A very interesting blog article by Paul Larsen from the Vesta Sailrocket speed team on his thoughts having sailed on L’Hydroptere in the Solent.
“Whilst all this happened I was imagining what it would be like lining up for a crack at the 500 meter run onboard this boat. I feel I can honestly say this. That boat is truly on the edge at high speed. To me it is fun… but not what we aspire towards with our own project. At 50 knots I can cleat off the wing and let go of the controls. I couldn’t help but feel that Hydroptere felt like three boats forced to fly in close formation. When it gets upset by chop or ferry wakes it seems to fight itself as it wracks, yaws and nods around. This is not fast. Once it shakes itself free of all this and settles down to smooth formation flying again, you can feel it accelerate as the internal fight subsides. Foils are effective brakes when they are not in harmony. The torsion that those large foils put on the beam must be significant and to keep them in harmony must be a large engineering problem in its own right. To ride this thing at record speeds must be one of sailings finest balancing acts. She goes her fastest when she is flying the windward foil but when you look at what her motion is when she does this you quickly see that it has issues. The problem is that when she rolls, she goes from riding flat on three foils to sitting on two foils that are diagonally offset. If she just rolls to leeward then she risks lifting her ‘T’ rudder out of the water and losing all pitch stability. I guess it all depends on how she is trimmed at speed i.e. does the T rudder pull down or create lift… or neither in that it just follows the surface piercing front foils.”
Read the entire article here : http://www.sailrocket.com/blogs
L'Hydroptere on the Solent
What a beautiful boat – Lake Geneva sure is the breeding ground for hte world’s best looking multihulls! You may remember a rather nice 90 foot catamaran called Alinghi which orignated here not so long ago? Well here is her smaller foiling cousin – not technically correct since there is no relationship except that they are both on the same lake, but you get the idea.
Syz and Co Catamaran on Lake Geneva
Syz and co built this rather beautiful catamaran to go for outright speed records and contest the Bol d’Or Mirabaud (the annual long race on the lake).
For outright speed the foils may be the way to go
We wish them luck with their endeavours (with more than a twinge of jealousy!).
Had the good fortune to attend the iGaming super show in Prague last week. Fortune because it was a really good time, I got to see all my good friends again, and also managed to get the word out about our new affiliate system for Mahjong Club.
We launched the new Super Affs affiliate system for Mahjong Club just in time for the show. Packed with heavyweight reporting, great demographic info and some really cool features like intelligent ad rotation, the system is powered by egass. In the future we expect to add further brands to the same affiliate system – creating a one stop shop for those affiliates who want something more from their products.
Meeting David Coulthard at the iGaming Super Show
While at the show I met David Coulthard who was the keynote speaker on day 1. David is well known to any Formula 1 fan, having driven for many years and still acting as an advisor to Red Bull formula one team and a BBC commentator. He was at the show representing Jet Bull. He assures there is no relationship between Jet Bull (a gaming product) and Red Bull – despite the abundance of Red Bull drinks at their stand and party and of course his presence at the show!
Outside "U-Fleku" with Dennis
Jeanine joined me for the weekend and we saw a lot of beautiful Prague. It truly is an amazing city and one that is well worth a visit. I hope we return there next year.
Charles Bridge in Prague
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