Righto, we've had enough of the wonderful British weather and it's time to head back to Africa and fire VESTAS SAILROCKET up for another record attempt.

Whilst it's been kind of the Macquarie Innovation boys to be keeping the seat warm for us, the constant media bombardment from their overactive PR machine is too much so we will have to get back out there and set things straight;)

Those guys were a huge inspiration to me through some pretty formulative years. Way back around 1985-86 when I was racing around Port Philip Bay In Victoria, Australia, we would cross paths with their incredible and awe inspiring C-class cats. I'll never forget during one of the VYC OAKS (One of a kind) races where we were representing the Hobie 18's and Victoria 150 joined in. It was a four triangle course and they started five minutes behind us... and lapped us twice. The grace, the whistling, the hull flying an trapezing on the very broad downwind leg... it blew me away. Years later and way North in Airlie Beach, I chanced across a copy of Bernard Smiths 'The 40-knot sail boat' whilst working in a yacht chandlery. It was a chance encounter that would ultimately change my life. One of the other things I remember of that job was that there was a poster promoting deckgear on the wall showing Yellow Pages Endeavour in full flight. I ended up laminating that picture and still have it to this day.

I think its great that they are still hard at it. I must say it amuses me that after 15 odd years of concerted effort that they waited a mere 16 days after we finally topped them... to finally beat their old time on YPE. Well, you get that. I am confident that we can wring a few more knots out of VESTAS SAILROCKET and hope that mother nature is kind to us down there. Whilst it was fun and a great relief to pop out on top of the boats with our first record... we must remain focused on the real goal... the Outright Record. we haven't made the summit yet. It looks like the Hydroptere team will be out of action until April some time but like us, they will have learnt from their crashes and will probably come back better for it.

The whole challenge has been one of control and I still believe we have the most stable craft. Sure, that flip might indicate otherwise but we believe we can approach that problem from a point of understanding and safety. A new main foil is currently being built at DESIGNCRAFT and will be fitted for future runs. It has a few detail changes but is slightly curved as well. PI RESEARCH are servicing all the electronics as we work together to make the perfect system which is ruggedised for the harsh environment it experiences. The TRIMBLE GPS system is back in Sth Africa at OPTRON also getting a service. It's amazingly tough stuff and we are grateful for this as it was submerged in salt water for almost an hour after the flip and survived unscathed. If it hadn't... we would have lost the run.

Malcolm and I went over to the Isle of Wight recently and did a few presentations to VESTAS. It was really nice to see familiar faces and the genuine interest from within the company. There are people there who have followed us from the very beginning as they were building blades downstairs... and we were building VESTAS SAILROCKET in the same shed upstairs. I was looking through some old back-up hard drives the other day and went down that ol' memory Lane. So it's great that they are sharing the journey with us.

OK, that's enough... back to sorting out the logistics.

We will, as always, keep you posted.

Cheers, Paul.

...And it's been a blast!

So we didn't quite get the conditions we were hoping for yesterday. Close... but no cigar. We went and had our first crack at the nautical mile in winds which were gusting from 15 to 21 knots and a little west. I had to start around the corner in second lagoon as the Walvis Speed-spot is only 1.04 nautical miles long and I needed to hit it at speed. There wasn't enough wind to blast VESTAS SAILROCKET up to speed before the course in a short amount of space so we had to carry the slow start up speed in our nautical mile run. Once up and away I got everything sheeted in, the wind angle readout had played up at the start so I had to guesstimate the wing angle. There was alot of spray off the front planing surface due to the increased downforce we had put on it after our flip. Visibility wasn't good. I could feel the accelerations and de-accelerations as I dived through the gusts. Sometimes it felt fast, sometimes not. I couldn't see the end of the course and had to line up on things in the distance. When I guessed I was off the end I hit the flap release and spun into the wind... but still ended up out in the lagoon. I had peaked at 43.11 knots, done 500 meters in 41.68 knots, 1000 meters at 39.6 knots and the nautical mile at 36.8 knots. A good first try in moderate winds but nothing earth shattering.

I ran off up into the lagoon until I hit a mudbank in the middle and everyone came in the RIB to help me lower the rig. We had to lift the hull of VESTAS SAILROCKET onto the RIB and walk it back out of the lagoon.

The sunset was magnificent.

And that is how our first world record attempt ended.

I was happy that we gave it our absolute best shot. We got some records and leave as the fastest 'boat' in the world... but the one we want the most, the outright world speed sailing record, remains in the hands of the kiters.

We will have to come back for that one. And we will.

Overall it has been a brilliant four and a half months with one challenge after another. We conquered our steering problem after a big crash, had another crash whilst perfecting it... and then things started to happen quickly. the speeds went through the roof and did so all the way until the boat itself tried to go through the roof. We repaired her literally in record time and came back out for more. The wind denied us in the end but then we knew we were making an attempt out of season.

We will leave Walvis content yet restless in the knowledge that it isn't over.

VESTAS SAILROCKET is now fully packed up and as I write this we are getting set to go for one last blast down the speed-spot... on windsurfers. We will just go for fun and enjoy this amazing spot.

Thanks to everyone who has helped. You know who you are. Our success is shared and only possible because of a collective and overwhelming force.

Cheers, Paul.

Well the operations base is now the timing hut on speed-spot. We have a full team and it is close... so close to being run-worthy conditions. The wind is gusting to 22 knots occasionally but generally around 19 knots mean average. The bigger issue is the direction. It is still around 15-20 degrees too far west. A slight change in these two key parameters will see us all spring into action. We are watching the windsurfers and getting their feedback off the course. It agrees with our Tacktick instrumentation. We are hoping that the SSW wind begins to lock in towards sunset. If it does, we are ready.

We will try and make one run... our first ever shot at the nautical mile!

cheers, Paul.

The covers are off VESTAS SAILROCKET and all the electronics are onboard.

We are trying to get whoever is available to come out and help. Everyone is busy. it is a typical windy, sunny summers day. The wind is definitely still too west for us right now but it only has to swing a little. Helena has gone out in the RIB to have a closer look and check the course.

When I jumped in the car to go 'recruiting' a moment ago there was a song on the radio when I turned the key. It was the Newton Falkner song we used on the video when we did our first 40 knot run a little over a year ago. That was a 'last ditch against the odds' run as well. Hmmm... well if it turns out that way again I'll be pretty happy.

So we are getting ready to roll but we still need a few key pieces to drop into place. The dream run would be to nail the mile and outright on the one run... at sunset... on the last day. (Don't think about it Paul... just keep checking everything and do your bit well. The rest is out of your hands.)

If we go for it... then there will hopefully still be a live feed. We are short of people.

Cheers, Paul.