Speed sailing

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Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land and ice is progressively faster because of the lower friction involved. The World Sailing Speed Record Council is the body authorized by the World Sailing to confirm speed records of sailing craft (boats or sailboards) on water (not on ice or land).

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Sailing craft used

The experimental sailing craft Hydroptere, uses hydrofoils to reduce friction Hydroptere 2.jpg
The experimental sailing craft Hydroptère , uses hydrofoils to reduce friction

The craft used vary from single sailor windsurfers or kitesurfers, to multi-hulls with crews of fifteen people. Many short course record attempts are made with boats based on the classic proa boat layout. Recent developments include hulls that rely on hydrofoils or planing hulls, which allow the hull to lift out of the water, and thereby increases speed by reducing friction. An example of a multihull hydrofoil design is the Hydroptère, designed by Alain Thébault. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with the late Eric Tabarly since the 1990s. On 4 September 2009, l’Hydroptère broke the world record, sustaining a speed of 51.36 knots for 500m in 30 knots of wind. [1] On 24 November 2012, Vestas Sailrocket 2 raised the bar to 65.45 knots, a record which still stands. [2]

Throughout the 1970s, the speed sailing 500 meter and Nautical Mile records were dominated by large multihulls, as typified by the Crossbow and Crossbow II of Timothy Colman. This has changed since to smaller, very lightweight boats. The Yellow Pages Endeavour, a highly optimized one-way proa design using a rigid wingsail lost its decade old 1993 500m record to a windsurfer in 2004. This was followed by frequently changing records, with windsurfers holding the record through 2008, when it was taken by a succession of kitesurfers. In 2009, in a radical shift away from the tiny surfboard based craft, the trimaran Hydroptère, with a length of 18.28 meters and a displacement of 6.5 metric tons, took the 500m speed record back for the D class boats. [1] [3]

Windsurfing

Antoine Albeau holds the windsurfing speed record (on the 500-metre course) with a speed of 53.27 knots (2015, Lüderitz speed canal, Namibia, [4] beating his own previous record of 49.09 knots (90,91 km/h) from 2008, on the purpose built Saintes Marie de la Mer canal in Southern France. The previous record of 48.7 knots (90,19 km/h) was held by Finian Maynard, an Irish born windsurfer who sails for the British Virgin Islands who achieved this speed on 10 April 2005 on the same purpose-built canal. Between 1988 and 2009, A total of 8 Outright Sailing Speed Records were set on The Canal in Saintes Marie De la Mer starting with the first outright record above 40 knots by British speed windsurfer Erik Beale at 40.48 knots, 1988 and subsequent records by Pascal Maka, 42.91 knots, 1990; Thierry Bielak, 45.34, 1993; Finian Maynard 48.70, 2008 and finally Antoine Albeau 49.09, 2009. [5] Windsurfers are not as efficient as the larger boats used in record attempts. Albeau's 49.09 knot record was set in winds of 45 to 50 knots, [6] while the Yellow Pages Endeavour, which held a record of 46.52 knots from 1993 to 2004, was optimized to sail in a 19 knot wind. [7] Venue has much to do with the windsurfer's success, as all windsurfing 500m records since 1988 have been made at the same canal. Zara Davis holds the outright nautical mile record for a woman, set in Walvis Bay Namibia, an open water venue, in November 2006. The previous record was held by Valerie Ghibaudo of France [8]

Kitesurfing

Frenchman kitesurfer Sebastien Cattelan became the first sailor to break the 50 knots barrier with 50.26 knots on 3 October 2008 at the Lüderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia. On 4 October 2008 Frenchman Alex Caizergues, also using a kite, broke this record with a 50.57 knots run. [9] Earlier in the event, on 19 September, kitesurfer Rob Douglas (United States) made a 49.84 knots (92.30 km/h) run, [10] becoming the first kitesurfer to establish an outright speed sailing world record – held until that date only by sailboats or windsurfers. Douglas also became the world's third over-50 knots sailor, when on 8 September he made a 50.54 knots (93.60 km/h) run. [11] The current speed record over a 500 meter (1,640 ft) course for a kiteboard, officially ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, is 55.65 kn, held by Robert Douglas, and set in Luderitz, Namibia in October 2010. [12]

