malc out for a couple of beers and a good meal and soon we were laughing about it. It's the only way not to let the bastards win.

It was great that we could get out on the water so soon after his arrival. At first we struggled to get local helpers but by the end of the day we had a RIB full of keen locals. It makes the work lighter and the day more enjoyable for all. Cheers to Des, Terrence and Wally... we really appreciate it.
So all in all the day went well. The problem was that by linking the large slow speed rudder to the flap-rudder on the back of the skeg we had limited the range of the large rudder. This meant that at low speed, Sailrocket was very slow to turn up to the course. In fact it took me the best part of 500 meters just to get going.
Once going she performed well as I went through a series of checklists of various items. I was reluctant to kick up the large rudder as I knew I would need all of it at the fast approaching end of speed-spot. Seeing as I used up so much of the course just getting going, the fast part of the run was over pretty quick. I hit 29 knots pretty effortlessly but the main issues had to do with rudder, mainsheet and flap-trigger ranges. All of these were easy to adjust back on shore and this is all part of the 'dialling in' process.
All of the gear worked well but the data logging is proving to be an ongoing headache. I envy the simplicity of the kiteboarders. In fact, at 11 pm sitting here in the container, Malcolm and Helena are still struggling to work through the complicated programs to download the data off the boat. The gear IS good, but I can't help but feel that we are still fundamental in developing it for this purpose.

So we have made the changes and have a few more small improvements to carry out for tomorrows sailing. The weather looks to be good so hopefully we can pull off the daily-double... or god forbid, the trifecta. It was great to feel Sailrocket lift her skirts again and soon we hope to be able to focus on getting the most out of her.
All good stuff.
Cheers, Paul.

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

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Nice try, Malc arrives, Kites go Oooorf!!!

2007-10-11T09:19:00.001+01:00

Hi all, well we went out yesterday and conditions were perfect. A little too perfect in fact. The tide was high and lapping at the speed-hut and the wind was gusting to 22 knots. These are ultimately the conditions we desire. As it was the first day with the new skeg we decided to hold back. Malcolm arrives today and will be good to get his approval of all the mods we have carried out since he last saw the boat.
Sailrocket was left fully rigged last night... so naturally the wind swung to the North and picked up overnight leaving us to do our little early morning waltz on the lawn with Sailrocket!!!
We are going to try and get out again today.

Big news in the speed sailing world just in is that the kite-boarders have upped their world record speed to 47.9 knots in Luderitz. The womens record is now 42.3 and the kites were doing sustained averages well over 50 knots. 52-3 knot 100 and 200 meter runs. This demonstrates that they can hold these speeds and are not simply whipping themselves around the kite at the end of the run. The course at Luderitz is far from ideal. These guys have no doubt that if they had a course that allowed a nice run in that 50 knots would already be history.
I'm tending to believe them.
Still, it took a gale to make it happen. The course forced some of them down to 6 meter kites.
This was all on the Monday when the big sand storm was blowing. Juergen Geiger from 'Free-air' believes that if they were set up at the Salinas in Walvis Bay that the record would have fallen for sure.
I think the kites are about to do to speed sailing what the windsurfers did about 25 years ago.
Interesting.
Congratulations go to all those guys and girls who have been nailing it down there.
Cheers, Paul.

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

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It's honking here today...

2007-10-08T11:14:00.001+01:00

Last night was unusual in that yesterdays strong winds didn't stop. Normally the wind drops off in the evening to a flat calm by the morning. You can generally tell with a certain degree of accuracy how windy it is going to be by how early the new breeze kicks in and how clear the sky is.
It was a good call to pack Sailrocket away the previous day as yesterday was way too windy. Today it is forecast to blow around 50 knots so away she'll stay.
I've never seen it blow all through the night before. Some people are going home to tape up there doors and windows to keep the swirling dust out.
The new skeg is now fitted and I am hooking up the flap-rudder control mechanism.
Hopefully this weather system won't last too long and we can get out in the next couple of days.
Cheers, Paul.

