18' vs Volvo 40

A skiff racing a Volvo VX40!? It happened last Friday the 26th May at Fat Face's inaugrual Pier to Pier Race when Will and Tim Penfold and John MacKenna on the Fat Face 18 went up against Team Basilica and a brace of kite and wind surfers in a straight line speed test. The result was closer than you might think! Check out this report from Fat Face:


At the impromptu briefing in local bar it was clear that there was little wind out on the water for the Fat Face Pier to Pier challenge. There was about five to seven knots blowing down the course and the kite surfer and windsurfers were looking less than happy. With this in mind the decision was made to send out the VX40 and the 18ft Skiff for a photo shoot while the breeze filled in a bit, the forecast was for the wind to swing to the west and build all day.

After several hours of playing around on the water, including Chris Bull being towed behind the VX40 on his kite board, it was clear that the 18ft Skiff and the VX40 were more evenly matched than most had thought. In these light breezes when the VX40 got a puff and lifted a hull it would fly past the 18ft Skiff, but as soon as both hulls were in the water the 18 would dominate.

At around four in the afternoon it was pretty clear that the breeze was not going to come. There was a short period of about ten knots that seemed like it was the best there was going to be so a start and finish line were duly set up between the piers and the five minute gun sounded.

In a preview to this event, allowing people to vote for who they thought the winner would be the VX40 came out on top, just trumping the windsurfer by literally a couple of votes. The kite surfer languished in third place with the 18ft Skiff barely leaving the starting blocks with very few votes.

In reality with the five minute gun gone the kite surfer was trying hard to get up and out of the water, and even with a 20sqm kite was clearly not going anywhere, one down. The windsurfer was making a valiant pumping attempt but there was not enough breeze to get him on the plane so he resorted to being towed by a rib in an attempt to get a good start line photo for event organisers, Fat Face, two down. That left the VX40 and the 18ft Skiff.

Clearly eager to be a full speed when the start gun sounded the 18 crew had the kite up a way back from the line with a whole minute to go. They were a little eager and were seven seconds early for the start, this time would be added on to their overall score. The breeze that now had a bit more west in it, making the course more of a run, was back down to seven knots. The guys on the VX40 made a good safe start and powered out into the Solent. It was clear from the start that they were sailing a lot faster but a lot higher than the 18ft Skiff and it looked like the race could be closer than most thought.

In the end their were few surprises as the VX40 powered across the finish line to take the victory a short way ahead of the 18ft Skiff. Special mention must go to John Hibbard on the Windsurfer who managed the whole course holding up his sail with one hand and holding a rope from a rib with the other. Even this was not enough to win him the event and he came in an exhausted third (the things people do for their sponsors.)


* Check out this footage from Sail.TV

player.narrowstep.tv/default.aspx?player...&void=16186&ref=news

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Si j'ai bien tout compris, il faut lever une coque hors de l'eau pour aller plus vite.
Patrick, quand est-ce que tu nous fais un démo avec une coque en l'air?

Autre solution, refaire le test avec un 18 pieds de 40 pieds :-X

Une chose est sur, c'est que c'est pas le meme genre de cata que sur nos lacs suisses ... parce que dans ce genre de condition, les D35 et les M2 on les regarde partir

Une chose est sur, c'est que c'est pas le meme genre de cata que sur nos lacs suisses ... parce que dans ce genre de condition, les D35 et les M2 on les regarde partir

Quand on te dit de lever la coque!

Plus sérieusement, c'est bien l'impression que j'avais.

Et quand il la lève trop:

www.volvoextreme40.org/vid/GPPort_day2_400.wmv

très belle vidéo! Ces machine ont quand même l'air rapide et surtout vivace!!!!

Mouais, et y'a moyen de s'faire mal quand ça culbute, vu que tu tombes quand même de haut !!! :o :o :o

Fréd.

vu que tu tombes quand même de haut !!! :o :o :o

Il faut descendre au rappel

Cédric