Fastnet record success

[Guest]

Playstation (Steve Fossett, USA and crew) (125ft catamaran) sailed the Fastnet race course, leaving the Royal Yacht Squadron line at 16.53.14 on Friday afternoon ((15th March). Arrived Plymouth after 1 day 11h 17m 14s, beating the existing race record by 5 hours 9 minutes. 605 miles; well done.
Time from Cowes to Fastnet Rock about 17 hours.
No sailing vessel has ever before sailed this course so quickly. The previous record was held by Fujicolor II (Loick Peyron, France) from 1999 RORC race.
(The Brits are nowhere).

 

[Mirelle]

Why?

Taking Playstation 2 round the Fastnet course and claiming a course record is about as sensible as driving a Landrover round Aintree and claiming that course record. Neither vehicle is eligible for the race which makes the course famous.

 

[Guest]

Re: Why?

I heartily agree, Mirelle. What a pointless exercise this must have been. Who has recognised this so-called record, anyway?

 

[Guest]

Re: Why?

They have not broken any records! Only set a new one for supercats. Only Real boats can still chase the real record.

Paul

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

Are you saying you need someone else to acknowledge a "record"?

Pointless, but only in the eyes of many monohull sailors who are blind to the potential of catamarans. What kind of boat do you own - probably a good one, right? You researched it for desing, speed, seaworthiness etc. etc? So here we have another example of a cat doing what the rest of us do in monohulls, only better. Maybe, just maybe, we made the wrong decision ....

The Fastnet isn't that incredible, but a couple years of notoriety has magnified it out of all proportion. It's a good slog, but irrelevant compared to the seas the New Zealanders and Australians experience as routine.

So, like most record breaking efforts, the vehicles are not relvant to the average sailor, but we do benefit from such efforts because we will probably reap the benefits of the new design technology as it trickles down - like carbon fibre mast, like the newer sail materials ... like maybe moving away from monohulls as we (mostly) have moved away from the gaff rig.

(just in case you sense a personal motive here, I sail a 1979 sloop with just one hull)

 

[Guest]

Publicity for Playstation I suppose

What a sight it would be to see two or three of these monsters having a punch up of sailing race down the Thames one Sunday afternoon say from Southend pier to Tower Bridge - now that's publicity !

Lets see how the crews short tack one of thoses babies in a tight corner for 25 miles non stop.......

I would back a Thames sailing barge meself

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

What do you mean, moved away from the gaff rig? If I find myself in the unfortunate position of needing a new mast any time soon (could happen...) I'll be giving serious thought to converting back from Bermudan to gaff.

My boat was built and rigged when the sparky new Bermuda was all the rage, but a gaff would suit her much better, you see.

But seriously, I do take your point. Some of us, however, do choose to live in the past.

"El manana es nuestro, companero..."

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

Not the design; catamarans have sailed over the Fastnet race course before now and I believe that in the 50's and maybe very early 60's they actually sailed the course alongside monohulls. The reason why Play Station 2 is inappropriate is her enormous size - which of course contributes to her enormous speed.

 

[cgull]

I saw the start

I saw Playstation (from my chartered yacht) off Newtown Creek on Friday pm and took a photo,didnt know what they were doing. Perhaps the photo is worth a lot of money now, any offers?

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

My question is what did they do better?
And I'm not sure that materials developed on these cats are relevant to the average cruising sailor who won't be able to afford them anyway. Bit like microlight aircraft seeing some benefits from Concorde.
As somebody else has said, they didn't break any records - they set up a new one. If that is the case there has to be some organisation to keep a note of it. I suggest The Guinness Book of Records rather than the RORC or RYA. And try getting that one past them without proper scrutiny.
Does anybody apart from the crew know that they actually rounded the Rock?

 

[Jeremy_W]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

But the Transatlantic record, for example, has been held by larger monhull yachts than Play Station. Humperdinck is right - Play Station has now done this course faster than any other sailing vessel. It does not alter the Fastnet Race record held by a monohull racing in competition in a biennial race organised by the RORC.

The challenge, for any fast yacht, is to do the course faster than before. Playstation has done that - OK. Are we impressed? Do we judge the achievement to be of any significance? - personally NO.

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

I understand your point, but does it matter whether some august body or other acknowledges the deed?

As a society we seem to be incapable of acknowledging efforts without red tape - I have always been offended by the way in which Tania Aebi was officially denied the recognition of her achievement.

