Wind was 45 knots!

/hakan

It is supposed to blow even harder tommorow. Winds above 60kts.

12 percent faster than wind speed. Who's impressed?

I am certainly impressed by their guts. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I would not want to zip along like that at 50knots behind a kite. I am getting old I guess..

not at all!

I am at the balls they have. I dont want to diminish the fact that they broke the 50knt barrier, but I am still looking for it to be done with a boat or even wind surfer. I think the physics behind the kite boarding is different than that of other types of craft.

And I got one simple question.

Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?

Otherwise I say what I always say the best potential for beating the 50 knot barrier in any other way is to find a 80+ knots hurricane, hang 15 sq. mtr cloth in the air and be dumb enough to tie yourself to it.

Sort of like a cyclist claiming to have set a new human powered speed record by "cycling" down a steep hill.

Wouter

Wouter I would agree with you there except they are saying the guy was going faster than the wind. This would suggest he was in control.

I think we have to understand that when an actual boat succeeds in beating this barrier it will mean a lot more for many reasons. These would include possible applications of the science refined back into everyday sailing. Much the same as high level racing tech goes back into everyday motoring. Where a large foiling trimaran might have had to employ new construction methods and new uses of materials etc there would be little such gains to be found in riding a flat board behind a kite.

As a rider I note that the kites and the boards on the video we all like to watch and that is doing the rounds again. With everything being equal the big tris are well faster than both boards and kites and perhaps that is the test of a record. Is it sustainable normal circumstances? Or do you have to find hallow, flat water and special wind directions etc etc.

"Was this record confirmed on the RETURN trip within say 15 minutes ?"
No, it wasn`t. Neither is this a requirement in the rules for a record to be ratified, so what exactly is the point of that question, Wouter ? Did Hydroptere sail back upwind at the same speed that they managed 52knots on GPS ?

I`d have to disagree here. I think that the technology developed for a boat such as Hydroptere will make far less impact on "the science refined back into everyday sailing". If that were the case we would see a lot more folks sailing Windriders and Hobie Trifoilers, but we don`t.
In contrast to this, the kites being used are available off-the shelf from the manufacturers through dealers - or if they are prototype kites they will use that technology in next year`s kites which will be available for sale to the ordinary kitesurfer - how many of us can buy Hydroptere ?
This was proven by Rob Douglas at the beginning of the Luderitz event - he was an "unknown" contestant with 4 months of speedsailing training, and broke the windsurfer`s record, showing that the kites have massive potential.

Yes, undeniably you have to have flat water with ideal wind conditions and direction, this has been the case ever since speedsailing began, it makes no sense to try and break the landspeed record on a motocross track, why try speedsailing on lumpy water ? Each craft has their own special requirement, no-one complained when Yellow Pages took the record from windsurfers at Sandy Point, a shallow, flatwater venue.
I think that all the craft that are trying for the record are awesome in their own right - Sailrocket, Hydroptere, the windsurfers and the kiters, all for their own reasons.
Being an average person with an average income, I kind of like the idea that the equipment required costs a few thousand dollars, and not a few million. It makes it accessible to almost anyone who aspires to and has the courage to want to be the fastest.

Dont forget WotRocket either. There is one other that I cannot remember the name of right now down the same lines as Sailrocket that is in the mix.

Wotrocket flipped and blew into pieces a couple of months ago.

Wouter,

When did the speed sailing rules change? I was not aware that you had to make a return trip on the reciprocal bearing; what is the tolerance on the reciprocal - I struggle to hold the same course for 500m.

The rules never changed as far as I know, they have always been skewed in this way with respect to sailing. However alot of all other speed records require a return trip, round tracks or carefully controlled ambient conditions as to prevent skewed results.

The biggest problem I see with kite surfers breaking records is just as I say. Find a tropical storm, hang 15 sq. mtr kite in the air and find a jackass type of guy to hook himself on to that. Afterall there are also no rules requiring the pilot to survive the attempt for the record to be valid ! Get my point ?

That is very different from Yellow pages doing (what ?) 46.83 knots in 20 knots winds ! Or having Hydropthere doing close to 50 knots in 30 knots winds and open water seastate.

It is the difference between a downright brute force approach and the elegance of technologically efficient course.

It is not that I dislike kite surfers (I don't) but when as an engineer I'm too impressed by 50 knots average in say 45 average winds. Sorry, that is 45 knots due to the wind and only 5 knots due to the design and pilot. Compare that to Yellow pages : 20 knots due to wind and another 26 knots due to design and pilot.

You know when I will be impressed by the kite surfers ? When they TOO start doing 40+knots in 20 knot winds then the kite design will have really progressed beyond the brute force approach. Then they will have something interesting. Current the name of the Kite situation seems to be to find enough wind (45+ knots) in combo with perfectly flat water. To me the difference to landyachting has been lost. These cars (with and without kites) already do 50+ knots only 10 mtr more upwind to the kiters. Come to think of it these kite cars already do these speed at 30 knots or slightly less and have more advanced kites.

Wouter

However, having said all this I do believe that the achievement by the Kite surfers is an admirable one. In itself that is a major effort to keep standing in those conditions and that must be respected.

Wouter

Another approach would be to wait for the wind, wear a wing-cloth (wearable rigid wing), tie the feet to a ski and go for it. The aerodynamic drag of the crew body is nearly eliminated and the power can be the same as in a windsurfer or kite.

The WSSR Council announces the ratification of a new World Record:

Record: World Kite-board Record
Board: Xcelerator board. Genetrix kites
Name: Sebastien Cattelan
Dates: 3rd October 2008.
Start time: 14; 55; 03.84
Finish time: 14; 55; 23.18
Elapsed time: 19.34 seconds
Distance: 501m
Current: 0.1 kt
Average speed: 50.26 kts
Venue: Luderitz, NAM

Previous record: Robert Douglas; Luderitz 2008; 49.84 knots.

There has been a considerable delay in the ratification of this claim due to the non availability of the necessary data. This has also affected a further claim for an increased speed on a later date. The Council anticipates that we will be able to make an announcement on this claim within a few days.

Note that at the November Conference 2008, ISAF clarified that a kite-powered craft cannot be recognised as the holder of The World Sailing Speed Record.

http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/content/view/99/3/