Fastest sailor in the world

[Hwyl]

49.84 knots and not a mast in sight, American too


http://www.ybw.com/img/newsdesk/yw/ywnews/kites.jpg

http://www.ybw.com/auto/newsdesk/20080822103333ywnews.html


http://www.luderitz-speed.com/

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

1.4 root WLL?

That'll be a 900 foot plank then.

[Brian Palmer]

Interesting juxstaposition of new and old sailing technology. Rob Douglas, the winner and new world record holder is the son of Bob Douglas, owner of the schooners Shenandoah and Alabama of Martha's Vineyard.

I can honestly say I knew him when he was just a kid learning to sail on his own. Well done!

Brian

[rbgarr]

Hope this doesn't happen to him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVVHwjLTqs8

;)

[Hwyl]

Interesting post Brian, I did not connect the name Douglas. No one can fault his traditional sailing skills.

[Captain Blight]

This is great! And for me, further evidence that kites are the wave of the future in sailing. No masts, no stays, no shrouds, less (or no) ballast, no chainplates, no overengineeing the hull to deal with stresses imposed by the rig, no halyards tapping the mast in an otherwise quiet anchorage....

Folds up to a package you can fit in a medium backpack. Weighs under ten pounds.

And faster than anything else on the planet. What's not to like?

[Russ Manheimer]

How do you heave to with a kite?

Russ

[Paul Pless]

oh that's very very good Russ...

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

How do you heave to with a kite?

Russ

Let fly one string.

Its the next bit that's tricky.

[Captain Blight]

How do you heave to with a kite?

Russ
Bring the kite to the overhead position and sheet out. It's pretty easy to balance it so it can be left unattended (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSWfi5AMT2E).

[George Roberts]

"What's not to like?"

Doesn't one's arms get tired after 6 or 8 hours. What about eating as one sails along.

[Hughman]

might be interesting going to the head, too.



Still, an intriguing achievement.

[PeterSibley]

The ideal propulsion for a rubber life raft .Visible too .

[TimH]

Hope this doesn't happen to him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVVHwjLTqs8

;)


He could have easily broken 50 knots had the kite not broken (or did he let go?) :D

[Hwyl]

Did anyone read Brian's post, the young man grew up on this

http://history.vineyard.net/photos/vh2/v21701.jpg

I think he knows about going hove to, to the head and drinking tea, possibly all at the same time. I've seen pictures of him standing on his head on the button. I don't approve but I doubt there are any more salty upbringings in the United States. He can do all that this forum admires and sail faster than ... anybody.

[Captain Blight]

He can do all that this forum admires and sail faster than ... anybody.Probably do some of them better than most here as well.

FWIW, the two squaresails on the foremast are the progenitors of the sail he used to set the record. Evolution, not revolution.

[Brian Palmer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/sports/othersports/27sailing.html?ref=othersports

Here's an update. Apparently the officials don't think kite boards qualify for the sailing speed record. BTW, they've gone past the 50 kt barrier.

Brian

[Backfin]

SailRocket
This thing is getting close. One angle of attack in shallow water, but still very fast in 20+ knots.
http://www.yachtingworld.com/img/newsdesk/yw/blog/PaulLarsenSailRocket.jpg

[Daniel Noyes]

Cutter Cranks or Skimming Dishes, does this finally settle the question!

"heave to"...
when proper vessles are heaving to the kite boarder is setting up the kite thinking "finally some decent wind!!!"

bathroom, eating aboard...
warning kite boards, windsurfers and other sail boats that perform well generally are designed to sail, not cart around a bedroom, diningroom, toilet and kitchen where ever you happen to be sailing, it's actually kind of liberating!

57mph!!! wow that is awsome, kites really have a lot of potential. fastest sailing yacht in the world and the boat cost ? a few thousand dollars!!!! thats really mind boggleing.
Dan
http://dansdories.googlepages.com

[Captain Blight]

That decision is HORSESHIT. Kites are sails. Period, dot, the end. Sounds to me like the status quo is miffed about losing their supremacy. Well, that's just tough, fellers; after 3,000 years a better way to do things has evolved. So lead, follow or get out of the way.

[elf]

Rob's record was beat the next day by 2 Frenchmen. ISAF is still arguing about whether a kite is a sailboat.

http://www.luderitz-speed.com

Also Sailing scuttlebutt around the end of September of this year.

[John E Hardiman]

50 knts...Pfft! no big deal.

Call me when they break 100 knts. Until then...

http://www.iceboat.org/bladerunner/0203.htm#Whitehorse%20Captures%20World%20Ice%20Boa t%20Speed%20Record!!!

[johnw]

So now we'll have the real record and the official record. That just undermines the sanctioning body. Somebody's not thinking.

[elf]

On BYM today:
http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=46936

[Captain Blight]

From 4 October too. Hmmmm....

[rbgarr]

This guy hit the 100 knots plus mark on his kiteboard.... once. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt_LNzcOlos

[elf]

From 4 October too. Hmmmm....

That's the day Caizuergues beat Rob Douglas' record.

[johnw]

Not that it would have helped that fellow, but shouldn't these guys be wearing helmets?

[Brian Palmer]

It's interesting that the federation is only, according to the NYT article, pointing out the problem of what to measure passing through the marks: the kite or the person.

It seems a more fundamental issue could be raised with whether a kite board is a "boat" or "vessel" since it is not capable of holding the occupant at the surface of the water, except when it is moving. However, the same would also be true of the fastest windsurfer boards, which do not have enough bouyancy to float the sailor either.

And as someone else pointed out, does the water have to be solid or liquid?

For that matter, does it need to be water? Given that the kite boards are practically sailing on the beach, maybe they could just build a long shallow trough of some really slippery liquid to sail in/on, like oil or antifreeze? Would that count?

Still, I'm impressed. These are really neat.

Brian

[elf]

Some neat interviews and videos here:

http://www.bymnews.com/photos/displayimage.php?album=568&pid=75691

[Daniel Noyes]

It's interesting that the federation is only, according to the NYT article, pointing out the problem of what to measure passing through the marks: the kite or the person.

It seems a more fundamental issue could be raised with whether a kite board is a "boat" or "vessel" since it is not capable of holding the occupant at the surface of the water, except when it is moving. However, the same would also be true of the fastest windsurfer boards, which do not have enough bouyancy to float the sailor either.

And as someone else pointed out, does the water have to be solid or liquid?

For that matter, does it need to be water? Given that the kite boards are practically sailing on the beach, maybe they could just build a long shallow trough of some really slippery liquid to sail in/on, like oil or antifreeze? Would that count?

Still, I'm impressed. These are really neat.

Brian

interesting point about the floating, well they do float, they just dont float the sailors body completely out of the water.
but then if you are thinking of a boat that is useable, the kites and windsurf boards can jibe and sail up wind. The "boats", yellow pages, Vestas etc. can only sail in one direction then they need a team and a chase boat to tow them back to the starting line for another run...that does not seem very seaworthy. The Trifoiler was great, it could do everything and do it rather well, then ther's hydropeter...
Dan
http://dansdories.googlepages.com

[Brian Palmer]

The kite boarders have been awarded the official speed record: "The record council retroactively ratified the Frenchman Alex Caizergues’s 500-meter average speed of 50.57 knots as the new outright world sailing speed record."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/sports/othersports/09sailing.html?ref=sports

[Hwyl]

Good news Brian. Now we just need the Black Dog crew to best that.