It is.

And wasn't it the French that had their boat fall apart TWICE while Playstation was off making their record run?

I rest my case !


Wouter

Turns out, according to Sailing Anarchy, Playstation just got a coat of fresh paint.

So let's all remember a few things as folks bash Fossett and Playstation:

Playstation was the first of the new G-Class boats to hit the water. Like the previous large cats that it impressively outclassed, it was also outclassed by the newer designs. It had its problems to deal with right away (needing more waterline, etc.). Doesn't make its accomplished any less. It's an awesome boat that still has some legs. All newer stuff builds on lessons from previous, so we should thank all those (even Team Philips) for giving it a go with some really cool machines, and putting it out there for all to see so that we can do better next time. If even the other boats for the Race had not been an improvement I would have been dissapointed.

As for Fossett, so many people like to bash him. For some it seems that the reason is simply because he is American. For others it is because he is rich. Get over it, the man has shown he has chops in a lot of different arenas, sailing being one of them. Lots of people with money have achieved far less with more talk and bravado.

That having been said, the video shows that going for a long ride on one of these beasts is an endurance test that few of us can imagine. It would be interesting to see video of the newer G-Class cats in similar conditions to see if the ride is improved from hull shape improvements. I hope so, but I'd still go for a ride on Playstation/Cheyenne, especially if Fossett was at the helm...

May I add that some seem over sensitive to any comments short of absolute praise when dealing with Fosset.

I only pointed out that playstation was all over the place and that such behavior will make it very hard on the crew during long distances races like THE RACE (where playstation did break down). If not downright dangerous, who wants to capsize in the southern ocean near antarctica ? If it was the crew that was actively pushing the boat this hard then I think they are asking for some serious damage or disaster.

I did not comment on the man Fosset in any way. Only that the boat/crew looked on the borderline of control and wipe out and that maybe fine in short course races but not in the long slugs across vast oceans and well away from points of rescue.

Wouter

Sorry if I seemed over the top on that, it just always seems to go that way. Everybody has their flaws for sure, and I don't believe and don't mean to sound like he's the second coming, but for some reason this man and boat seem to be demonized repeatedly, praise is something you very rarely hear, whilst others are the Gods.

The ride in the video did seem rough - I'd like to other boats in the class in the same conditions for comparison. Although it looks bad, I've seen some shots of the Volvo 70s and the open tris that looked similarly harsh. For sure any newer design should show improvement.

And in the Race, Playstation's failure was a new set of sails coming apart, and before any real stress was put on the boat in the Southern Ocean. The other boats suffered structural and gear failure there. For sure if Playstation had continued she might have seen some of that too, but we'll never know that. But she did put on what was a hell of an effort in setting the around the world record without breaking down. And as good as that was, if the newer boats didn't beat it it would have been surprising.

During their 'round the world effort Playstation did break down. The forestay parted after rounding the tip of South Africa. Fossett decided to head for the nearest port but the crew put in 24 hours on repairs and they were able to continue.

It would be interesting to figure out what their time would have been minus the detour. Maybe the French wouldn't have beat them.

Since we seem to discuss Steve Fosset here (indirectly):
Can anyone tell me if he ever won a race when facing
competition with equally potent boats?

/Martin

I stand corrected...

Given that his emphasis has always been on setting records, probably not.

Yes hobie1616, why don't you invest some time yourself and google the time difference ?

Wouter


http://www.sailspeedrecords.com/roundnonstop.html

One of the bearings on the front beam also started to let go and they and they fashioned a repair using some carbon, epoxy, and food wrappers.

They also had issues with the upper mast track at the 1st reef point. They spent a few shifts with guys up the mast drilling and backing out sheared bolts while in the Southern Ocean.

Being that most of the shots from that video were from a helicopter, it was probably just a test run to see how hard they could push it. Any video in the deep southern ocean would have been onboard video, right? I'm no expert, but I'm sure they wouldn't have been pushing it that hard for very long on a RTW record attempt. It still looks cool as [noodle] and I would love to have been on board... for a little while. I'd hate to go all the way around the world like that.

-Rob V.
Panama City

Does this look in control?:


Just because there is no footage of other G class cats in these extreme conditions doesnt mean its anything abnormal.
(It wasnt recorded, so it didnt happen?)

You guys seem to have short memories regarding damage to Orange II, in 2004 they had to abandon the Jules Verne because of a drive shaft leak.
http://seasailsurf.com/seasailsurf/actu/spip.php?breve1884

I think Playstation was initially designed to break the Transatlantic and not the RTW record, it doesn't say anywhere but remember reading it in an interview a few years ago (thats why is was extended from 105' to 125').
http://www.stevefossett.com/html/main_pages/boat.html

First off,YES! its a rainy windy cold day here and I have nothing better to do.

I have been looking at the 1616s playstation video and Wouters orma video. If you pick a fixed point in the water and sit [like some kind of moron] with a stopwatch for a bit you can time a hull length through the water...
I make that playstation takes a mere 2.5 seconds to cover 125 feet and the 60 takes 1.6 seconds to cover 60 feet.
I therefore make Playstations speed 31 knots and the orma's 23 knots.

At that lick, playstation would be around the world ten days faster than the 60. [29 days vs 39 days]! can you do 29 days without letting go of the **** rail?

Paul

I have not go my copy of 'The Race' at close hand at the moment, but I do remember Playstation suffered several break downs.

Main sail cars attaching the sail to the mast shattered.
Forestay Damage
Front beam seperating from the hulls.

I believe all these were fixed out at sea on the run but the backed off quiet a bit to carry out repairs.

I may be wrong..... Have not read the book for a while.

Alas, I am but a poor program manager whose mathematical skills pale in comparison to great engineers such as you. If you could find it in your heart to write a small hack to calculate the loss of time, I’ll try to find the data and enter same. Thank you ever so much for reading my unworthy posts great sir.

The carbon came from worn out battens.

They actually abandoned twice. The first time was after the crash box on one of the bows broke off. They returned to France, had a new one put on and restarted 24 hours later.

The French sailors are the leaders in this game. You can't compare Fosset with the French top sailors, he don't have a chance.

Without the French sailors we wouldn't have this fast development of big multihulls. Check all the multihull classes they have been active/leader in, F28, F40, 60 feet multihulls, G-class multhulls and so on...and also in monohulls.

Fosset is an amazing guy and has made a lot of cool stuff and playstation was the top dog for a while but it don't have a chance against the latest French G-class multis.

/håkan