Team Seacats

Things are REALLY heating up in the quest to breach 50 knots average over a 500 meter course powered by nothing but the wind. There are four major camps that have vessels each with their own unique design aspects. These guys have been working hard for the last couple of years to iron out their machines, but now that the French flagged Hydroptere has hit the water after an extensive retro-fit, everyone is stepping up their game to be the first to fifty.

It should be noted that the current record is held by a windsurfer at just under 50 knots. The windsurfers that have set the last two records have been sailing in a purpose-built “ditch” in the sand just next to a shoreline that yields really flat water and a stiff breeze. While I’m certain that it takes a great deal of skill to sail a windsurfer at these speeds, there’s a part of me that feels like sailing in a narrow strip of water built by a back-hoe isn’t being honest to spirit of sailing. Three of the four craft listed below also need flat water but typically find a stretch of shoreline that is shallow and subject to an off-shore breeze. Hydroptere is truely unique among these speed demons because she can handle the open ocean…at 40 knots. Below is a bit of a summary about each. Each site is really good and has tons of photos and video.

WotRocket – These are relatively the new kids on the block. They started their idea about four years ago and have touted nationalism and an effort to “finally break the French windsurfing fraternity’s stronghold on the coveted world speed sailing record”. Their claim to getting to the 50 knot barrier is to utilize “supercavitation” technology first known to be utilized in a Russian “Shkval” torpedo which could reach 200+ knots underwater. The trick with any of these crafts is that foils tend to cavitate and loose lift at speeds around 40 to 45 knots. Who knows, maybe they’re onto something

SailRocket – These guys had an extensive development cycle – I remember watching videos of their r/c test boats years ago. They’ve probably been in as much or more of the spotlight as the others in the years past and have been on a lengthy development process over the last several years that included some scary looking failures. Every time out, they’re getting better and better and have choosen a strip of water off the coast of Namibia in Africa as their site. They have a unique cantilevered sail design that is intended to provide lift of the vessel to reduce it’s dependency on floatation or foils to get clear of the water.

Macquarie Innovation These guys probably have the most experience as their vessel is a descendant of the previous record holding vessel “Yellow Pages Endeavor”. They too have suffered a dramatic failure when the wing exploded last year due to a minor failure. I can’t find much information about the status of their project – but they could easily pop up on the radar with a “hey, we broke the record”.

Hydroptere
- we’ve covered Hydroptere here before – but in a nutshell, it’s a trimaran and a more traditional “sailboat” than the others. She has an exceptionally narrow central pod and tiny little outer pods…these are there to only give the boat stability when she’s not underway. Extending down from the two outer pods are two very large tapered foils extending down into the water that angle inward toward each other at roughly 45 degrees. These foils are suspended through a nitrogen charged cylinder to give them some suspension, but more importantly, the ability to adjust the incline. She is equiped with a “T” foil rudder to control attitude and is steered from a racing seat and steering wheel like you would see in a car. The recent retrofit saw several changes – I think the largest of which (and the one they haven’t mentioned much about) is the very large wing mast. Not only is she is also the only vessel in this list that is using fabric sails, but she is readily capable of sailing fast in the open ocean – something that none of these other boats can even consider.  The fact that Hydroptere can do this is what has everyone watching while she trials in flat water in Marseille, France.