The WSSRC Nautical Mile record for kitesurfing was originally set in Walvis Bay, Namibia in 2005 by Dirk Hanel (GER) at 35.44 kn, and broken again in 2006 by Rob Munro (GB) at Walvis Bay, 35.65 kn. Munro remains the current world speedsailing record holder for kitesurfing over the nautical mile. Aurelia Herpin (FRA) holds the women's record of 29.83 kn. [13]

Around the world records

Longest distance run in 24 hours

The records for the longest distance sailed within 24 hours are also recorded by the WSSRC. There are different categories:

The class VO70 has proven itself to be the fastest distance monohull sailboat class ever built. Today all major distance monohull records are established by VO70's. For example, in October 2008 the yacht Ericsson 4 officially travelled 596.6 nautical miles in 24 hours, establishing a 24-hour monohull record. Skipper Torben Grael and his crew made the record on the first leg of the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race. They sailed Ericsson 4 hard as a strong cold front hit the fleet, bringing winds approaching 40 knots, and propelling the yacht at an average speed of 24.8 knots. [14]

Related Research Articles

A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains speed, the hydrofoils lift the boat's hull out of the water, decreasing drag and allowing greater speeds.

The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) was founded in 1972, initially to ratify records at the inaugural Weymouth Speed Week held every year since in Portland Harbor.The WSSRC is the body authorized by the World Sailing to confirm speed records of sailing craft on water. In the early years the council only dealt with claims of speed records on a one-way leg of 500 metres. Since 1988 the WSSRC is also responsible for offshore sailing records, because there were several controversial claims about the times of long voyages. The first records recorded in 1972 were the Outright record of Sir Timothy Colman, Crossbow, 26.30 knots ; Icarus 21.6 knots ; Mayfly 16.40 knots and Lief Wagner Smitt, windsurfer 13.6 knots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiteboating</span>

Kiteboating or kite boating is the act of using a kite rig as a power source to propel a boat. Kiteboating is a type of surface water sport, but it also has transportation uses

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sailing hydrofoil</span> Sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull

A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Björn Dunkerbeck</span> Dutch windsurfer

Björn Dunkerbeck is a professional windsurfer who has won the Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) Overall World Championships a record 42 times.

<i>Hydroptère</i>

Hydroptère is a French experimental sailing hydrofoil trimaran imagined by the yachtman Éric Tabarly. The Hydroptère project was managed by Alain Thébault, the design done by naval architects VPLP design and the manufacturing by a group of French high-tech companies. Its multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with Éric Tabarly since the 1980s. On 5 October 2008 she reached a record speed of 52.86 knots, however this was over a shorter distance than the 500m necessary to qualify for an official world record. On 21 December 2008, the Hydroptère briefly reached 56.3 knots near Fos-sur-Mer, but capsized and turtled shortly thereafter.

<i>Yellow Pages Endeavour</i>

Yellow Pages Endeavour, or YPE, is an Australian sailboat designed for speed sailing, which held the outright 500 meter world record from October, 1993 to November, 2004, when it was taken by windsurfer Finian Maynard; Yellow Pages Endeavour still holds the C class record. Yellow Pages Endeavour has been succeeded in record attempts by the similarly designed Extreme 50, renamed Macquarie Innovation, built and operated by the same team.

The International Speed Windsurfing Class (ISWC) is a class of speed windsurfing boards that has developed over the last 30 years in order to facilitate high performance competition in strong winds and on flat water. The International Speed Windsurfing Class is controlled by World Sailing and has been adopted as an international class in spring 2007. The class is defined as an "experimental" class, which means that the class rules give a wide possibility for the development of new equipment, also outside commonly used technologies. Speed windsurfing events are normally held on "flat water" as opposed to coastal surf; which means side-offshore wind directions with a strength of at least 20 knots (10 m/s). The ISWC speed world champion is established throughout a tour, the Speed World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Albeau</span> French windsurfer

Antoine Albeau is a French windsurfer who holds twenty-four Windsurfing World Championships in different disciplines since 1994.

