Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kikapu]

The next America's Cup Sailing Event in 2010 is going to be a BLAST.!





For more exciting pictures;

http://www.sail-world.com/europe/index. ... ickerCID=0

[Kikapu]

And here is the competition to the above boat.








http://yachtpals.com/americas-cup-3049

[Kikapu]

Dutch bid to thwart young sailor

Sailor Laura Dekker says she wants to 'live freely'
Social workers in the Netherlands have taken legal action to try to stop a 13-year-old girl from sailing around the world on her own.

They want Laura Dekker to be made a ward of court, so that her parents, who support her plans, temporarily lose the right to make decisions about her.

Laura's father, Dick Dekker, has had a request for her to miss two years of school turned down.

Laura had a yacht by the age of six and began sailing solo when she was 10.

"Since I was 10 years old, I've known that I would like to sail around the world," she told Dutch television.

"I want simply to learn about the world and to live freely."

A junior education minister recently told parliament that "a solo voyage around the world would not be in the best interests of the child".

The court is due to make a ruling this week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8219443.stm

I think someone has to put a stop to this madness of trying to become the youngest to break a sailing record. It is a meaningless record in today's world than it was even just 30-40 years ago where it took no less than 30 minutes to compute your position through Celestial Navigation, assuming the sun, the moon or the stars were out. With today's technology in Navigation and Communications, it has reduced a lot of the uncertainties to a sailor's well being where in the past it was the sailor and the whole nature, but now it has become just the boat and nature and the sailor becoming almost a "decoration" on a boat to claim such records. The better the boat is equipped, easier it has become to overcome many elements of nature a sailor would face when they make all the preparations, planning and the know-how through experience themselves, rather than being handled from ashore by "holding this young girls hand all around the world" through such technology.

This 13 year old could not posses the maturity, the skills, the stamina, the strength or the ability to be able to handle the boat and sails through unpredictable winds and seas from squalls to storms, or to make repairs to her boat on the high seas in the event of major damages to the boat or have the ability to make improvises to replace broken parts with ingenuity until she can reach the next port of call. She stands to be brutally beaten by nature as well as within herself emotionally and psychologically, even if she does succeed her circumnavigation before her 17th birthday.

I for one would recommend for anyone to make such voyages, but do it for the pleasure of it and the adventure as a mature and a responsible person, but not because to please some overzealous parents who want to get their daughters name in the record books, because if this trend continues, you will have 10 year olds on the high seas soon who could barely be able to reach the tiller. In the words of my Coastal Navigation course instructor which was given by the US Coastguard Auxiliary, he constantly repeated at every class until the course had ended, which he said, "The sea lies and waits for the weary, and stalks the reckless" which I have lived by it during my cruising days on the high seas and now on casual day sails with friends. Sailing is a serious business and I believe the parents of this 13 year old are being reckless by gambling with their daughters life for their own selfish glory of some bragging rights for their own 15 minutes of fame, and as sailors themselves, they really ought to know better..!

[Kikapu]

Dutch court takes custody of 13-year-old sailor
(AP) – 6 hours ago

"UTRECHT, Netherlands — A Dutch court has put a 13-year-old girl under the temporary care of state authorities, delaying her hopes of becoming the youngest person to sail solo around the world.

The court has ordered state child care authorities to take responsibility for Laura Dekker for two months while an independent child psychologist assesses her capacity to undertake the risky voyage.

The girl was not in court but her father listened to the decision Friday from the three judges. Neither he nor the family's lawyer made any immediate comment.

Social workers had argued Dekker is too young to weigh up the dangers of the two-year-voyage, and psychologists believe the isolation it involves would be damaging at an important time for a young girl's development."

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD9ABPFFO1

I agree with the above decision 100%.

[Kikapu]

Another sailing record broken by a 17 year old.!!!!!


"AFP - A 17-year-old British boy on Thursday became the youngest person to sail solo around the world with assistance, as he entered British waters after 156 days at sea.

Mike Perham crossed the finishing line between Lizard Point, the most southerly point in Britain, and Ushant in northern France, in his 15-metre (50-feet) yacht shortly before 0900 GMT, escorted by a Royal Navy guard ship.

"I've made it, I've made my dream come true and it feels amazing," he said."

http://www.france24.com/en/20090827-spo ... -perham-uk

[Raymanoff]

composite materials and Cad designed Hydrofoils... all going above 50knot mark at the moment...

[Kikapu]

composite materials and Cad designed Hydrofoils... all going above 50knot mark at the moment...

You mean this one.? It can get up to 60 mph (95km). Holly crap.!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

L'Hydroptere record beaten 51 knots!

http://www.sailkarma.com/

[Nikitas]

Holy sh....! 95 mph on water is fast! Imagine, Rhodos Limassol in about two hours!

But, Kikapu, when so much of the boat is out of the water are these craft boats or planes? It is getting hard to tell these days.

[Nikitas]

For my record breaking sail I would love to sail one of these from Paphos to Limassol. There is room on board for one person and some beers. It is my kind of sailing.

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[Kikapu]

Holy sh....! 95 mph on water is fast! Imagine, Rhodos Limassol in about two hours!

But, Kikapu, when so much of the boat is out of the water are these craft boats or planes? It is getting hard to tell these days.

Who says you can't sail faster than the speed of wind.!

Actually, Nikitas it is "only" 95 km/hr and not 95 mph.!!! Put it this way, it's bloody fast and anyone with slightest heart problem would be well advised not to ride on this boat at this speed, at least not without wearing diapers first.!

Having sailed my catamaran boat at 13 knots going from Galapagos islands to Hawaiian island, all I can tell you is, it was a little scary. The boat started making sounds I never heard from my boat before. It had a slight vibration and humming noise coming from her. It was as if each hull wanted to take the lead and that they were racing each other. She just wanted to go. It was like saying to us "we got 5,000 miles to go, so lets get the show on the road".! I chickened out in the end and slowed her down to 10 knots. We were a cruising boat loaded down with 3 months supply for three people and had no business going that fast, risking in breaking things on the boat in the middle of the Pacific.! I must have heard my navigation teachers words subconsciously who told us over and over again during class that, "The sea lies and waits for the weary, and stalks the reckless".!

You asked, is it a plane or is it a boat.? If you look at the pictures closely, you can clearly see it is a little bit of both really. You can see a well defined wing used as a cross arm and I have no doubt that it's shape will be very close to any aircraft wing. You can also see what appears to be flaps at the back end of the wings. It appears to be set about 10°-15°, which is about normal for aircraft for take-off to give lift at slow speed. I wonder if these "flaps" are fixed or can they move the opposite direction to act as an "airbrake" to reduce lift so to lower the boat back it the water so that the boat does not lose contact with the water at anytime, because the moment that happens, you will be asking for trouble........major trouble. The stabilizers/fins at the end of each wing that's in the water will need to remain in the water to a degree, as well as the rudder to make the boat ride out of the water and be able to steer her, or else the boat will not have anything to support it as it rides out of the water. It's a little bit like a kite that's flying. It need to have contact with the ground through the string it is attached to in order for it to remain aloft in the air. The moment the string is cut and the kite loses the ground connection, it can no longer fly, and the same principle will apply to this boat/plane combo. But I tell you what Nikitas. If I had the courage to ride this boat/plane at 51 knots on the water, then I would want to put on my earplugs and turn this sound up to the max.!