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

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Run 9 completed

2007-10-07T07:06:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
Yesterday we got up bright and early in preperation for a days sailing. I got the team together and rallied the help of a couple of keen locals in Naude and Wally.
Helena was feeling much better and was helping us get set up.
We hit the course early as the tide would be going out from midday. Helena took on the video camera duties on the shore whilst I took the others up to the start of the strip to help set up Sailrocket.
The tide was well on the way out when the wind finaly began to kick in. I left all the rig raising gear on the boat as we weren't planning a fast run.
Whilst I was climbing in the cockpit and preparing all the ropes the guys holding Sailrocket let it get away from them. The wing powered up and Sailrocket strained against the anchor point. I told them just to let it go as their was nothing else they could do. The pod submerged and the outboard end of the beam filled with water. The nose of Sailrocket began to lift as she slewed around on the anchor point. The anchor point is on the rear end of the boat so that she will turn downwind in an arc on the anchor line when the nose is released. This she did as the pod popped back up and the beam end drained quickly.
I slipped the line and we were off.
The new 'anti-bungee' system was pulled on to disengage the spring tension on the flap. About 60 meters of kite string and 17 Harken Micro blocks worked perfectly as the flap came on to windward as planned. The wind was still quite light as I had to hunt around to get the flow attached to the wing. Sailrocket was quite slow to turn as the fixed skeg dampened the effect of the large low speed rudder. The ungainly launch had meant that I hadn't turned on the onboard camera or attached the microphone. I fumbled briefly with this and was annoyed that this element had slipped. Still, we had both the GPS systems on and the data logger was flashing it's little green heart-beat.
Sailrocket picked herself up and scooted off at around 20 knots. The wind was still quite aft so there wasn't alot of power left as I beared away and headed down the course. She seemed happy to sit on 20 so I checked other systems out. The hand tiller worked very well but it didn't feel natural as to the effect it had on the boat. It's on my left hand side and runs fore and aft alongside the boat. I need to push forward to bear away and pull back to come up. This wasn't automatic and I needed to think about it a couple of times. I'm sure it will come good with practice... which was what this run was all about. Either way, Sailrocket was very responsive... but then she always is at these speeds. Further down the course I dumped the flap by activating the 100kg combined load of the bungee system and the central flap sprang out into a negative setting. I let the mainsheet go and once again the wing continued to fly whilst still developing quite a bit of power. I had backed off the negative flap angle from the first sail from -15 to -14 degrees but it still seems to deliver alot of grunt.
I was getting to the end of the course so I stopped and brought her to the shore where the strong hands of Hiskia and Andreas caught her.

It would have been nice to have done another run but the tide was getting low and this can bring on a number of complications especially if the wind picked up... as it did. It means that we can't go direct from speed-spot across to the yacht club but have to skirt around a large sand bar by venturing out into rougher water.
That and the fact that we have to run further off the shore and so on.

The key points from the sail were-
-I need to spend more time in the cockpit getting accustomed to all the new systems. Some things need to be more automatic. I already have alot to do and most of this can be done as a sort of pre-flight ritual. Video, 2 GPS systems, data logger, comms, audio recording, sheeting positions, rudder uphaul triggers, flap deployment triggers etc.
-We need to pay more attention to how we have the boat configured whilst under tether at the top of the course as a 'run-away-Rocket' could get messy and really stuffs up any form of a pre-flight.
-The rudder load was very light and neutral which could be a problem at high speed with the big rudder down. The new fixed skeg currently under construction should be fitted asap so that we can kick the big rudder up as soon as we are under way.
-Once again the comms system did nothing throughout the run and needs to be improved.
-Practice, practice, practice. From here on in we need to get out on the water at every opportunity. These next two weeks are all about sailing and I want to be able to push this boat hard ASAP. We can't stay down here forever. In fact, Helena has to return to the UK next week so I will be down here on my own for a bit. Thankfully Malcolm will be coming down for a week. Financially the pot is definitely half empty so the pressure is on to make the most of what we have.

