The ultimate ocean racer...
- Thread starter Sybarite
- Start date
NotBirdseye
Well-known member
That's not a boat, that's a plane!
Concerto
Well-known member
Being so experimental, I would have thought the crew would have worn lifejackets as a precaution. Seeing her foil in smooth water is slightly different to the Southern Ocean, so I wonder how well she will cope with those massive waves. The loadings on the foils will be massive at the expected speeds she should do, just hope they have an additional safety factor built in. It is not a craft I would be happy to circumnavigate against the clock, but I guess some people would want to. Good luck to them.
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-known member
Technology at its best
LONG_KEELER
Well-known member
On the same page..............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4peE1uPmr8
Before hoisting the main do you have to get clearance from Air Traffic Control ?
Not boats I would like to sail on but great fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4peE1uPmr8
Before hoisting the main do you have to get clearance from Air Traffic Control ?
Not boats I would like to sail on but great fun.
Stemar
Well-known member
I hope that's not answering the question as to how Gitana will cope with the Southern Ocean
It's got about as much to do with my pottering around the Solent as Formula 1 has to do with me driving to Aldi to do my shopping
johnalison
Well-known member
I'm waiting for the cruising version. 2.5 hrs to Belgium sounds good.
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Tomahawk
Well-known member
I am on a promise of blastng a foiling cat that uses the prototype system for the latest AC jobs..
I will report if I survive.
I will report if I survive.
westhinder
Well-known member
2.5Hrs out of Belgium sounds even better.
You wouldn’t say that if you had seriously tasted our beers ?
BobnLesley
Well-known member
Yes, can't see a lot of decent anchor points for a drogue, nor does it look like being a comfortable boat for 'heaving to'; relying on outrunning anything nasty presumably?
Stemar
Well-known member
If he did it that seriously, it would take him 2.5 hours to find the door...
weustace
Member
I don't think racers are really in the market for heaving to or pulling a drogue somehow...
Stemar
Well-known member
I imagine that the technique in extremis would be to pull up the foils and pretend to be a cork. With that sort of speed and all the weather data they get, I would expect them to be able to avoid anything nasty enough to need it.
Of course, my OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshitOhshitI'mgonnadie is their idea of a good day in the office in the Southern Ocean
Of course, my OhshitOhshitOhshitOhshitOhshitI'mgonnadie is their idea of a good day in the office in the Southern Ocean
Tomahawk
Well-known member
These days it seems ocean racing has become all about weather forecasting in extremis.
You plan to arrive at the right part of the weather system in order to ride it at max possible speed in your direction.
Thus by the same token, you plan to not be in the vicinity of the eye of a hurricane. And with monsters like that... including Alex... you can make sure you are well away from the nasties.
You plan to arrive at the right part of the weather system in order to ride it at max possible speed in your direction.
Thus by the same token, you plan to not be in the vicinity of the eye of a hurricane. And with monsters like that... including Alex... you can make sure you are well away from the nasties.
dunedin
Well-known member
This is not really an ocean “racer” per se, but more of an ocean “record breaker”. There is a very important difference. An ocean racer generally needs to go when the scheduled start time arrives, irrespective of the weather (within certain limits). Whereas the record breaker sits in harbour waiting for the right weather window.
These boats are so fast that they can already (pre foils) go faster than the weather systems. Typically they have ridden ahead of a single weather system, sometimes all the way from South Africa to Cape Horn - adjusting their route to stay in the best winds and ahead of the biggest waves.
The oh shxx bit would happen if they get major gear failure and come to a sudden unexpected halt ahead of the following systems. With big wing masts they can’t slow down much, even if they want to.
But then these are super extreme, far more so than Formula 1 race cars, and the professionals recognise they can’t make records without taking huge risks. Not quite weekend cruisers.