Need for speed shapes Aussie World record bid

by Media Services on 18 Oct 2005 A Star Wars-like craft and Aussie determination are being combined for a crack at sailing’s world speed record and the elusive 50-knot mark.

They are serious campaigners, with solid support with the internationally known sailing equipment supplier, Melbourne-based Ronstan providing groundbreaking research and development, as well as equipment, to ensure the attempt reaches its fullest potential.

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.

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 Irish-born sailboarder Finian Maynard 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 says. ‘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 11 years. They hope to get the record back from windsurfer Finian Maynard, who set his 48.70 knot speed at the man-made ‘French Trench’ at Saintes Maries de la Mer in France earlier this year.

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.

‘As a comparison, computer generated velocity prediction simulations predicted that Yellow Pages Endeavour had a maximum top speed of around 49 knots in 19 knots of wind. In the same conditions, Macquarie Innovation should be capable of 58 knots.’

Ronstan has also helped to shape the bid by being the exclusive supplier of marine hardware, fittings and wet weather clothing.

‘We use equipment from small blocks to ratchets made by Ronstan, but it is their engineering, research and development that has really given us the edge over our competition,’ Daddo says. ‘We are constantly pioneering new technology in order to achieve our goals. This year, with the assistance of Ronstan we have been able to develop customised carbon rigging. Ronstan played a pivotal role in the R&D of that project by providing comparative data in relation to other products that are also used in a similar role.

'Last year Macquarie Innovations weighed about 210kg with the stainless steel rigging contributing about 7kg of that weight.

‘With the carbon rigging, it is now 1.1kg and with a few other changes we’re now under 200kg. That 3 per cent weight difference computes to a lot more speed.

‘We’ve had a long history with Ronstan of close to 20 years and our partnership has worked out so well. Ronstan is willing to go that extra mile to develop equipment for us to stay one step ahead of the competition. We’re very lucky to have a company like Ronstan with their outstanding vision.’

Daddo, McKeon and Cunningham, who successfully sharpened their skills in the international C-class catamarans of the Little America’s Cup, will be hoping for perfect south-westerly conditions to break the record during their bid at Sandy Point, which is situated about 200km south-east of Melbourne.

Visit www.macquarie.com.au/speedsailing.htm to find out more about Macquarie Innovation and the world record bid.