It is now the following morning and it's a glorious one at that. Today it is forecast to really blow. I will spend the day finishing and installing the new skeg in preperation for tomorrow.

Hopefully it will be the final piece in a big puzzle.

I will sail next time with the big rudder raised just using the small rudder and the 'skeg-flap'. This should be a safe high speed arrangement. After this I will then sail without the high speed rudder and just on the skeg-flap rudder. This should be the ultimate arrangement.

Cheers, Paul.

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

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Good conditions but wait ing for my wing'man' to mend.

2007-10-05T10:13:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
The wind has returned as we knew it would but the tides are a little low in the afternoon. Helena has returned but is feeling a bit battered and bruised. She certainly isn't ready to do battle with Sailrocket.
It sounds like a warzone down here as they are turning big rocks into little rocks out at the gravel pit and the container reverbrates with the explosions (which are over 15km away!!!)
I am doing some nice work with the Mk II skeg and we now have a trailing edge flap that is a work of art any Moth owner would be proud to show-off. This should mean that we can do away with the high speed rudder completely. Happy days.
Meanwhile down in Luderitz the kites are continuing with their quest to be the quickest. They have now bettered anything done by Yellow Pages or Mac. Innovations with a 46.8 knot run (yet to be ratified). These guys are exiting the less than perfect course at 52-3 knots and feeling pretty confident that there is plenty more to come. they are already talking of being the first to 100kmh let alone 50 knots!
There is alot to be said about the methods they are using for the future of speed sailing. I'm not just talking about the kite but more the high speed advantages of high-pressure lifting surfaces. Ones that don't rely on water flowing over both surfaces but rather just smacking into the high pressure or under-side. This is how ventilating, surface piercing or cavitating foils/propellors get their drive at high speed.
the amazing thing for me was to see how close the kites were to the boards at Walvis Speed Week where the wind angles were so tight. With the amount of spray coming off the side of the boards they were still demonstrating an efficiency close to that of a sailboard. Part of the reason would be that they have more power due to the lower center of effort of the kite i.e. look at where the kite lines are pointing in relation to the resistance (the board) and measure that lever arm against that of a sail on a windsurfer and its fin. This would indicate that in order to live with the inefficiency you need a fair percentage more power.
Nothing new there.
Once again, this is part of the reasoning behind SAILROCKET. We have no lever arm as our forces are totally alligned at speed. This should mean that we can eventually make the jump to fully ventilated foils when we need to go faster than conventional foils will allow.
We will cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we still need to get to 40.
The wind is already blowing now. I think it's going to howl today.
I'll stay tucked in the container and finish this lovely skeg whilst my wing'man' is on the mend. Tomorrow we will rig up and try and get on the water early.
Malcolm should be coming down next Monday/Tuesday and we all look forward to this.
Cheers, Paul.

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

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Things are getting back to normal...

2007-10-03T07:32:00.001+01:00

Well the Northerlies appear to have faded away and hopefully Helena will be back with us today.
Fortunately she hasn't missed anything as the wind has been also patiently awaiting her return.
I dismantled the wing and brought it into the container so I could run the heat-gun over it and re-tension the coverings.
My next little mission is to modify the back up skeg so that it has the rudder incorporated along its trailing edge.
This will mean I can do away with the little 'high-speed' rudder and just steer with this.
It will be a tricky job but the end result should be rewarding.
It's nice to be at the stage where I can just focus on the small details.
Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Life gets in the way...

2007-10-01T13:52:00.001+01:00

Well it's still blowing from the North... but I can hear the little wooden wind propellor spinning outside...maybe it just swung.
Just checked, only a little.
I have just dismantled the boat and covered it all up away from the prying rays of the African sun.
We won't be sailing today or probably tomorrow. Helena has had a stomach cramp which persisted through to today so we went in to get it checked out as it looked familiar to me.
Sure enough, appendicitis.
She will go under the knife in an hour or so.
Hopefully it will be a short and neat little operation... albeit an expensive one.
So this will lay us low for a day or two. At least she can still come out and film Sailrocket during her recovery so she wont miss much.
She is quite annoyed as you would imagine but then these things happen.
Right, better get in to see her.

Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Fully dressed and waiting to go...

2007-09-30T08:52:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
So yesterday morning we awoke to the sound of the little wind wheel spinning around. It is unusual to have wind early in the morning here... and annoying as we had left Sailrocket outside fully rigged. The rig was lowered, the boat was tied down and it was behind a shed... but I checked anyway. It looked like she had moved and in the early light I could see that she had jumped off her trestles and was sitting on the rear skeg. I went out to check it out. We sat it back on the trestles. The wind was blowing from the north which meant it was blowing from behind. It was only around 10 knots but as we walked away it managed to get up under the wing (due to the new upturned flap) and flicked the wing up 30 odd degrees. The boat leapt off its trestles once more and lunged into the shed. The 'Widgee stick' which the wing sits on for transporting snapped at its base but thankfully did not fail completely.
So we were once again doing early morning laminations.
Hiskia came in to help as we were hoping on going sailing. The morning eventually cleared up and it blossomed into a lovely day. Remarkably for Walvis Bay... the wind did not pick up all day... at all. This is a very rare occurrence. We siezed the opportunity to work on the new flap mechanism in detail.

The wing has become quite complicated as building in a powerful and practical system is not easy in such a fragile structure. The main flap section is very light weight and the loads have to be shared all around it and applied evenly. Thankfully I asked Harken UK for a dozen of their 'micro-blocks' to be sent to Helena the day before she left to come out here. They arrived the next morning minutes before she left the house. Nice work HARKEN. Everyone of those blocks is now employed in the wing and activated by various grades of kitesurfing string.
We have set the system up and yesterday we set up a number of block cascades to put in the necessary 100kg of load onto the flap. The mission was to keep chasing the weak link until it was a sturdy and reliable system. The wing had to be lowered and removed a couple of times. The clear covering had to be removed in panels to access the 'piano'... but the good news is that now we have a full flap operating system.

Once this was achieved, and after a couple of pizzas, I set to reviewing all the other sheeting systems on the boat. Some bits and pieces were left over from other systems and practices which we no longer use. It was with great joy that I was able to remove some of the bridles and sheeting systems. The penalties imposed by some of these systems now outweigh their value. They were left on as an extra method of controlling the wing in a situation but now the new 'tame' wing should not require them. The weight, windage and complications are now gone.
I love taking things off the boat.
So once again we are rigged and ready, tried and tested. Once again it blows from the North. So once again we may not have the wind we now desire.
The hight tides are coming later in the day so after tomorrow we may not have good water for sailing fast. We will still go out however as I'm sure many other things still have to be learnt on the road to 50 knots.

A big thanks to the guys at DUNLOP tyres the other day too. Our little tyre on the 'pod-trolley' had a blow out and there were none in walvis Bay... and I looked everywhere. Thomas from Dunlop brought this blown out tube back from the dead and now the trolley is back in action. A silly little thing but one that plays an important role in our whole sailing scenario. The fact that they didn't want to be paid for it was a generous gesture. Cheers guys.

Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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A sail at last...

2007-09-25T16:40:00.001+01:00

Hi all, well we finally got to go for a sail.
It was only about 14 knots so barely enough but the tide was high and the sun was shining. Everything had come together nicely.

As the day wore on it became obvious that no more wind was coming so we went for it anyway.
The following was noted...