The Saintes Maries de la Mer Speed Canal, known to windsurfers as The Canal, is a man-made canal or trench near the French Mediterranean coastal town Saintes Maries de la Mer, built especially for speed record-breaking sailing by windsurfers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lüderitz Speed Challenge</span> Annual speed sailing event

The Lüderitz Speed Challenge is an annual speed sailing event, held since 2007 in Lüderitz, Namibia, during the southern hemisphere spring. It is observed by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zara Davis</span>

Zara Davis is an English windsurfer. She holds the outright World Women’s Nautical Mile speed record for a sailing vessel. The record was achieved in Namibia in 2006 and ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. She has since improved this record for the Nautical Mile to 37.29 knots at La Plame in the South of France. Ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High-performance sailing</span> Optimizing sailboat speed

High-performance sailing is achieved with low forward surface resistance—encountered by catamarans, sailing hydrofoils, iceboats or land sailing craft—as the sailing craft obtains motive power with its sails or aerofoils at speeds that are often faster than the wind on both upwind and downwind points of sail. Faster-than-the-wind sailing means that the apparent wind angle experienced on the moving craft is always ahead of the sail. This has generated a new concept of sailing, called "apparent wind sailing", which entails a new skill set for its practitioners, including tacking on downwind points of sail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed sailing record</span>

Speed sailing records are sanctioned, since 1972, by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). Records are measured either by average speed over a specified distance or by total distance traveled during a specified time interval. The three most sought after records are the:

<i>Vestas Sailrocket</i>

The Vestas Sailrocket was built to capture the sailing speed record competing in the B-class for 150 to 235 square feet of sail. It is piloted by the project leader Paul Larsen and sponsored by Danish wind turbines manufacturer Vestas. In 2008 the first version reached a reported unofficial speed of 52.22 knots (96.71 km/h), before crashing.

VPLP design is a French-based naval architectural firm founded by Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prévost, responsible for designing some of the world's most innovative racing boats. Their designs presently hold many of the World Speed Sailing records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Kiteboarding Association</span>


The International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), is the only kiteboarding class inside the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). The IKA class rules fall in the category of a development class.

Robert "Rob" Douglas is an American professional sailor known for using a kiteboard in speed sailing records attempts. In 2008 Douglas broke the world speed sailing record on a kiteboard, hitting a top speed of 49.84 knots. Douglas again became the holder of the speed record in October 2010 when he was clocked at 55.65 knots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC75</span> Racing yacht used in the 2021 Americas Cup

The AC75 is a racing yacht used in the 2021 America's Cup match and planned to be used for the 37th America's Cup and 38th America's Cup matches. The 23 m (75 ft) monohulls feature wing-like sailing hydrofoils mounted under the hull, a soft wingsail, and no keel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Bornemann</span> German Windsurfer

Christian Bornemann is a German Windsurfer. He held 2014–2018 the German speed record over 500-meter, and since 2018 the German speed record over the nautical mile and is one of the twenty fastest windsurfers in the world.

References

  1. 1 2 "World Sailing Speed Record Council".
  2. ↑ "500m Records". World Sailing Speed Record Council.
  3. ↑ "l'Hydroptère".
  4. ↑ "WSSR Newsletter No 222. Albeau and Davis 10sq m/Windsurfer records 31/12/12".
  5. ↑ "500 Metre".
  6. ↑ "Speedsailing World Records tumble in Saintes Maries de la Mer". 5 March 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  7. ↑ "Design". Archived from the original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2008.
  8. ↑ "Historical List of 500 Metre Records". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "Fifty knots broken again - New Speed Record".
  10. ↑ http://www.luderitz-speed.com/ContentPages/Results/Results.aspx?Filter=Overall&Session=3&Run=9/19/2008%5B%5D
  11. ↑ http://www.luderitz-speed.com/ContentPages/Results/Results.aspx?Filter=Overall&Session=11&Run=10/8/2008%5B%5D
  12. ↑ Perkins, MacDuff (9 November 2010). "Kitesurfer Rob Douglas on Hitting 55kts". sailmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  13. ↑ "Kite Sailing".
  14. ↑ Volvo Open 70
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