As to developments trickling down, may I offer the following:

1. GPS
2. Wing keels
3. Chart plotters
4. Kevlar re-inforced bow sections
5. Marine SSB
6. DSC
7. Carbon fibre masts
8. Dozens of sail materials
9. Control lines such as Dyneema (sp?)
10. Forward looking depth sounders
11. Fluxgate compasses
12. Certain anchor designs
13. Liferaft technologies
14. Winch construction

... there's a start to the list.

My point is this, there is no "average" cruising sailor. Some of us sail boats which cost less than the set of winches adorning a modern club racer. Others will buy a nbewn set opf sails for each season and lift the boat on a travel lift after the club races every Wednesday evening (yes, it happens). Yet we spend millions on little upgrades each year and then we are deriving benefits.

As to Cats in general, I do admire them - despite their various short comings they seem to offer enormous benefits over the monohull. By many the journey as they did, not only do they get PR (surely their only aim) but all buiders of Cats will be grinning as they read of the achievement, irrelevant as it may be to the masses.

 

[Mirelle]

Trickled down from where?

Sorry, don't quite follow.

1. GPS - developed and paid for by the US Department of Defense.
2. Wing Keels - well, OK, but the concept of a "fence" was taken over from aerodynamics and the original keel of this type was invented by George Scheel for .... cruisers!
3. Chart Plotters - originated on nuclear submaraines, which are even more short of space than yachts are.
4. Kevlar reinforced bow sections - Vosper Thorneycroft, in the UK GRP minesweeper programme
5. Marine SSB - commercial shipping
6. DSC - ditto
7. Carbon Fibre - aviation again, specifically the RAE, Farnborough, in the 1960's
8. Dozens of sail materials - none were invented for racing sailing yachts - they are all applications for materials invented for other purposes
9. Dyneema - dunno, so I give you this one
10. Forward looking depth sounders - ASDIC and its related developments.
11. Fluxgate compasses - dunno, give you that one.
12. Anchor designs - which ones? The CQR was invented for cruising yachts (and first described in Yachting Monthly!) and the Bruce was invented for drilling rigs.
13. Liferaft technology - commercial shipping and fishing craft
14. Winch construction I grant you!

So what trickle down?

 

[Guest]

Re: Trickled down from where?

Mirelle,

From your list of replies I would say you agree that there IS a trickle down of technology! Not often INVENTED by, or for, racers except in implementation, but so what?

As to many of the items, AT SOME POINT sailors adapted them for use in yachts. Equally, those sailors, by and large, weren't Joe Blogs in his Westerley Centaur / Contessa 26 but they were the racing skippers with the money to pay for what the sail lofts or naval architects suggested.

American Promise was an enormous boat - 60.0' x 16'5" x 9'5" - and se weighed over 77,000 pounds. The costs were over $1.2m (US) BEFORE Dodge Morgan went sailing. He trip, and the ensuing list of World Records which fell before him, were widely acclaimed as remarkable. Now we have a Cat out to prove revolutionary designs and the achievements are being scorned ... why exactly is that? Wasn't the size or cost! Ahh - not a traditional boat ... not one which us monohull sailors understand ... threatens us and our understanding of what a boat should look like and how it should work.

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

"are we impressed?"

Still dammed quick ... even if irrelevant <G>

 

[Viking]

No doubt like MOST Amercians he will call himself a 'World Champion' even if hes the only one playing the game.

 

[Guest]

oooh bitchy ... how would an engleshman describe it?

 

[Guest]

They still can

Multihulls are allowed to enter the Fastnet race. However, there is a size limit of 60ft.

Last year, the leading multihull had passed the Lizard on the way back before we even got there!

Richard

 

[Guest]

Re: Trickled down from where?

Gosh, you are knowledgeable, but I would take issue with you over the CQR which I have always understood to have been designed to hold the Mulberry Harbours off the Normandy beaches in June 1944. Certainly not for catamarans 125 feet long!

 

[Guest]

Re: Why? Because they did it better!

I think these super cats are fantastic However I cannot sea how they can claim to have broken any records as they are using a totally different type of boat. I am sure some of the other people on this board can do the trip faster in high-powered motorboats It would be the same if they claimed to haven broken the record I still say they have set a new one and good for them I hope they go no to even higher goals
Happy Sailing Paul