The boat is much slower to steer with the fixed skeg in place... but it does steer, albeit in much bigger arcs.
The new instruments work great and are very handy.
The comms are much improved which is great for all.
The mainsheet load is way too low to activate the flap and pull it on. As soon as I pointed the boat into wind and she began to accelerate, the negative flap angle actually sheeted the wing on more without any additional mainsheet. In the end I was sailing down the course fully powered up (or as much as I could be) with all the sheets just floating in the breeze. The flap angle stayed negative. This isn't bad as it is our first trial setting. It is a point to work from. We may have to change a few things over the next day or two. The up side is how easy the wing is to handle now. It doesn't feel as if it is waiting to bite us anymore.
In this mode we barely got up on the plane but that didn't matter.
The skeg angle in its current setting was giving lee helm on the rudder...THE PROMISED LAND. This means that the boat wants to turn away from the beach. If it is noticable now it will pull like an ox at higher speeds. That's cool as it is another Mk1 trial setting.

Everything else worked great. I have already skyped Chris (wing designer) and Malcolm to share what we found.
Overall I'm stoked as I know that we can find solutions to these little problems. It's great to be back in sailing mode. The team is working really well and we are all well practiced now. Now Helena and I will go through all the footage and data to make sense of it.

Cheers all, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Getting set to roll today.

2007-09-25T08:14:00.001+01:00

The suns shining, the birds are chirping... and Helena has the laptop plugged into the Rockets nervous system to check its health. We will head out onto the course one way or the other today. Lets, hope it's a good wind that blows... not too much, not too little.
Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
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No go today.

2007-09-24T20:39:00.001+01:00

We didn't get out today I'm afraid as some things didn't quite fall into place. Silly details I won't bore you with.
We'll see what tomorrow brings. The forecast looks OK and the tides are getting more favourable.
Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Back to the scene of the crime.

2007-09-23T18:07:00.001+01:00

So today we did a dry-run back to the Walvis Bay 'speed-spot' with Sailrocket.
A few high-tensile bolts were still missing from the equation but everything else was in place. I decided that it would be good for all of us to blow off the dust from the re-fit and re-acquaint ourselves with the boat as it is now, the wind and the water.
We haven't taken the boat back over there since our Run 7 wipeout from a few months ago. Alot has already happened since.
The boat that arrived out front of the new timing huts looks the same but is fundamentally different.

It was a glamour day, perfect for sailing and therefore very tempting... but we will do this with a steady controlled force. It's not a project for a the passion of a teenager (not to dismiss its value in the right circumstance).
We raised the rig with the new central flap deployed and... it feathered. We could let it go in the wind and it would look after itself. The more wind the better it behaved. Because the wing is inclined at an angle, at low wind speeds gravity is still the boss. At over 18 knots of apparent she just floats along as happy as you like. This may cause its own problems as it could mean that... well...basically we need mainsheet force to pull on the flap against the bungies and maybe there isn't enough left over.... and any further explanation would require a few beers and a curry... and plenty of beermats.
But we are on to it.
It was nice just to see the wing float about like a house trained labrador rather than hunt like a chained wolf!
Everything else worked fine, the team was warm and looking smart (thanks MUSTO), the videos were working and the instrument/data logging setup was also showing its re-assuring heart beat.
The boats good. A couple of funny little things showed up that you wouldn't have guessed unless you went out there. Every one is small but very significant if left un-noticed i.e. The large rudder is now on a trigger mechanism so it can be instantly deployed and left to kick up unrestrained... which it did time and time again on the shore. But if it is engaged in the water then a line which previously hung limp now floats... and gets jammed between the rudder case and the rudder... and the friction means that the rudder only comes up half way... which would result in uncontrollable rudder forces at over 30 knots right when you trigger the big rudder up!!!!
A silly little thing but something that shows you the value of doing dry-runs.

A classic Australian comment is 'she'll be right'. In this case 'she definitely won't be'. Gently, gently and we'll catch this monkey.

Tomorrow we will go sailing.

Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Pretty much ready to roll at last.

2007-09-22T17:23:00.001+01:00

Greetings all,
Well I have been back in Namibia for a month now and am finally happy to say that we are pretty much ready for sailing once again. All the details have been checked and the next best thing for us to do is get out on the water.
Tomorrow we aim to do just that.

