The video is coming!!!
Fri, 5 Dec 08 14:09
Hi all, thanks for your patience. the video of the run is coming. It has been edited and is uploading in the background... for the third time. Internet connections deteriorate here with the weather for some reason! The wind is honking right now. Too much for us.
I have assessed the damage to the boat and it is fixable. I have lost a day trying to manage all the media demands and am typing this in a white dust suit in between repairs. We are only a small team remember. I want to be back in the water in a week.
As soon as 'youtube' accepts the video I will send the link. I will also endeavour to upload a higher res version for downloading off this website.
The Trimble data is being worked through now. the speed looks as we predicted at 47.35-4 knots. The peak has gone up a bit to 52.22 knots on the first record run.
Stay tuned.
paul
Facebook Video Found
Submitted by P.Flados on Sun, 12/07/2008 - 00:45.P.Flados
Your upload efforts were successful. I found your video on facebook with both the record run & the backflip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfJK5ycx_hg
I am sure your team can see a lot more on the original, but it looked like the front of the boat had some side to side motion just before liftoff. I would be worried that this might be the onset of main foil cavitation. If the main foil looses lift, it also looses that downward pull generated by the angle. Loss of main foil down force with your current setup at 52 knots would probably look a lot like the video.
Can the angle of the airfoil on the strut be adjusted so that you do not rely on main foil down force as much?
mast foot pressue
Submitted by markoblob on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 14:44.Hi Paul
From a windsurfing point of view was the flip equivalent to loosing mast foot pressure?
Did you sheet out? or did you need to sheet in harder when you got the gust?
By the way, what was the speed when she started to rise?
Looking forward to seeing you back on the water
50 knots bottle
Submitted by mathieu on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 13:55.I would like to ask a very important question:
concerning top speed, after the 30 knots one the 40 knots one, did you drink a champaign bottle for the 50 knots ?
hope to hear about you very soon for the video (arrrggggggg!) and for the 100 km/h (55,2 knots) bottle !?
Mathieu
willing you all onwards, forwards but not upwards!
Submitted by andrew on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 12:58.Hi Paul & team
As two of the many who followed the live blog, we are really looking forward to seeing the video and to hear ratification of the speeds but even more, we want you to get back out on the water and post some more records. So rebuilding VSR must take priority and those of us longing to see the video must remain patient.
Presumably the cause of the accident is an aerodynamic imbalance and that got me thinking about who would have knowledge about lift, drag, downforce etc and one of my other interests, Formula1 came to mind. The Honda F1 team is up for sale so they must have aerodynamicists with little or nothing to do and as Honda were promoting a green message on their cars last year, where better for them to sink the millions they will save through not running an F1 team than a green, cutting edge, record breaking team like VSR?!
Andrew & Jane
Great job
Submitted by Koen B-2 on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 07:59.Beeing a windsurfer & engineer myself and having done some speedsurfing, I realised that we were all walking different roads to get to the same point.
Sofar, windsurfers have done really great with a rather "simple" design. But the windsurf design is highly instable and aerodynamic not efficient for high speeds. Kites are much more stable and a little more efficient, but still, arodynamics of the guy hanging behind the kite,.....
So it is great to see that real science is taking the lead with a new type of sailcraft. Your team has taken a different road and just looking to the efficienty and your results it has proven to be a good one.
Congratulations for you and your dedicated team
Chuck E
Submitted by maddoandkate on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 04:21.maddoandkate
congratulation larse and helena i sent message through email but i don't think it went through . well done on the record. hope to see you at christmas. ps the other message was better. i've had a couple.
Chucky, Boy WOO!!!
Submitted by Paul on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 14:12.Hey Chucky ol' mate... That's how you do that!!! Feeling thirsty but we have a boat to fix. We have the fastest boat in the world but we aren't the fastest sailors... that still belongs to the kiteboarders. So the jobs not done yet and we are going to go out for one more bash at the Outright title.
G'uppa mate. lars.
P.Flados - Great Job, Bad Luck, Now move on.
Submitted by P.Flados on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 04:20.P.Flados
As a non-French speaking engineer & dreamer, you guys have really made my year. Consider yourselves to be heroes.
Your boat has the best science behind it and your team has had the determination to make it pay off. It really shows.
I am sure you have really thought about the "tuning" need to make the VSR behave at the super speeds you are dreaming of. As an engineer I will say that you may have made the mistake of not being ready for a jump in performance. The earlier runs with the nose lifting up were warnings that were missed. You need to think through keeping that nose down even if you are half way down a record run & your "perfect" 28 knot wind suddenly turns into a howling 35 knot wind. You want to rely on the boat to take if at all possible, not pilot action to try to slow it down or fly it safely home (oh wait, it is those French guys with the incredibly uber expensive boat that want to "fly" around, not you Brits). Tuning that nose to "plow" a little (ride low) may cost you some amount with respect to the vessel speed to wind speed ratio, but you obviously have access to all the wind you can use at this point.
WELL DONE!
Submitted by Jacob Bohme on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 22:29.Must be a great releaf:-)
I like the attitude of never giving up!
We want to see you try again...
Jacob
Barney sends his congratulations!
Submitted by evanmmann on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 19:54.Hello, Paul and Team:
Malcolm was so kind to place a call to Barney Smith to inform him of your achievements! Barney was very excited at the news and phoned me and asked me to convey to you his admiration of your endeavors! He appreciates your skill and above all, marvels at your determination!
I cannot express how gratifying it is for Barney to see how Malcolm and you and team continue the quest for the ultimate sailboat!
--Evan Mann
Thanks Evan
Submitted by Paul on Sat, 12/06/2008 - 14:09.Hi Evan, it's a pleasure to be carrying the baton with Bernards fantastic concept. i think we may have got a bit too greedy with the power available on that last run. the 40 knot sailboat is now officialy the 52.22 knot sailboat... with more to come. We are very busy with the repair as we hope to go faster still. It really tickles us all to know that at 98 years of age Bernard is still watching his boat grow in stature. Well every one of our successes should be shared by Bernard as he was the one who started it all. I hope at the end of this that we can come over to Florida to meet the man in person. I think a whole new generation of sailors will begin to wonder just who Bernard Smith is!
Cheers, Paul.
Congratulations
Submitted by Nick-Weymouth S... on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 18:07.Paul, Helena and Malcolm.
Fantastic to see that you are now so close, and really pleased to learn that you're in repair mode and hoping to be on the water again very soon.
We had a Weymouth Speed Week organisers meeting last night and spilt a few beers for you guys. It should be a good Christmas!
I can't wait!
Submitted by wardy89 on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 15:43.I have been looking forward to seeing the video ever since u said u had it on film!
It is good to hear that u are staying posative and are already into the repairs! U are getting so close now, keep it up. Keep us updated with how the repairs are going.
Good luck I am sure u will acieve your goal soon
Thanls
Submitted by Florian Prevel on Fri, 12/05/2008 - 14:16.thanks for all your work.
Media problems come with success.
Good luck for reparation I am sure that You'll be back soon.
Do you find where the problem is, is it cavitation on foil or "only" geometry which was not equilibrate for this speed ?