Tag Archive for: Speed

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Sp80 unveils final boat design in pursuit of the world Sailing Speed Record

Sp80 unveils final boat design in pursuit of the world Sailing Speed Record

• SP80 is ready to show the world the final design, which is set to reach 80 knots (150km/h) powered by the wind.
• Under construction since the summer of 2021, this futuristic 10 by 7 meter boat will feature two pilots.
• The “sea rocket” will be launched at the end of the year, with the first record attempts planned for thesummer of 2023.
• Already sponsored by the Swiss watchmaking brand Richard Mille, SP80 is launching a campaign to identify a final group of sponsors.

From concept to reality Established in 2018, SP80 has been coordinating the critical stage of the boat production over the last 6 months. This spaceship-like sailboat has been designed to reach 80 knots (150km/h), shattering the world sailing speed record. Limited by confidentiality requirements, the Swiss company has so far only shown a the concept that allows viewers to understand the boat’s operating principles, without revealing any definitive design elements.

Today, the construction has advanced to the stage where the team feels ready to reveal the final design. While the principles remain the same – an extraordinary sailboat towed by a kite – the boat will be bigger than the initial concept (i.e. 10m long and 7m wide). With a sleeker shape and stretched, aggressive lines, other elements have also been refined to increase the stability of the structure; a key point in the record-breaking strategy defended by SP80. The young Swiss company is on its way to redefine the architectural codes of the sailing world.

A cockpit with room for two Freshly finished by the renowned shipyard Persico Marine, the main hull will arrive in April to SP80’s premises in Renens (Switzerland). This first part reveals a crucial element of the cockpit: it can take two pilots on board. One will pilot the kite while the other will steer the boat. “Very early in our development phase, it was clear that being alone on board was not an option to accelerate safely up to 80 knots.” – says Benoît Gaudiot, co-founder and pilot. “At 150 km/h, it is essential to be focused on one task!We will thus have a pilot steering the kite, while a co-pilot will ensure the boat’s trajectory. However, at low speeds, that is around 30 knots, the boat can be sailed solo, which will allow us to welcome passengers onboard to experience something extraordinary !” At 80 knots, it is critical to ensure maximum safety for the pilots. The cockpit has been designed to withstand accelerations of up to 50G! It has also been reinforced with Kevlar® to protect its occupants from possible carbon shards in the event of a crash. As a boat sailing at 150km/h on water is equivalent to a Formula 1 on land, the drivers will be equipped accordingly: bucket seats, 6 point-harnesses and helmets. In case of emergency, they will also have oxygen masks at their disposal, something that has never been seen before in the sailing world!
Calendar and next steps While the shipyard continues the construction of the beam and floats, the SP80 team will take over the main hull and integrate all the mechanical systems. The final assembly of the boat is scheduled for next autumn with an official launch before the end of 2022. After a few months of optimisation and testing, the first record attempts will take place in summer 2023 in the south of France.

Guided by strong values, the company has already secured several notable partnerships. The team is currently beginning its final partnership search campaign. Investigations are focused on Swiss brands, with the goal to create collaborations that go beyond sponsorship agreements.

“Thanks to our current partners, we have been able to realise this revolutionary boat with a launch date later this autumn.” – says Mayeul van den Broek, co-founder and project manager.
“2023 will be a decisive year, with the final preparations to break the 80 knots record and make sailing history. We are currently looking for the last financial and technical partnerships to take the adventure to the finish line. The whole team is so proud to see this concept becoming a reality and we can’t wait to finally unveil and test our final design on the water! ”

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GREAT BRITAIN SAILGP TEAM BREAKS F50 SPEED RECORD ON BEN AINSLIE'S RETURN IN DENMARK
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GREAT BRITAIN SAILGP TEAM BREAKS F50 SPEED RECORD ON BEN AINSLIE’S RETURN IN DENMARK

GREAT BRITAIN SAILGP TEAM BREAKS F50 SPEED RECORD ON BEN AINSLIE’S RETURN IN DENMARK

AARHUS, DENMARK – 18 August, 2021 – Great Britain SailGP Team CEO and driver Sir Ben Ainslie returned to the wheel of the British F50 today as the team began training ahead of the ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix in Aarhus (August 20-21).

It was an eventful return to action for Ainslie, who had missed the previous two SailGP events to welcome the arrival of his baby son Fox, as he and the British crew broke the SailGP speed record with a top speed of 98.3 km/h (61.1mph/53.1 knots) in strong breeze on the Aarhus waters – WATCH HERE

After winning the opening event of the season in Bermuda, Ainslie has returned to the Great Britain SailGP Team with the team in a strong position, second on the overall Championship leaderboard level on points with the leaders – Tom Slingsby’s Australia SailGP Team. On returning to the team, Ainslie was full of praise for fellow Olympic gold medallist Paul Goodison who temporarily led the team in his absence in Taranto and Plymouth.

Ainslie said: “The team has done brilliantly over the past two events. It was great to see Paul come into the team and with very little time to practice beforehand get straight into the thick of it. They battled hard, and it was great to see their fighting spirit come through and finish on a really positive note with a race win in our home event in Plymouth.

“Now, coming into Aarhus we’ve got to regroup quickly. It was a full-on day out there today, a real team effort to keep the boat on its feet and we hit our fastest speed yet which is always good fun. One of those days where you’re glad you can get the boat back to the dock in reasonable shape! We’ve got three key events pretty much back-to-back coming in Aarhus, Saint-Tropez and Cadiz (Andalusia) so it will be very important to get going quickly, get some solid finishes and try to keep ourselves at the top-end of the League.

“The nature of SailGP, the nature of the racing, the quality of the fleet, and with the talent that is in these teams now, it is going to be really hard for one team to stand out and dominate. It’s going to be really tight racing, down to the wire. That’s what we love about SailGP, that intensity of racing, the close battles we are seeing on the water, and expect to see more of that.”

The Great Britain SailGP Team has been joined in Aarhus by Hannah Diamond – the final athlete trialling as part of the league’s Women’s Pathway Program – before a final decision will be made on which of the female athlete trialists will be joining the team full time. With the previous trialists including the likes of recent Olympic medalists Hannah Mills and Anna Burnet, it will be a tough decision to make for Ben Ainslie and the team.

Commenting on SailGP’s Women’s Pathway Program and the team’s trialists Ben Ainslie added: “We can only really accommodate one more full-time sailor with the team so it’s going to be a tough decision how we move forward after this event. We’ve had some great athletes with the team over the past few events, real team players and very talented sailors all of whom have brought brilliant experience, attitude, and personality. We’ll get our heads together after this event and finalise a decision based on what we think will be best for the team”.

Off the water, the Great Britain SailGP Team is also in second place in SailGP’s new Impact League, a world-first integrated second leaderboard created for all eight international teams, where the teams are rewarded for the positive actions they make to reduce their overall carbon footprint and help accelerate inclusivity in sailing. The team has been working closely with its Race For The Future partner STEM Crew to maximise its positive impact and climb up the Impact League leaderboard too.

The ROCKWOOL Denmark Sail Grand Prix is live on Sky Sports from 2PM BST on Friday August 20 and from 12PM BST on Saturday August 21, and is also free to view on SailGP’s YouTube channel. For full viewing details visit sailgp.com/watch.

WATCH BEN AINSLIE’S ROCKWOOL DENMARKSGP PREVIEW
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