I want to get the boat out on the speed course in a stiff breeze to try out the new flap system. Helena has managed to get the data logging system functioning as it should and this has been no easy feat. Yesterday I finalised the rudder system and improved the flap-trigger which guarentees a quick deployment when it is required.
The new onboard camera setup has been installed and all aspects of the boat are gradually getting neater.
I hope that things go well tomorrow as I look forward to getting the first sail out of the way. I'm sure we will still be working various aspects out until the end.

Yesterday was Helena's birthday so I went to book a room in the nearby Pelican bay resort. They told me that the only room they had left was the 'Presidential suite'... but because of our situation they let us have it for the price of a standard room. Happy days... and a nice surprise for Helena. That room is massive. In fact it is literally bigger than our house in the UK!!! We would have liked to have enjoyed it a bit more but... we've got a job to do and returned to container life early the following morning.
If we break this record then I know where I'll be hanging out for a couple of days afterwards. Room 500,Pelican Bay Resort, Walvis Bay. WooHoo!
I'll let you all know how we get on tomorrow.
Cheers, Paul.

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

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I'd rather a shitfight here... than there!

2007-09-20T18:48:00.001+01:00

Hi all,
We did another full rigup of the boat on the lawns of the Walvis Bay Yacht Club today. We are getting close to being in sailing mode. It's no easy feat as many of the new systems are far more complicated than what we had before. This is in order to make them much more user friendly in the cockpit i.e. if a shitfight happens at 40+ knots down the course, I want a certain scenario to unfold semi-automatically. This whole flap deployment thing is a big and complicated issue and it keeps me awake at nights. I think that we are very close and today we got even closer.
Sometimes progress of any sort needs to be appreciated down here. Most things that we want are here in Walvis Bay... but they aren't necessarily in the one shop! This means that I have to drive all over town to collect the various items. I had to make a wire shroud yesterday and it took four different outlets to get the thimbles, swages, wires and crimping tool. I had to find all these, get them and then pick up the finished product later in the day. It nearly takes a day. I don't begrudge it as I am happy just to get it and each of those four companies are as helpful as they can be... but that is where the time goes.
The good news is that the WSSRC official (mike Ellison) is around these parts for another month as is Marcus Schwendtner who does the timing. This means that if we need to do an attempt on short notice then we should be good until around October the 15th.

We learnt alot on our last visit to Walvis Bay. We know how good it is just "out there". We know it is up to us to live up to it. We understand what we need to enter the arena and that takes time. No need to justify our timing in fact. I hope the results will speak for themselves.

OK, so now we are off to 'The Raft' for dinner... before this bottle of bourbon loses its sting and becomes akin to a friend:)

Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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The long and winding... job list!

2007-09-17T13:51:00.000+01:00

Hi all and apologies for not updating as much as I myself would like.
Things have been taking a little longer than expected for a number of reasons including the weather. The very weather that has brought us here also slows things down when you are working outside as the Gurit epoxy glues take longer to cure in the wind and cold and the wind itself means we cannot work on the rig outside with any margin of safety. One gust and... so on.
All the crowds from speed week have departed and now we are left on our own once more. This is a good thing for our own progress.
Brad has also returned to Australia so there is only Helena and I here now with some local help for sailing days. Over the last few days we have had some assistance from Rolof who is a Dutch kitesurfer studying to be an aeronautical engineer. He was fascinated by the project and how it was working on many levels. It was great to have him around to share his various skills and thoughts. I think that we came up with a nice solution for how the flaps will be positively deployed at high speed. Unfortunately he had to leave today also.

So what is taking so long you ask? Why aren't we on the water yet?
Well it's the details I'm afraid... and the devil within. Things are moving ahead nicely and I believe that we have design solutions for all aspects. These are all being implemented and the end of the joblist is in sight. I'm not rushing it. The back of the boat is looking incredibly complicated and is getting more so. There is barely any room on the boat for the Onboard Camera.

Anyway, it's a lovely day and for once the wind isn't howling so I'm going to make the most of it.
Some cool vids from speed week will be posted when I get the time to edit.
Cheers, Paul.

