Speed sailing

Speed sailing is the art of sailing a craft as fast as possible over a predetermined route, and having its overall or peak speed recorded and accredited by a regulatory body. The term usually refers to sailing on water, even though sailing on land and ice is progressively faster because of the lower friction involved. The World Sailing Speed Record Council is the body authorized by the International Sailing Federation to confirm speed records of sailing crafts (boats or sailboards) on water (not on ice or land).

Sailing craft used

The experimental sailing craft Hydroptère, uses hydrofoils to reduce friction

The craft used vary from single sailor windsurfers or kitesurfers, to multi-hulls with crews of fifteen people. Many short course record attempts are made with boats based on the classic proa boat layout. Recent developments include hulls that rely on hydrofoils or planing hulls, which allow the hull to lift out of the water, and thereby increases speed by reducing friction. An example of a multihull hydrofoil design is the Hydroptère, designed by Alain Thébault. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with the late Eric Tabarly since the 1990s. On September 4, 2009, l’Hydroptère broke the world record, sustaining a speed of 51.36 knots for 500m in 30 knots of wind.

Throughout 1970s, the speed sailing 500 meter and Nautical Mile records were dominated by large multihulls, as typified by the Crossbow and Crossbow II of Timothy Colman. This has changed since to smaller, very lightweight boats. The Yellow Pages Endeavour, a highly optimized one-way proa design using a rigid wingsail lost its decade old 1993 500m record to a windsurfer in 2004. This was followed by frequently changing records, with windsurfers holding the records the record through 2008, when it was taken by a succession of kitesurfers. In 2009, in a radical shift away from the tiny surfboard based craft, the trimaran Hydroptère, with a length of 18.28 meters and a displacement of 6.5 metric tons, took the 500m speed record back for the D class boats.

Windsurfing

Antoine Albeau who holds the windsurfing speed record (on a 500 metre course) with a speed of 49.09 knots (92 km/h) on the purpose built Saintes Marie de la Mer canal in Southern France. The previous record of 48.7 knots was held by Finian Maynard, an Irish born windsurfer who sails for the British Virgin Islands who achieved this speed on 10 April 2005 on the same purpose built canal. Windsurfers are not as efficient as the larger boats used in record attempts. Albeau's 49.09 knot record was set in winds of 45 to 50 knots, while the Yellow Pages Endeavour, which held a record of 46.52 knots from 1993 to 2004, was optimized to sail in a 19 knot wind. Venue has much to do with the windsurfer's success, as all windsurfing 500m records since 1988 have been made at the same canal. Zara Davis holds the outright nautical mile record for a woman. Set in Walvis Bay Namibia an open water venue in November 2006 previous record was held by Valerie Ghibaudo of France

Kitesurfing

Frenchman kitesurfer Sebastien Cattelan became the first sailor to break the 50 knots barrier with 50.26 knots on October 3, 2008 at the Lüderitz Speed Challenge in Namibia. On October 4, 2008 frenchman Alex Caizergues, also using a kite, broke this record with a 50.57 knots run. Earlier in the event, on September 19, kitesurfer Robert Douglas (USA) made a 49.84 knots (92.30 km/h) run, becoming the first kitesurfer to establish an outright speed sailing world record – held until that date only by sailboats or windsurfers. Douglas also became the world's third over-50 knots sailor, when on September 8 he made a 50.54 knots (93.60 km/h) run. The current speed record over a 500 meter (1,640 ft) course for a kiteboard, officially ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council, is 55.65 kts, held by Robert Douglas, and set in Luderitz, Namibia in October 2010.

Around the world records

Main article: Around the world sailing record

Longest distance run in 24 hours

Main article: Speed sailing record

The records for the longest distance sailed within 24 hours are also recorded by the WSSRC. There are different categories:

Any yacht, any number of crew

Boat: "Banque Populaire V" trimaran, Pascal Bidegorry & crew of 11; date: August 2009; distance: 907.9 nm, 37.83 kts.

Any yacht, single-handed

Boat: "Sodeb'O", trimaran, Thomas Coville; date: December 2008; distance: 628.5 nm; average speed: 26.19 kts.

Monohull, any number of crew

Boat: "Ericsson 4", 70-feet-VOR (second generation); crew: Torben Grael and a crew of 8; date: 29/30 October 2008; distance: 602.66 nm; average speed: 25.11 kts. However, this feat was ratified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council as follows: 2008 "Ericsson 4" 70ft, Torben Grael BRA, 596.6nm, 24.85kts

Monohull, single-handed

Boat: Hugo Boss, Open 60; Alex Thomson; date: 6/7 December 2007; distance: 500.01 nm; average speed: 20.83 kts. This was actually double-handed with Andrew Cape in the Barcelona World Race 2007, and ratified at 501.3nm; average speed: 20.9 kts.

It was recently eclipsed by Boat: Virbac Paprec, Open 60; Jean Pierre Dick/Loick Peyron FRA; date: 21/22 January 2011; distance: 506.333 nm; average speed: 21.1 kts in the Barcelona World Race 2010-11

Alex Thomson does, in fact, hold the single-handed record onboard "AT Racing" in 2003 as follows: "2003 'AT Racing' 60ft, Alex Thompson, GBR, 468.72nm. 19.53kts"

External links

• Monofoil: water speed record challenger
• Windjet: details of an attempt at water and land sailing records
• WSSRC: The world regulatory body for speed sailing
• MacArthur sails into record books
• Inaugural San Francisco Speed Sailing Event 2006