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50 Knot Contender - 2008/06/21 10:09
Two countries, hemispheres, objectives..one victor
12:38 PM Thu 19 Jun 2008
Two countries in opposing hemispheres are now vying to be the first to break the current world speed sailing record, and crack the holy grail of 50 knots, regarded as the equivalent to the aeronautical sound barrier.
'No one remembers the second man to walk on the moon,' says Sean Langman, the creator and pilot of the radical purpose-built Australian 9m sail boat/sail plane called Wot Rocket who is acutely aware of the 'race against the French to the 50', and the possibility they could snatch his boyhood dream clean away.
Wot Rocket’s 500m world speed sailing record attempt was forced to shift gears following the launch of the French flying trimaran l’Hydroptere on 22 May.
'I want to go official now because the French have. Everything’s been stamped urgent,' admits Langman.
He is currently awaiting advice from the World Sailing Speed Record Council on whether a Trimble GPS receiver can officially record Wot Rocket’s speed. This would negate the need to have an official timekeeper on the course each time Wot Rocket heads out to attempt to beat French sail boarder Antoine Albeau’s fastest time over 500m of 49.09 knots (90.9 kph), and break through the magic 50 knot milestone.
Last Saturday l’Hydroptere clocked 46.8 knots according to their web site, Langman admitting the 'brutish French design can probably be pushed harder, but I believe we have the ability to go faster' he says.
In the past few weeks, Wot Rocket has undergone further refinements following three more sea trials on Botany Bay, the stretch of flat water where the official attempt will eventually take place.
The latest test sail, conducted yesterday, saw the entire project team including designer Andy Dovell on site for the first time. While the 8-12 knot forecast breeze failed to materialise at the upper end, 'it was good to get the program back on track following a number of setbacks,' said Langman today.
'We have suffered some issues with our control systems and have spent more than 300 hours further modifying the design. It’s really been a process of elimination'.
Yesterday also marked the first successful trial of a newly built wing extension.
'Because the rules state we have to have a standing start, we plan to initially use the wing extension for more horsepower to get the pod free of the water. Then, once we reach 30 knots of speed we shall fire off the top wing section,' explains Langman.
This staged approach is where the ‘Rocket’ name originated, Langman likening Wot Rocket’s take off to a Saturn V rocket, which jettisons parts as it races out of the earth’s gravitational pull.
Once the Trimble GPS is installed, likely to be this weekend, and the Wot Rocket project team is given the green light by the Speed Council to record its own speed, a notice of intention to make a record attempt will be lodged with the Council.
From that point onwards, each sail will be regarded as an official attempt on the current world record.
'There is no time to waste. The French launching has definitely moved our plans along,' co-pilot Martin Thompson added.
Yet another sponsor has thrown its support behind the Australian speed record attempt. Superyachting is a Sydney based company that regularly supplies assets to the movie industry and has been involved with breaking existing records and setting new benchmarks for six passage records in the Pacific Rim Basin.
'The team at Superyachting is privileged to provide support to the Wot Rocket project to achieve the 50 knot and world speed record by supplying Protector Ribs as support and media vessels,' says Christopher Stirling.
Noakes Boat & Shipyards and Graeme Wood, founder of Australasia's number one accommodation website Wotif.com, are major sponsors of Wot Rocket. Other sponsors are Warringah Plastics, Harken, Gurit Australia and Superyachting.
Website for Wot Rocket - www.wotrocket.com
by Lisa Ratcliff
'Heading back upwind - Wot Rocket' Crosbie Lorimer
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Re:50 Knot Contender - 2008/06/23 21:13
23 June 2008, update on Wot Rocket
The Wot Rocket team packed up at Kurnell last Friday following their most successful week of testing according to creator and pilot Sean Langman.
Another valuable finding came from Friday’s test sail, the crew of Langman and co-pilot Martin Thompson discovering that each time Wot Rocket’s pod went to lift out of the water, the pilot experienced difficulties steering.
The team realised that the rudder’s aluminium control rods were bending so this week those rods are being replaced with carbon fibre rods. The rudder is also being reshaped so it’s better balanced and doesn’t self-centre.
Thursday’s forecast is the most promising for the week with a 15-20 knot WNW breeze expected however Langman says “it will be a scramble to be ready by Thursday given the latest round of modifications”.
He believes a weekend test sail is more realistic but with the long rang forecast showing the breeze only hovering in the 10-12 knot range for both Saturday and Sunday, the prospect of Wot Rocket getting up on its foils, which is when supercavitation is expected to come into play, looks set to be deferred for another time.
“We are slowly clawing our way forward,” says Langman, who still has plenty of fire in his belly, particularly with the latest threat from the French to pip him to post in the race to break through 50 knots, the holy grail of sailing.
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Re:50 Knot Contender - 2008/07/10 20:38
10 July 2008
Wot Rocket’s official attempt set down
Wot Rocket will officially attempt to break the 500m world speed sailing record of 49.09 knots next month with pilot and creator Sean Langman nominating August for the 28 day window granted by the World Sailing Speed Record Council to coincide with the winter westerlies that traditionally prevail.