Once again Coastal

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Down tools... today will blow-ho-ho!!!

2007-09-05T09:01:00.001+01:00

Today dawned nice and clear and the wind has swung and is building already. Today is going to be windy.
There should be an awesome spectacle over at Speed-spot as the worlds best go toe-to-toe for bragging rights. These guys and girls aren't messing around and take the buisness of going fast very seriously.
Yesterday, Walvis Bay began to turn it on again and many of the tourists recorded new personal bests with two guys cracking through 40 knots. Pretty impressive considering it wasn't super windy for these guys i.e. 25 knots.
Yep, today it looks like it's going to blow so we will go and watch these guys. I'll get as much laminating done as possible this morning. The back end of Sailrocket is now looking very busy with skegs, rudders, rudder sensors and wind wands.... we haven't even mounted the onboard camera yet!!! Aye yi yi.

On another note, Steve Fossett is missing in his airplane in Nevada. the guy is a record breaking legend having amassed 115 world records in numerous craft. We hope that he is OK and just having another adventure. Fingers crossed.

Sailrocket is really coming together nicely. Speed week is a big distraction... but a welcome one. We are helping out whoever comes seeking it as we are pretty well setup in the container. I'm sure there is going to be some carnage today. I don't think we will even think about launching the Rocket until after the madness of SpeedWeek dies down.
We will just keep on ticking off the job list. I want the boat to be perfectly ready for its first run and not rushed.
Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Walvis Bay, Namibia... feels like coming home!

2007-08-31T08:52:00.001+01:00

Well I arrived back in Walvis Bay after dark last Monday and went straight to the container.
Fortunately the wickedly abrasive Walvis Bay air hadn't corroded the multiple locks too badly and they all popped open.
Everything was exactly as we left it.
In one respect it felt like we had been gone for ages and yet on returning it was as if we had hardly left.
I wheeled the RIB out of the container and sleapt on the floor in its place. One thing had changed. It's alot colder now of a night!
I froze my arse off!
In the morning I began to get everything out and in position. God it felt good to be back. I turned on the stereo in the container and the same CD cranked out the tunes that said 'farewell' on our departure. I got Hiskia back down to help out as Helena isn't arriving until this Saturday. We wheeled out SAILROCKET as tghe wind began to build. It was only when we fitted the beam that I was reminded of the big repair job we had carried out at the end of our last stay. It sort of brought it home as to what had gone... and what lay ahead.

I have already begun on the necessary mods to prevent those crash scenarios from happening again. One major one to tame the boat and one to tame the wing.
It will take around a week from now to be ready for sailing.
I can't wait for Helena to arrive.
Meanwhile the place is buzzing as all the contestants arrive in preperation for Walvis Bay Speed Week. All the worlds fastest sailors including Finian maynard (current world record holder) will be here and going ten tenths to be the fastest. These guys are bloody competitive and events like these can be real pressure-cookers. I hope like hell that we can get SAILROCKET ready and do a demonstration run for then during the event. But we won't risk anything to do it as we can't rush the first few runs.

So it's great to be back and I mean it. I'm stoked to see all the familiar faces, sights, sounds and smells of the place which will be the setting for a future we remain very optimistic about.
There is no place I would rather be.

Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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We're back...

2007-08-26T12:13:00.001+01:00

Hi all, well I'm sitting here in Weymouth sorting all my junk out before heading to Gatwick airport in a few hours bound for Walvis Bay.
We have a heap of stuff to bring down to further refine what is already there. We are working through a wicked new data logging setup which should really turn the lights on!
It's a beautiful day here in the UK and yesterday was sheer glamour weather as well. It's not such a bad spot when it's like this. From my window I can see the F-18's out on Portland harbour as they are having hteir National titles at the moment. A couple of friends who are competing are staying at chateau Sailrocket... so I'm feeling a little dusty at the mo'.
Righto, back to the packing.
Can't bloody wait to get back in the Rocket.
Turns out that Walvis Bay speed week is actually on the 2nd of September and runs for 10 days. So we have a bit of work to do before we can get out there and give the wind/kite surfers a taste of what's coming:)
WOOOOOOHOO!
Cheers, Paul.

