sail-world.com -- Vestas Sailrocket 2 achieves new PB and smashes nautical mile record
Vestas Sailrocket 2 achieves new PB and smashes nautical mile record
Mon, 19 Nov 2012
Paul Larsen, Vestas Sailrocket 2 project leader and pilot, discusses the crew’s latest record setting achievements.
Just in after the most incredible run. A whole nautical mile dipping well into the 60's on each gust. We peaked near or over 64 knots and beat our previous 500 meter average. I don't think we cracked 60 knots as a 500 meter average though. But anyway... we smashed the nautical mile record. The Trimble file is big but on the small GT31 we averaged over 55.5 knots.
(Hang on STOP PRESS: Trimble data in now... 55.32 knots for the mile subject to WSSRC ratification. That's it).
63.98 knots one second peak... so definitely over 64 for a spike in there.
... And just marginally quicker than our previous best 500 meters at 59.38 knots... subject to WSSRC stuff!
It's not an easy run to do on a course that is only 1.04 nautical miles long. I have to wind the boat up in rough water at the start and launch it out into rough water at full pelt at the end. Bloody interesting sailing in a boat specifically designed for flatter water.
So that was a big tick on our job list. We didn't even think we were going sailing today. Our media job list is huge and we had to drop everything to go sailing. The team is getting slick now and we made the switcharoo to sailing mode pretty effectively.
So it's Sunday and the town is shut. We're alone in the container with one paltry bottle of Pol Roger champagne left. Our local Champagne dealer is enroute.
This boat is wearing us out. We have barely recovered from the first hangover.
Damn that was good ride. I had the time to look around and just enjoy the sensation that that awesome piece of kit delivers. She was on the edge there a few times.
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