The Council has confirmed they are satisfied with the certificates for the Trimble GPS’s timing instruments and are aware of the August window. Once inside the window, the Wot Rocket project team is allowed seven days with an Australian based Council appointed Commissioner on site to ratify their speeds.
With a 20 knot plus WNW breeze forecast, tomorrow’s scheduled test sail on Botany Bay has been postponed until the end of next week when favourable conditions are expected to return.
Refinements resulting from Wot Rocket’s last outing are continuing at Noakes at Woolwich with a heavy job list already completed thanks to project manager Josh Alexander who is working full time on the ultimate ‘boy toy’.
At this point Langman believes their biggest challenge will be getting Wot Rocket up out of the water and skating on its two hydrofoils.
“We’ve designed a beast and once we learn how to fly it we can harness its full potential,” said Langman. “Getting airborne is the challenge, after that there’s no limit.
Lisa Ratcliff
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Re:50 Knot Contender - 2008/07/23 14:13
23 July 2008
Wot Rocket up up and away....almost; now for the Sydney Boat Show
While still temperamental, Wot Rocket showed a flash of its awesome potential yesterday on Botany Bay when it lifted up out of the water, engaging one hydrofoil before nosediving at 20 knots of boat speed.
“Getting it up on the foils is a lay down misere,” believes pilot Sean Langman after the latest test sail which he says was “a huge step in the right direction”.
With Wot Rocket accelerating and rising up out of the water - as it’s designed to do - in the bitterly cold 15-18 knot south westerly breeze, Langman pushed forward on the control stick to stop the bow lifting any further and to level out the ‘flight’. This is when the two joints in the rod that control the tail plane failed.
“I pushed forward on the stick, heard a bang and we fully nosedived. Luckily there’s no audio in the pod because Tac and I were screaming like a couple of kids. We couldn’t see anything outside the pod because of the condensation so we were flying blind,” laughed Langman.
Following minor modifications Wot Rocket’s next appearance will be in a rather different setting - the Sydney International Boat Show.
An invitation from Boat Show organisers was extended and the Wot Rocket project team has embraced the idea of having the 9m carbon fibre sail boat/plane exhibited as a special attraction.
For six days from 31 July to 5 August at the Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre, Wot Rocket will be rigged from the ceiling in Hall 2, near the Better Boating Lounge.
“For those who haven’t had a chance to get down to Kurnell for the sea trials it’s a great opportunity to see Wot Rocket before we start official attempts on the 500m world speed sailing record on Botany Bay in August,” Langman said today.
Boating Industry Association marketing and events manager Domenic Genua believes Wot Rocket will generate plenty of interest amongst the 80,000 expected visitors.
“Wot Rocket is a one-of-a-kind radical Australian design and this is a great opportunity to see it up close. Should Sean be successful in his world record attempt next month, Australia will be back on top of the honour roll for the first time since 1993.
“We are delighted that Sean and his crew have agreed to take time out from their sea trials and prior to official attempts commencing to be part of the Boat Show,” Genua added.
Wot Rocket sponsors Noakes Boat & Shipyards and Graeme Wood, founder of Australasia's number one accommodation website Wotif.com, Nexus, Warringah Plastics, Harken, Gurit Australia and Superyachting.
Further information on the Sydney International Boat Show www.sydneboatshow.com.au or call 1300 7BOATS
Wot Rocket official site www.wotrocket.com
Image: Wot Rocket lifting up onto its front foil, courtesy Crosbie Lorimer
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Re:50 Knot Contender - 2008/08/06 17:49
As Australia’s Olympic athletes prepare for the realisation of a four year dream, back home another long held dream is finally taking shape.
Four years ago well known offshore and skiff sailor Sean Langman thought up the concept for a radical design to set a new world speed sailing record and crack the holy grail of 50 knots, regarded as the equivalent to breaking the aeronautical sound barrier.
Following a laborious build and modification program, which has easily swallowed up 3,000 work hours, and three months of sea trials, Wot Rocket’s official attempt on the current record is about to get underway on Botany Bay, Sydney.
Australian World Sailing Speed Record Council commissioner John Brooks will be on standby from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 August, the seven day window nominated by the Wot Rocket project team. Each day or some days during the window, depending on the forecast, Brooks will be notified an attempt is going to take place that day and will arrive on site to check the GPS’s calibration and ratify the time should Wot Rocket be successful in its record chase.
The current 500m world speed sailing record of 49.09 knots (90.9 kilometres per hour) was set in March in France by French sail boarder Antoine Albeau.
The last time an Australian held this particular record was in 1993 when the asymmetric trimaran called Yellow Pages Endeavour set a then fastest time of 46.52 knots.
Schedule
Wot Rocket is today being removed from the exhibition hall at Darling Harbour where it was a special attraction at the Sydney International Boat Show.
