50 knots finally busted...

Well the kiters finally bust through 50 knots in two days of heavy winds in Luderitz, Namibia. They got the nuclear winds they were waiting for and all their hard work and preperation paid off. Well done and congratulations from all of the VESTAS SAILROCKET team here in Walvis Bay.

As the winds rattled the sides of the container here in the North we could sense something was going to happen in the even-windier south. It was obvious that the kiters were pumped for the challenge and more than capable. So Seb Cattalan broke the five-oh but was topped 24 hours later by Alex C. Already they are talking of 60mph and then 100kph!

So what does all this mean to us? Well when we started the project seven odd years ago (my god... is it really that long ago?), the record was still 'only' 46.52 knots and held by a boat in the form of Yellow Pages Endeavour. And that's still the fastest 'boat' to date. The hurdle has certainly been raised but all we can do is work hard to milk every last bit of speed and learning we can out of our current craft. Nothing is over and the quest to be the fastest in the world doesn't stop at any particular speed. I still believe that power and efficiency will ultimately win the race over simply sailing knot-for-knot in atomic winds. New records are very motivating for us as it inspires us all the more to drag the potential of our craft to the surface.

Today we hope to return to the water to resume sailing trials. If the winds are favourable we will try and make the most of the late tides to get our first runs in with the new steering system. Yesterday we did a full rig-up on the lawns of the Walvis Bay yacht Club to sort out all the rigging and check everything is functioning correctly. The new load cell on the steering system is proving to be a real nightmare... currently it is more of a 'random number generator'!!! very annoying. Nothing erks me more than dodgy electronics... and the people who give them to us. They are expensive, high maintenance and finicky often recquiring more attention from us than the entire rest of the boat. Someone is going to cop a rude phone call from Namibia on Monday! Unfortunately we need this sort of stuff in order to fully understand our unique craft. I will definitely concede that point to the kiters and 'windy's'. Their simplicity is a huge bonus... but gadgets have a habit of creeping into all craft so be weary!

50.56 knots eh! That's smoking. Top speeds of 58 knots were mentioned. The kiters are definitely in a different field hydrodynamically than the rest of us. The fact that they are 'edging' i.e. using the rail of a planing surface instead of fins/foils recquiring attached flow is definitely a bonus at those speeds. That will be our next big challenge once we have mastered this one.

Righto, back to the coal-face.

Cheers, Paul.