Hi all, just got in and the team are tearing through the data, photos, footage... and snacks.

Looks like we did somewhere around a 41.2 knot average (all subject to WSSRC ratification) over the mile which should be enough to move us up to second in the mile ranking overall and take the course record off Dunkerbeck along with a few other smaller titles (Australian mile, 'B' class mile). Hydroptere is still king in this department  for the time being... but we will be back. We did a 44.02 knot 500 meter run and a peak around 46.

It looks like we jumped perfectly through the days weather window as the wind dropped slightly after the run. We hit the course just after it stopped peaking at 24's and as it shifted to a more ideal direction. The WSSRC commissioner noted no significant tide (it was bang on high tide anyway.

I was happy with the start up which I delayed a little so as not to go too fast whilst still out in the rough. Sailing a nice clean course had all my attention and I focused on carefully aligning VESTAS SAILROCKET's pointy nose at the SEAFLEX buoys. I was also taking note of how light the nose was as the gusts hit. she still felt pretty 'soft' up there. I left the wing out at around 15 degrees but had the flap pulled 80% in. I knew it was pretty fast as she would jerk forward in the gusts. The mile did seem like a loooong time. I was aware that I wasn't saying much. Keeping a good straight course had all my attention. Looking at the data now it seems that the course was very true. I figured that the average would be solid but the run wasn't 'ballistic'. Considering it was our second run with the new foil and setup I'm pretty happy overall with the progression. By the end of the run I wasn't totally confident with the boats behaviour. Whilst the steering was great, the slight pitching was a little concerning. It felt fast... as it always has. But I now know what lies at the end of that dark alley. Malcolm wanted us to do another run after the first around the 45 knot mark just to progressively work up... so this one should be perfect from a data-base perspective.

The trip across the Lagoon is always a messy afair as is getting the boat back at the end.

So I guess I'm pretty happy with todays effort on a number of fronts. It's always nice to nail a difficult weather window and I'm happy with how I sailed the course. The boat in general felt good and the data collected off the TRIMBLE GPS and PI RESEARCH data logger is all spot on. Armed with this we will be able to move forward.

MALCOLMS COMMENTS FROM LOOKING AT PI RESEARCH AN TACKTICK DATA...

Had a brief look just now.No major surprises.

• The steering seems quite close to centre (averaging a round -2 cm) - good
• The rudder load seems to be a round 70kg average which seems a bit high. Did you check the calibration ?- I am using Georges latest workbook (as sent to you) but there could have been a shift.
• sheeting mainly in the 14-16 region

The photos are great - it looks slightly light at the front (less spray) in one of them but it  could just be a dynamic thing in the waves etc. Need to see video to get overall impression of loading.

Hope good wind comes soon.

Malcolm.

Cheers, Paul.

Well let's hope that today doesn't 'wierd out' on us like yesterday did! Just like yesterday... all looks good and as forecast.

Once again we will try for the mile and see what happens.

The live feed will be up shortly after we cross the lagoon.

Currently the wind is around 13-15 knots.

Cheers, Paul.

Hi,

 SailRocket is on the course, and the live feed is running!

http://www.sailrocket.com/livefeed.php

Stay tuned...

Helena

The forecast is predicting winds from 19-25 knots and it has been pretty spot on for the past few days. The tides are perfect and VESTAS SAILROCKET sits patiently waiting outside. Big things can happen on days that start like this.

I feel that it will be my job today to try and rein it all back in a little. I will not go out there with a view to maxxing the boat out on the first run. We have only done one run so far and although it all looks good... we must remain cautious. I'm thinking that maybe we should focus on the nautical mile record as the required average is lower and therefore less risky. We have seen that we can do it on the Walvis Bay course... but only just. Our first attempt saw us stroll through the mile at an easy 36. something knots in mild winds. It would be good to get this under our belt before pushing for the higher speeds and associated risks of the Outright record. No doubt we will be learning and refining along the way. This can all change depending on the way the days weather develops.

Hight tide this afternoon is at near on 4 p.m. It won't be until around 6 p.m. that the tide starts to really fly out  of the lagoon. We need a strong outgoing tide as this makes the water run with the wind and hence makes it flatter out in the channel. The flat water in the channel is necessary because I need to use the entire 1.04 nautical miles of 'speed-spot' at full speed in order to do a good nautical mile average and hence I over-run the beach at the end at high speed and slow-down out in the channel. I don't want to hit a mogul course at 45 knots. I then need to sail for another mile across the lagoon to get to a beach where we can de-rig VESTAS SAILROCKET.

You can see in the above picture that the speed course isn't perfectly straight and this has an effect on the course sailed over a nautical mile if you want to stay in flat water. The closest place to park VESTAS SAILROCKET when I miss the end of the course is on the beach at the left hand side of the pic running vertically up the page. It's a bit of a saga that does nothing for quick turn-around-times. If the wind does hit it's predicted 25 knots then it will probably be around the time of high tide and therefore it will be both too windy and too rough to attempt the mile. We'll see.

BRIGHT SPARKS WANTED

On another note... for those of you who might be looking for work relating to our field... then it just so happens that one of our Team members/sponsors/designers, AEROTROPE, is currently looking for someone with the right skills to join his dynamic company and assist in a wide range of interesting projects... which will no doubt involve plenty of stuff relating to speed sailing and its ongoing development amongst other things. If you are interested then look at the following http://aerotrope.wordpress.com/vacancies/ and go from there. Who knows, the person that reads this now might be on his/her way down to Namibia in the not-so-distant future!

Righto, let's go. All the team is here and the show is on.

Cheers, Paul