High-Speed Sailing: SailBlogs

60 knots is easy! Is 70 possible?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:05:30 -0600

Hydroptere is sailing solidly at 50+ knots and is the current standard to measure up to in high-speed sailing. The kite boarders are hammering away at the record but they need gale force winds to do it. As our understanding of fluid dynamics and structural engineering improves (along with high-strength materials) our efficiencies will improve and our speeds will go up relative to the true wind speed. Unfortunately, the kite boarders and windsurfers are stuck with the huge aero-drag penalty of pushing a body through the air and they will not be able to significantly improve efficiency unless they enclose the body in some sort of fairing. (Continued...)

Hydroptere runs the 50 knot mile!

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:46:07 -0600

Great sail for Hydroptere; congratulations to the whole team. (Continued...)

What has Sailrocket taught us?

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:25:54 -0600

I am disappointed that Sailrocket fell short of their goal to break the outright record. However, they have been doing an outstanding job and Paul and all the crew are to be congratulated. They have been sailing extremely fast and there are very few craft of any type that can equal or exceed their speed. If you compare true wind speed to the sail-craft speed, only Innovation and Hydroptere are competition; the sailboarders and kite boarders require much more wind to post high speeds. (Continued...)