Paul Larsen
Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929
E-mail: paularsen1@aol.com
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Walvis Bay, ROUND 2.

2007-08-16T13:54:00.001+01:00

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.

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

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The Curry Conference

2007-07-17T16:04:00.000+01:00

Greetings to all,

I'm sure that many of you who have been following Sailrockets progress are wonderining what we are up to. Sailrocket is safely stowed away in her container down at the Walvis Bay Yacht Club awaiting our return. Helena and I have returned to the UK whilst the 'brains trust' try and understand the problems at hand.

Firstly we have to understand exactly what is initiating the dreaded 'round-ups', secondly, what contributes to their severity and thirdly, what we need to do to prevent them. Malcolm and Dan have been working on the computer modeling of Sailrockets performance in order to try and replicate the 'round-up' scenarios. They have two completely seperate models that they both built independantly of each other in order to see if they arrive at the same conclusions. The good news is that they have. Both models predict the blistering performance that this craft can deliver if it can be kept on the straight and narrow. The bad news was that, initially, neither Malcolm's nor Dan's model could replicate the crashes. There were still holes in the scenarios that didn't make logical sense and the virtual Sailrocket couldn't be made to trip up in the realistic way that the real sailrocket would. Up until last night we still hadn't come up with a full scenario that makes sense and explains the boats behaviour from start to finish.

Last night was the first time that we have had all of the Sailrocket design team in the one room for a brain-storm. Dan Bernasconi and Richy Pemberton have both been down in Valencia number crunching for the Americas Cup, Chris is based in Brighton, Andy Bellamy is working for SP Gurit in Canada, we are anywhere between Africa and Weymouth and so on. It was a great luxury to have the whole core team in the one place at the one time.

L TO R, MALC, CHRIS, ANDY, DAN, HELENA, PAUL, RICHY AT THE KUTI'S CURRY CONFERENCE HQ OXFORD STREET, S'OTON

Nothing beats a face to face meeting and we all agreed that it proved to be extremely productive. Once again Chris Hornzee-Jones highlighted an area he understood from his flying background which is applicable to Sailrockets general handling. We couldn't understand what would cause sailrocket to turn so violently... what would initiate a scenario where all the corrective force of the rudder would not be enough to prevent? Those of you who have handled 'tail-dragger' aircraft on the ground should know the dangers of being heavy with the brakes as drivers of rear engined Porsche 911 drivers are aware of the end-for-ending nature that will result if this mass imbalance is not respected. Well we think that Sailrocket may suffer from the same foibles. The centre of gravity is behind the point of traction so when a turn is initiated (even a very small one) it is this mass imbalance that overpowers the steering and sends her into a great big 'slide'. Other factors also contribute but this could be the major component. The solution is literally straight forward i.e. move the lump at the back up to the front. Moving the pilot forward is one solution but then there are others to be considered. What was exciting about this understanding was that it fit. It tied in with all the aspects of the crash scenario from the general feel in the cockpit to the loads required to overpower the rudder in the computer modelling.

Before we return to Namibia we have to understand what we have learnt. We will be modifying Sailrocket but these mods must be carefully calculated and implemented. The mods will include changes to the wing to make it have an 'off' mode where we can depower it quickly and safely. This is essential as the inability to do this has lead to a lot of carnage. Other projects on the side include a much improved instrumentation and data collection package, improving the means by which the outside world can view each individual run and the ongoing, never-ending chasing of funds to underwrite this fantastic challenge.

When we return we want to have a clearly defined path which leads to long, solid and controlled runs. If we get that then everything else that we dream about will follow. I won't put a time on our return to Namibia other than to say we are getting itchy to get back and it shouldn't be far away.

I will keep you updated as these new understandings develop.

Paul Larsen

Mobile: + 44 (0) 794 684 1929