Hi all,

We have been in 'standby mode' and even 'stand down' mode for the past few days due to a spell of lighter winds. 

VESTAS Sailrocket 2 sits patiently outside waiting for the winds to pick up. We have been working through a number of jobs which include...

-Alex's constant battle to get the electronic data package working and providing accurate data. He's doing a good job working through all the usual problems along with a nice bunch of random ones thrown in. He has a lot more patience than me in that field.

- Fitting a new forward planing surface to the nose of the front float to help the boat accelerate earlier. It should have a number of benefits on of which being that it will allow us to finally be able to sail with two people. The other is that it may well help the nose of the boat lift earlier than the other two floats which in turn increases their angle of attack and helps them lift out. If this is the case then we might be able to remove some of the 'steps' that we added to the floats earlier. It's all about progressive transitions.

The planing surface sticks out like a four inch 'flange' all the way around the front of the float. It really should only work as the boat accelerates from stand-still up to planing at around 10 knots. After this the float should be riding high enough on the surface of the water so that the planing surface is clear. On the other hand we have to expect it to contact waves at some stage or potentially grab a solid chunk of water at speed if we ever encounter any unusual attitudes which have us slightly nose down. This may happen if the main foil fails for any reason. Therefore we have to make this planing surface strong. If it comes off it will take out the rudder and the main foil itself. It can't fail and it can't fall off. It has to be a proper job.

- Fitting the cockpit seat and safety harness. In the photos you may notice that I am sitting pretty high in the boat. The custom made carbon fibre seat allows me to sit comfortably a lot lower.

CUSTOM SEAT FITTED. TWO COSWORTH DISPLAYS ON LEFTGIVING WING AND RUDDER ANGLE. TACKTICK DISPLAY BEHIND QUICK RELEASE STEERING WHEEL GIVES APPARENT WIND ANGLE AND SPEED RELATIVE TO THE WING. PUSH-TO-TALK FOR VHF ACTIVATED BY STRING ON FOOT PEDALS.

LOWER SEATING POSITION ALLOWS ME TO JUST SEE OVER THE NOSE. WE ALSO HAVE A SCREEN WHICH WE WILL FIT LATER.

The cockpit is designed around this position. It does make getting in and out a bit more awkward which is why I haven't added it before. Now that we are going faster it is time to add all the safety equipment. I have a full set of 6 point safety harnesses designed for rally cars. Our application is a little different so I will only use parts of the setup including two of the straps coming around under my arms and across my chest where they plug into the quick release system.

CHEST HARNESS DOESN'T SLIDE LIKE NORMAL ARRANGEMENT.

The fact is that I sit so reclined in this boat that most of the normal straps aren't doing anything and just get in the way. Also it meant that normal race car seats and HANS devices wouldn't work. It's hard to know where to start and stop in the safety of this boat. Strapping in has its own issues. Helmets and neck braces can't be bad any any event.

- We also bought some more wood to build the new viewing/filming platform out on speed-spot.

The wind has been very flat. It's annoying but part of the game. We also took the opportunity to head North-East up to Damaraland to see what Namibia has the most of... wide open spaces. It is truly a spectacular country. We drove for two days and only saw one car when we crossed a river bed. We were out in the wild as against a game park and saw elephants, giraffe, Ostrich, Oryx etc and even the very rare leopard and Black Rhino. Two days out there feels like a weeks worth of adventure. You couldn't hope for a better way to get away from it all. The self-drive adventures on your doorstep are as good as you could hope for and as wild as you want it. On the last night there was 8 of us hiding in a bush shower cubicle as a herd of elephants passed through the camp-site. We had a Satellite phone so could keep up to speed with the weather. We saw today was shaping up so came back yesterday to finish off the little jobs in preparation. The forecast is constantly changing even on the short-term. Yesterday this whole week was looking fantastic but even that has changed this morning. Today still looks promising so we will take it one day at a time.

I understand that people want a lot of news. Sometimes I don't think our 'routine', day to day, standby stuff is that interesting in comparison to the high speed action that it leads into. I like it that people are this into it. I'll try not to leave you hanging so long. If nothing is written, it will never be because we are holding anything back. We don't believe in doing that.

The forecast is up to 26 knots today. It's sunny and the wind is already building. We're not going to miss this one. Come on Namibia, show us what else you have plenty of.

Cheers, Paul.