Who’s the
Sailing // Two of the world’s best sailing teams are battling each other for the sport’s prestigious speed record. What is the secret to their technology and just how fast can they go? Tim Thomas, editor of Boat International magazine, finds out.
“Let’s not shoot for the stars. The moon will do.” These are the words of Paul Larsen, explaining the conservative choices he and his design team made in their most recent attempt on the world speed sailing record. If it seems a little cautious, don’t be fooled – in the course of one week in November last year, Larsen blasted his vessel, Vestas Sailrocket 2, down a 500-metre course in Waliv Bay, Namibia, and lifted the outright record from an average of 55.65 knots, first to 59.23 knots and then to a staggering 65.45 knots (over 75mph). That’s like Usain Bolt shaving 1.8 seconds off his own 100-metre world record. While there are many variants and class records within speed sailing, the outright record – first recorded in 1972 – is the one that counts. To break the record, the average speed over a 500-metre run is calculated. Challengers
The need for speed While there are many different sailing records ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, it’s the outright speed record (average speed over a 500-metre course) that really matters. Up until 1986 it was specially designed speed vessels that held the record until windsurfers and kitesurfers took over, dominating unchallenged for 25 years before the arrival of Vestas Sailrocket 2 last year. By the time you read this a new record may well be in place.
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sailing // Who’s the quicker skipper?
record breakers
either time a run over a marked 500-metre course or use highly accurate GPS. All data and methods of measurement must be validated and ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. The science of sailing fast is incredibly complex. The vessel, reliant solely on the wind for its power, must be able to handle two radically different media – air and water. To be fast and stable requires a fine balance between hydrodynamic and aerodynamic efficiency. It is no surprise then that the current record challengers – and many other modern racing designs – employ a combination of highly efficient aeroplane-style wings to generate the thrust, and carefully designed foils that lift the hull out of the water at speed, thus minimising the effects of drag. While windsurfers and kitesurfers have held the record largely unchallenged for most of the past 25 years, two teams have been
Date 2009
Craft Hydroptère
Skipper Alain Thébault (FRA)
Speed
51.36
knots