New World Sailing Boat Speed Record

Australia’s Macquarie Speed Sailing Team is seeking ratification of a new World Sailing Speed Record set on December 19, thereby claiming the title of the world’s fastest sailing boat. Macquarie Innovation was timed over the 500m qualifying course at 48.57 knots and recorded speeds in excess of 51 knots during the 20 second run on December 19, 2008. It is expected that the final ratified speed will be reduced to 48.15 knots due to tidal influences experienced on the course – albeit still the fastest speed ever recorded by a sailing boat. What makes the attempt so significant is the boat’s remarkably efficient use of wind energy – the speeds were recorded in just 17 kt winds, and when the team gets the 20 knot winds it has been waiting for, the outright record of 50.57 kts set by French kite-boarder Alexandre Caizergues in Namibia on October 4, 2008 will almost certainly be bettered.

The outright world record for a sailing craft of any type has hovered just below sailing’s “four minute mile” of 50 knots for many years and was heavily under attack throughout 2008 with four sailing boats attempting records, the incumbent, record-holding, sailboarding fraternity continuing to push the limits down the one kilometre long man-made French Trench at Saintes Maries de la Mer, and more recently, the ratification of kite-boards enabling new record holders from the newly embraced kite-boarding fraternity.

The impressive array of boats attempting the record in 2008 makes it a landmark year for speed sailing – be sure to check out the official web sites of the French Hydroptere, the Australian Wotrocket and the British Sailrocket, with another three or four boats in the latter development or construction phase of their attempts.

French windsurfer Antoine Albeau claimed the outright speed sailing record in March, 2008 with a run of 49.09 kts, besting the two previous outright records of fellow-sailboarder Finian Maynard also set at Saintes Maries de la Mer.

A concerted kite-boarding attempt on the record in Luderitz, Namibia during September/October saw the record broken three times by first American Rob Douglas (49.84 kts) on September 20 then Frenchman Sebastien Cattelan pushed it above the milestone figure with 50.26 kts on October 3. Check out this video of the record breaking run.

Like the four minute mile before it, once the barrier had been breached, it didn’t take long for it to be broken again. Another French kite-boarder, Alexandre Caizergues pushed the record to 50.57 kts on October 4. Here’s Caizergues in his world record run.

The subsequent ratification of the Kite-boarding world records by the WSSR Council and support of the claim by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) saw the Outright World Sailing Speed Record held by a Kite-board for the first time, and a lot of people wondering about what the ramifications of the decision will be. The kite-board’s use of a decoupled power source (rather than the fixed power source, or sail, of the relatively conventional craft) and kinetics means that techniques that were previously outlawed will come into play for future attempts.

While authorities agree that kite-boards should be regarded as legitimate sail craft, the decision to ratify kite-boarding as sailing will have far reaching ramifications for the sport of speed sailing. The decision in December will send teams across the world back to the drawing boards to incorporate these new technologies in future designs and could result in a significant increase in top speeds over the next few years – we can certainly expect the record to pass 60 kts as soon as new boats incorporating kite sails are on the water, and some astute judges believe the new “ruling” could possibly see the record pass 70 kts.

A policy established in 2005 had meant that kite-boarders were not eligible to hold the Outright World Sailing Speed Record but the WSSRC was unanimous in its wish to remove this policy and the ruling in early December will no doubt catalyze a raft of new activity. The ISAF Executive Committee has confirmed its support for the WSSRC’s position. In its recommendation that kite-boarding be admitted, the WSSRC noted the following points in their recommendation to the Executive Committee:

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