Fastest Sailboat on the Planet!

Well the other side of that coin is that the bigger boats can carry that big Trimble GPS System and do runs where and when it suits them, this isnt an option for kites or some of the other more 'boat like' speed challengers for that matter

 

Its not apples to apples.........its an OUTRIGHT world speed sailing record.........get it???? It's not a one design regatta!! Holy smokes....

A sailboat doesn't have to be able to sail around the horn to hold the outright record!! thats a different sailing record......

To the victor goes the spoils....

Hell of a discussion fellas...good time.....see you in the southern ocean!!!!

 

Smoke, your analogy is religulous.

 

I don't care what organisation decided a kite board or windsurfer is a boat. They just are NOT boats. Has anyone ever heard even one person refer to their board as a boat? They don't even have the buoyancy to hold a person afloat. By what stretch of the imagination are these things boats? Its like calling a motorcycle a car.

How about this. Why doesn't someone get a fast sailplane with floats and do a 1 mile drop and get up to several 100k then do a skim of a lake in flat conditions? With floats it would be a boat, and without an engine it must be a sail boat.

 

Hey good news guys, the WSSRC just announced a new record catagory for 2nd place, closed minded couch muffins.......you now have a chance at a record again!!!!!

 

Let me see now, a sailboat eh? rhymes with float but doesn't have to actually do that anymore, or have an actual sail - soooo olde fashioned - just so it's supported by water, any kind of water, even a trickle in a ditch.

So that lets in ice yachts, right? Around 125 mph last time I was paying attention, probably way more by now. There's liquid water under the skates, they don't work if the water's not there ...

- and so perfectly fair, no artificial conditions, it's all natural, and feel free to try it with a kite -

Of course, now you will want a minimum depth ...

 

And you are heard. Still, the powers that be are ignoring you and I suspect, they will continue to do so.

And then what? Where does the sailplane land, once it has given away it's altitude? The notion has been put forth before and I, for one, would like to see it done just to put a wrench in the works of the operation.

So, if we are entertaining the concept above, even sarcastically, then how about this..? Since some of the big, fast monohulls, that hold WSSRC records are equipped with an engine on board for moving the keel and, in some case, for powering-up winches, does it not open the door to other, engine equipped "vessels" that utilize the engine for operating secondary systems in support of the actual propulsion? And if that engine thing is just peachy, then how long will it take before some very enterprising smart aleck simply uses an engine for everything on board, including the elimination of a human being? If combat drones that stay aloft for 12 hours at a whack are fully functional, just think where this pedestrian problem of making a really fast boat could go without some, prone to huge mistakes, humans on board?

 

Originally Posted by RHough View Post
Where do we put the anti-chop fence?

Record runs in a man made ditch protected by a fence? How about records in water that all types of vessels can sail in? Make it an apples to apples comparison at least. Is it that the kiters can't compete in the same conditions that other records are sailed in? So they change the course, claim records and neglect to mention that the conditions are artificial? Not breaking the rules, so not "cheating" ... under the rules anyone could build their own speed course. Kites are fast in a ditch ... wow

I find this ironic since if MI were to come out and play, and run down Sandy Point at 57knots, how many of the anti-kite fraternity here would applaud them, and how many would say "that`s not right, it wasn`t done mid-ocean" ? They operate in the same waterstate that is found in Luderitz (glassy), and please tell me MI represents what you all see as being a "boat" - can it turn around and sail back upwind to the startline again ? Same with Sailrocket, and other one-tack wonders, which I still believe are valid contenders to the record, even though they are no more boats than my bicycle is..
The main reason that the kiters use Luderitz over Sandy Point is that Luderitz has the wind conditions kiters need, which is lots.. If the kiters broke the record at Sandy Point, would you still be whining, and if so, then what about ? Oh I forgot, they don`t float while stationary, well neither does Hydroptere float in it`s record-breaking configuration at rest, ie on it`s foils. Oh yes, I forgot, one definition of a boat is that it MUST carry 10 passengers, and has to be on foils, to fulfil the criteria of things which dangle beneath the boat and catch weeds, and make it have to sail in deep water, where there is sufficient chop to make it have to be on foils.
I, for one, can`t wait to see Sailrocket 2 have a go, and will be cheering them on, same with Longshot if they have a go, and then I`ll be waiting for next year`s windy season in Luderitz, where I`ll be rooting for the kiters again.

 

Hydroptere-Fastest Sailboat on the Planet!

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That is so ridiculous!!! Everybody here that admires Hydroptere also admires the kite accomplishments-and has said so from Team Hydroptere on down.
What is not admired is the attempts by some kite supporters to equate the two accomplishments or say that because the kites got to go faster than Hydroptere on a short course in a ditch that they are somehow superior.

 

KISS.
velocity, simple, 55.65>whatever.
therefore, "superior" in that one quantity.
Deal with it.

 

Thats the thing though Doug, they are directly comparable due to the simple fact that it is the same record that they are attempting to break

 

hey pedants, when I said open sea I meant compared to a stupid ditch ... and that means anywhere where there is open water ... and that will also stop the boarder whinging about not having enough room to get up to speed before making their run in said short ditch.
Note: I have nothing but admiration for the cartwheeling motorcyclist-type skills the boarders require to sail along at head and body breaking speed in the narrow confines of ditch .... but if a ditch in a wind funnel is legal, then so should ice boats be... and soon to arrive sailplane/yacht/WIG designs which are being completed.

 

Not whining......simply stating that kites still have 3 more knots in them with the current gear. You will see this soon! Meanwhile your big boats will be doing what they do better: sailing in the "open water" at speeds below 51.5 kts in 6th place for the Outright record!

Sorry, ice boats, sailplanes etc do not qualify Gary! Simple facts that you will never be able to wrap your head around!!!!!

 

And so... will be engines running hydraulics for massively loaded major surfaces and trim tabs. Nice

It's all good to me, but since you folks want to dis as well as open big fat doors, then it's free-for-all time and when the offshore spray subsides like so much rainfall, do not be surprised to see that your beloved wind powered sport has been taken right from under you. 'Course, you could then scuttle-about in thrift store outfits, offering-up an old timers, retro look at the golden days of speed sailing... when boats were boats and armchairistas pissed and moaned.

Yeah, that's it. Doug and Gary in breathed-on, foil equipped versions of an old people's electric hoverround chair, toodling about the dock and barking Alzheimer orders at shadows.

Cool. Let's have a beer

 

I think that the 2009 records were in the open sea, yea the ditch is kind of artificial but in some ways it just means that there isnt so much waiting around for ideal conditions to do the runs, wich is kind of important when it is time over distance (having people camped out with timing equipment etc) as opposed to a GPS run