Today the windsurfers have the outright sailing speed record. But the Australians may change this soon.

(source: ISAF website) Direct link

WSSRC Record Attempt
Kylie Wilson (As Amended By ISAF). Image, Macquarie Innovation:© Robert Keeley, Sandy Point, Victoria, Australia, 18 October 2005

A Star Wars-like craft and Aussie determination are being combined for a crack at sailing’s Outright Speed Record and the elusive 50 knot mark. Victorian sailors Tim DADDO and Simon MCKEON, along with designer Lindsay CUNNINGHAM, will be hoping for favourable conditions at Sandy Point, near Wilsons Promontory, in Victoria, to break the record before their December 16 deadline.

Melbourne based Ronstan is providing the research and development, as well as equipment, to ensure the attempt reaches its fullest potential.



DADDO says it is difficult to describe the look of the hi-tech Macquarie Innovation that will be used in the bid to beat the world record of 48.70 knots achieved by nominee for the ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year Award Finian MAYNARD (IVB) back in April.

'Loosely speaking, Macquarie Innovation looks like a camera tripod that has been squashed down and little floats put on the arms with an airplane wing plonked on top,' DADDO said. 'We sit out on a pod to sail it. It’s certainly nothing like your standard yacht. The hardest part is getting it up to speed and stopping it.'

Technically speaking, Macquarie Innovation is an asymmetric trimaran that is powered by a solid aerofoil rig measuring about 7.5m high and 3.4m wide. A previous craft used by DADDO and MCKEON, Yellow Pages Endeavour, broke the speed record with 46.52 knots in 1993. That record was the benchmark for more than eleven years. They hope to get the record back from MAYNARD, who set his speed at the man-made 'French Trench' at Saintes Maries de la Mer in France.

Macquarie Innovation’s design team is confident the 50 knot mark can be broken after extensive testing using computer simulations at the Australian Maritime College in Launceston, Tasmania. All up, a team of 14 will be on hand at the Sandy Point base for the world record attempt.

'Full scale testing has been performed at Sandy Point with some stunning results with peak speeds recorded in excess of 47 knots. The team believes strongly that it is just a matter of time before the world record is returned to Australian shores and that they will have the very significant honour of being the first sailing craft in the world to surpass 50 knots,' the team says on its website.

While it is only a matter of time before an asymetrical "multihull" such as the one in the article above claims the outright sailing speed record from the windsurfer and most likely breaks 50kts, there is no comparison between the speeds of off the shelf windsurfers (the windsurfer rig used to set the speed record utilized a custom asymetrical sail) and production multi-hulls. The production speed record for windsurfers is in the 40 knt range (if I had my issue of Windsurfing Magazine with me I could state exactly what it is), and I doubt if there is a multi-hull out there, other than some wild multi-million dollar one off custom, that could even come close.

You do realize that this is a catamaran forum - right? Prepare to be boarded.

Which one is coolest, a windsurfer or the above 'sailing machine'? Not much of a contest there..

Hope Macquarie break 50 knots soon, as payback for the crash they had earlier.. (but I am nurturing some hope for Sailrocket as well)

Will they take the record? I think so, given the right conditions.

I hope that a boarding is not necessary. I am an avid windsurfer as well as a cat sailer, and the rush of speed is equally intense on both whether it is on my windsurfer or on my cat. Having been lucky enough to spend my entire life around sailboats, i have sailed on everything from beachcats to I-14's to offshore sleds, and nothing I have sailed on can compare to the excitement of cats.

I dont buy the windsurfer is faster arguement.

First - are we talking straight line speed or a race?

In a race - assuming upwind and down - a spin powered cat will stomp anything else available. The bridge to bridge is won by a kite surfer. If they made everyone race back upwind the Tornado's would win. 99% of sailing races have more than one leg, or require a combination of upwind and downwind.

Straight line in a trench in France a windsurfer wins.

Its like asking whats the fastest car? On a track or a drag strip, Dragsters dont go around a track very well,but they go fast in a straight line.

Second - lets talk about how often you go 40knts. Probably never or rarely.

The windsurfers I see are sitting on the beach waiting for the most narrow wind range of any sailing craft. Wow, that's exciting. No thanks. No wonder iWindsurf.com charges so much. You have to subscribe just to be able to sail.

Give me a boat I can sail 90% of the time - and go fast 90% of the time. That would be a cat with a spin.

99% of the windsurfers I see are not going anywhere near 40knts. They are going 20knots back and forth - thats about the same as a cat. The differience is a Cat goes fast in a way wider wind range, and can actually go someplace and come back fairly reliably. A cats wind range is from 5 to 25knts. Whats it got to be blowing to go windsurfing? Over 25? How often does that happen? One day in 30?

In a trench a French guy went really fast. That was genuinely impressive, but I'm not buying that thats the norm.

So, if you are dont anything other than straight line, or if you want to talk about 90% of the conditions, a multi-hull is faster.

If I really want to go over 40, I'll get out the iceboat.

Very intersting I wonder what makes it so. There are obviously faster craft,so then it must come down to intensity . What's your idea on this addiction.

Weymouth Speedweek took place here in the UK last week.

A Hobie trifoiler won the boats section with an impressive average speed over a 500m course of 27.93 knots.

The fastest windsrurfer was only 1.1knots ahead at 29.07knots. However the windsrfer was a professional, the fastest novice was 24knots. I don't think the Trifoiler sailor was a pro but I could be wrong.

