High-Speed Sailing

Vessel Name: Sailien
Vessel Make/Model: Experimental/custom
Recent Blog Posts
28 September 2013

The America’s Cup

I watched, with interest, the videos of the 34th America’s Cup. At last we have fast sailboats engaged in a competition that is fun to watch. The virtual images (such as course boundaries, distance grid lines, separation between boats, etc.) overlaid on the real images really helps to keep the race [...]

31 August 2013

100 Knots for Hydroptere?

The latest news from Hydroptere is that they have plans for a 100 knot sailboat. This was posted on 26 Aug 2013, so look for that date at this address. http://hydroptere.com/en/the-news/last-news/

17 November 2012

Aptly named Sailrocket, blasts off!

While yet to be ratified, Sailrocket posted an average speed over 500 meters of 59 knots. I will not be surprised if they increase their record into the 60 knot range during this record attempt.

02 January 2012

More drag for VSR2?

I want to start by pointing out that the whole VSR2 team has done a stellar job and has demonstrated conclusively that the forces that drive a sailboat can be aligned for roll stability without using ballast and without using any down-force. (Trifoiler achieved roll stability by using down-force, but [...]

18 December 2011

My analysis of Sailrocket

I copied a diagram of VSR2 (wing doesn’t show well) and added in the major force arrows that apply. Be aware that these arrows are not correct in terms of scale (length) and some of their locations are guesses, however I believe I’m correct enough for us to learn something about what VSR2 has been [...]

23 October 2011

60 is within reach, what’s next?

I have been watching Sailrocket’s progress with great interest and there’s no question they have a winner. I fully expect to see them reach 60kt in the near future. Sailrocket has now demonstrated what I first learned with my models and again with my full-sized prototypes, that if you get the forces [...]

Water depth vs. speed

20 March 2009
There is an interesting discussion of high-speed sailing (kites) in very shallow water:
http://hydrocompmusings.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/time-trial-racing-deep-water-versus-shallow-water/

This gave me a better understanding of what the WSSRC ruling about minimum water depth was about. The graphs posted in the discussion show the differences in drag for water depth vs. speed.

My own view is I would be inclined to allow any depth or lack thereof from a speed record standpoint, but I would be inclined to impose a minimum depth rule in the interest of safety. As I recall from my own wipeouts, hitting the water at speed is not as painful as hitting the ground at the same speed. The kite boarders could be required to wear safety gear to run in very shallow water, but I'm sure that would negate any advantage.

I believe the real issue is: "My craft is better than yours, but it's getting discriminated against." If you want to win any competition, the first thing to do is read the rules, then figure out the technically best approach within the limits of the rules. If you insist on running your favorite craft but you know there is a better technical solution (money might be an issue) then you are just a hobbyist.

It is great to see the wildly different solutions to high-speed sailing that we have come up with. Unfortunately, since we're pushing the very limits of what's possible (given our current understanding) there have been some crashes, structural failures etc. but that's part of the fun and the challenge.

Bob
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