Over the next two days Wot Rocket will have its systems reinstalled at Noakes at Woolwich before the team, including a new co-pilot, return to Kurnell for final sea trials this weekend.
Former co-pilot Martin Thompson left for an extended overseas holiday early this week. His replacement, likely to be someone already closely associated with Wot Rocket, will be announced shortly.
Long range forecast
The long range forecast is promising for this weekend and the first half of next week. Wot Rocket’s ideal wind range is 15-20 knots and starting Saturday through to Wednesday next week, Sydney’s traditional winter westerlies look like coming to the Wot Rocket party.
Saturday 9 August: WSW-SW/15-20
Sunday 10 August: W/15-20
Monday 11 August: W-WSW/15-20
Tuesday 12 August: SW/20-15-10
Wednesday 13 August: W-WSW/15-20
The Wot Rocket Team
Pilot, creator and sponsor of Wot Rocket – Sean Langman, 16 time Rolex Sydney Hobart veteran, most recently as the skipper of the pocket maxi AAPT/Grundig, 49er & 18 foot skiff champion
Co-pilot – TBC
Designer – Andy Dovell, holds a Masters in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering & is part of the famous Australian design team Murray Burns Dovell
Project Manager – Josh Alexander, has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and is a professional sailor with 10+ years experience with carbon fibre mast design and construction
Principle sponsor – Graeme Wood, yachtsman and founder of www.wotif.com
Record attempt – photo/TV opportunity for Sydney media
A media boat will be on standby this weekend for sea trials (Wot Rocket possibly sailing Saturday, definitely Sunday) and all of next week.
During the seven day window for official attempts, August 11-17, a decision will be made by 7.30am each day as to whether Wot Rocket will make an attempt on the record that day.
If you would like to be notified each morning whether an attempt is going ahead or not, please send back an email indicating this, and also how you wish to be contacted ie. mobile or email.
Wot is Wot Rocket?
Wot Rocket is half sailboat and half sailplane; a nine metre long canoe style hull with two tiny foils, each about a sixth of the size of a Moth foil and a nine metre rigid sail, then a transverse beam out to an aerodynamic twin pod crew compartment.
The transverse wing is like an aircraft, the foils have 15 degrees of movement each but only a few degrees will be used at speed. The front foil provides lift, basically the height above the runway, just enough to keep the foil in the water, while the aft foil provides pitch and steering.
The Rocket part of the name comes from the fact it has a wing extension which is used to generate more horsepower to get the pod free of the water. Then, like the Saturn V rocket which jettisons parts as it races out of the earth’s gravitational pull, the top wing section can be fired off.
Wot Rocket was built using carbon fibre with closed cell foam core in the hull and Nomex in the wing. Its length is 9 metres, width is 7.5m and height is 12m and it weighs 320kg without the crew.
The difference between this sailboat/sail plane and any that have come before it is that it will be attempting to break through the water speed barrier using a technology as yet untried on any sailing craft – supercavitation.
Wot Rocket sponsors Noakes Boat & Shipyards and Graeme Wood, founder of Australasia's number one accommodation website Wotif.com, Nexus, Warringah Plastics, Harken, Gurit Australia and Superyachting.
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Re:50 Knot Contender - 2008/08/15 10:13
12 August 2008
Spectacular cartwheel ends Wot Rocket’s first official world speed record attempt
A sudden spectacular cartwheel has ended Wot Rocket’s first round of official attempts on the 500m world speed sailing record on Botany Bay.
With the pod lifting out of the water on a number of occasions this morning and pilot Sean Langman’s confidence building, he decided to trial a different runway on flatter water just off Dolls Point.
In an 18-20 knot westerly wind Wot Rocket accelerated to an estimated 30 knots of boat speed before the crew found themselves flying blind, without instruments and with co-pilot Joe De Jock unable to ease the wing sail and Langman unable to steer.
“I tried to bear away and we fully pitch poled (end over end),” said Langman this afternoon, the adrenalin still pumping hard as he waited for a crane to help pull Wot Rocket apart for loading onto its trailer.
“We went for the run of the day. It was the best nose dive I’ve ever done...and walked away from.”
Until the project team fully investigates, the reason why Wot Rocket went belly up won’t be known. Langman’s hunch is that there was too much load on the front foil.
When asked how De Kock’s nerves were fairing, given it was only his second day sitting in the rear of the pod, Langman proudly proclaimed him “a lunatic”.
“Just before the crash Joe was telling me how much he loves sailing with me...I don’t think that’s changed,” Langman added.
The damage report is substantial and Langman estimates it will be weeks before they are back on the water. A quick once over this afternoon has revealed a broken mast step, suspected delamination of the Nomex in the wing sail and broken fairing on the transverse beam. A new set of instruments will also have to be ordered.
The Wot Rocket project team will have to lodge another notice of intention to attempt the 500 world speed sailing record with the World Sailing Speed Record Council and then nominate another seven day window within a 30 day timeframe.
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