Weymouth Speed Week (archive) late 1980's

Discussion in 'Hydrodynamics and Aerodynamics' started by alan craig, Apr 8, 2020.

  1. alan craig
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    alan craig Senior Member

    Attached are some copies of images taken at Weymouth UK speed week in the late 1980's which give an impression of the technology of the time. I seem to remember that the winner was a French man on a sailboard who did about 27kts which I think was a world record at that time. Feel free to add any information you may have. All I can remember is that Icarus was the work of James Grogono I think, and the inflatable device was pressurised to about 6 bar!
    Moderator may wish to move to a more suitable forum.
    Edited to the correct century!
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2020
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  2. bajansailor
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    bajansailor Marine Surveyor

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  3. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    I remember being gobsmacked and delighted by Icarus , and since then
    the exponential increases in sailing speeds have been astonishing; Crossbow 1 and 2, Yellow pages Endeavour, windsurfers and kite boards, Hydroptere and Sail rocket 1 and 2.

    It's also interesting in that the speed increases seem to have come for a variety of reasons; novel design concepts, the developing understanding of the mathematics and hydrodynamics, material technologies...

    and that some of the craft have succeeded through highly focused specialist projects, and some (Im thinking windsurfers and kite boards) by initial conceptual leaps and then evolution through iterations driven by a relatively mass market.
     
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  4. alan craig
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    alan craig Senior Member

    Tiny Turnip, I remember seeing Crossbow making high speed runs, unfortunately I don't have pictures.
     
  5. revintage
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    revintage Senior Member

    Got the attached paper from Doug Pattison and found the linked one in Chalmers library. Also tried to contact Ben Wynne(Mayfly) but he was accidently killed at his farm last year. Includes info about their approach to hydrofoils. Mayfly´s concept was copied by Grogono and Pattison´s concept was one of the earliest T-foils. Alec Powell with his AWOL picked the best out of both concepts.

    http://racerdirekt.com/PattisonandWynne.pdf

    awolpic.PNG
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    Weymouth speed week 1973:

     
  7. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    1981 Windsurf only. Just hitting the record apparently:

     
  8. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    Early 70s, featuring Icarus and Crossbow, plus plenty of foilers and proas. The film quotes a 1970 record of 27 knots in a Tornado.

     
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  9. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    Crossbow (no sound)

     
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  10. Tiny Turnip
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    Tiny Turnip Senior Member

    Short film local news?, 70s,? with plenty of variety

     

  11. BlueBell
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    BlueBell . . . _ _ _ . . . _ _ _

    6 bar is almost 90 psi !
    Zodiacs tubes are inflated to about 6 psi when rock hard.
    Perhaps a typo Alan?
    Great thread, thanks.
     
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