To my mind that puts them neck and neck in a 500m drag race.

see http://www.speedsailing.com/Weymouth_2005.htm
and http://www.speedsailing.com/Weymouth_2005_entrants.htm

I think you are right mainly because a windsurfer is righting moment limited and a multihull is not.
It is only a matter of time and money until we see a multihull sailing faster.
Luiz

From the naish site:
"On Dec 3rd, 2003 the Naish Stealth, piloted by Finian Maynard, convincingly set a new 10m2 class WSSC world record. For a limited time, the Naish technology that made history will be available to the public."

ref.: http://www.naishsails.com/wind.html
Custom asymetrical sail
Some speed sailers said that they were using much stiffer batten and mast but the sails are pretty much stock. Top level racers used to have their sails made in company lost to insure better quality control.

I know that Eric Beale broke the 40 knots barrier with an asymetrical wishbone and a custom sail but since the sailmaker got almost no prestige out of that record, everybody reverted back to production sails.

The boards are all custom and there is a speed difference between a fast production board and a custom board but it is not really the speed that changes, it is the control of the board. However, it is possible that going with an asymetrical wishbone might wige then an extra 2%

I don't dont think there is much doubt that a course racing windsurfer is faster around a course than most if not all beach cats at least here on maui. i sail a hobie 18 with some modifications that is prolly about the same speed as a regular TheMightyHobie18. we have been passed like we are going about 1/2 their speed on all points of sail.
maybe there are race results in a good breeze that can verify my observations.
i'd also like to point out that the course racing board uses no daggerboard. just a big butt fin, yet they point like crazy.
i like the less is more approach and hope the boards hold the speed record.

Gareth,

the Trifoiler at Speedweek was 'piloted' by David Tugwell who's on this forum and usually sails a Stealth F16 at Datchet...

Unfortunately just as it looked as tho' they could go even faster (in previous years the same Tri has recorded 30+) they broke a beam and and foil.

He's looking for spares or an incomplete Trifoiler here:
Trifoiler wanted

Windsurfer achieves his top speed in a hurricane like blow doing maybe 100 % or 140 % of the windspeed.

The cats are achieving their record speeds at wind somewhere around 10-15 knots doing over 3 times the windspeed.

That is efficiency mate ! From a technological point of view the cats are a shitload more interesting.

I always wondered why somebody just doesn't take our a large chute in a Katrina and claim the all out speed record body surfing in 80 knots winds.

Wouter

Probably becouse there are nobody around to verify the claim and the small problem of staying on the water, instead of airborne..

Interesting discussion, but no contest really. Bill, your perception is based on seeing only one type of windsurfer, that is like the general public perceptions that all catamarans are Hobies. Wave boards are made for wave sailing and don`t have a good rocker profile for speed yet can reach speeds of 30knots, slalom boards are for flat-out blasting and beam reaching only, speed boards are for breaking records and are optimised to sail on a broad reach, ideally 120deg off the wind, course boards are for course racing, and in anything over 7knots these will be doing their 2nd race before a Tornado has completed it`s first spinnaker hoist, and they will still be going faster up to 30knots of wind, so if you live in California and seldom see over 7knots I`d have to agree with you. If you disagree, invite them to your next club race, windward-leeward. We shared a racing area with formula boards at a major event and when we were one-out on the wire doing maybe 8 knots upwind, they were pointing higher and doing over 20knots upwind, 30 downwind, in about 15knot winds using 11sq mainsails.
Wouter, agree that in order to break records the windsurfers are going out in nuclear conditions, but they are just like cats, more efficient at lower windspeeds, unfortunately they (and any normal cat) can`t match the efficiency of Macquarie or boats like them, who set their original record in less than 20 knots, but normally explode in anything over 20, which is why they don`t have the record now. This is why to break the record the windsurfers are sailing in over 45 knots, in fact Finian`s new record was set in less wind than his last record which he set in winds gusting to 65knots. The higher the windstrength the lower their efficiency ratio, as it is for all sailing craft.
Grob, the Weymouth stats don`t tell the whole story, looking at the speeds I`d bet that the wind was lighter than 25knots, if the windsurfers only got to 27. In these conditions the trifoiler is going flat-out while the windsurfers are waiting for wind. In over 40knots I`d wager the Hobie trifoiler sailor would be looking for more than a few spares for his craft, no disrespect intended, but certain designs are optimised for certain conditions.
Don`t get me wrong, I love cat-sailing and the ability to share it with my fianc`e, and the speed is great compared to a mono, tactically I love the racing aspect, but if it`s honking at over 25knots you`ll find me on my board, going fast.
Anyone who has seen the video clip of Finian doing "only" 42knots will know that there really is no comparison. The only way a Tornado or Hobie Tiger is going that fast is on it`s trailer.

Hi Bill

I allways shared this opionion too, but then this summer in around 4-5 Bft. we were overtaken by a formula windsurfer, while we were reaching with the gennnacker. He was sailing deep like us and passed us easy through our windshadow!! I think in windforce 4-5 we will get smoked from the formula windsurfers on up and down courses, no chance!

As soon as there is less wind (3 Bft) the cat (at least my cat ;-)) will be faster.

Check out this video!!
http://www.wetasschronicles.com/LeDefi2005.wmv

Andi

Wow,

Pretty cool.

What kind of crazy start is that?

That video shows a reach on both tacks.

Bill

It's a "rabbit start" or something like that - the power boat runs down the line and the boards have to start behind the boat...could be interesting if someone gets caught in front of it trying to cut it close - huh.

It looks like it's a variation on the classic Gate start that can be used to start large fleets with an (almost) zero chance of the start gewtting binned.

I'll explain how it works if anyone is interested.

Yea, It's like a gate start where a port tack boat crosses a fleet of starboard tack boats. Everyone has to cross behind the port tacker.

D