10 minute read
ETNZ speeding towards land speed record
Accommodations are four cabins, two doubles and two with twin bunks.
highly efficient Watt & Sea hydro generators as used extensively on many round-the-world race yachts.
Forward of the saloon is a giant sail locker, with the headsails and staysails arrayed along the sides and a large overhead hatch, through which they can be hauled on deck with halyards. On the rare occasion that large crews might be on board, extra pipecots can be deployed in this area.
Aft of the saloon area, the main accommodations are democratically arrayed in four mirror-image double cabins, two on the port side and two on the starboard side with a centreline companionway in between. The two aft-most cabins feature single bunks, one up, one down, while just ahead of them are two larger cabins with double beds. Shared port and starboard heads with showers are positioned directly forward of the cabins.
A navigation station, a separate station for monitoring on-board systems and heated wet and dry hanging lockers are also provided in this area of the boat.
If the focus is more on function than form, that is a compliment, not a criticism. It is refreshing to see such a dedicated adherence to a purist philosophy born of vast ocean sailing and racing experience.
Nor should it imply a boat without its own sense of style and character. This is a sophisticated, complex machine engineered and built to an extremely high standard. The interior may not excite the fashionistas, but in terms of finish, quality and detailing the craftsmanship is outstanding.
Wind Spirit is a boat with serious intent. “It is a sailor’s boat,” de Marignac insists. “It is not for looking at and showing off. It is for doing things.” Purposeful in every sense, it looks eminently well qualified to fulfil its mission to get things done.
B&G electronics and instrumentation in the navigation station.
WIND SPIRIT PRINCIPAL SPECIFICATIONS
LOA 24m Beam 5.60m LWL 22m Draft 3.80m
Displ. 50,000kg
Sail Area 246m Sails Doyle Stratis Spars Hall Spars carbon Engine John Deere 6068SFM85 Prop Gori 800mm Design Arnaud Yacht Design Builder Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders
OFFICE FITOUT ● FREE MEASURE & QUOTE ● LOCALLY MADE
558 ROSEBANK ROAD AVONDALE, AUCKLAND PH 093691880 sales@systemscommercial.com
By Ivor Wilkins • Photos courtesy of Emirates Team New Zealand
With unusually wet conditions continuing for months across the remote vastness of the South Australian desert, Glenn Ashby’s frustration is well understood. Less expected is his view that Mother Nature is actually on his side.
By late November, Ashby and his small Emirates Team New Zealand support group attempting to break the 202.9km/h wind-powered land speed record had only been able to sail on five days in a seven week stretch. Then a new procession of weather fronts forced them to pack up their equipment and take a two-week break.
In a year of outlandish and extreme global weather events, the normally parched desert has had record rainfalls. “These are the wettest conditions this region has seen since 1962,” says Ashby. “I could not have picked a worse time to do this.”
The situation became so dire, the team began investigating alternative locations. “There are possibilities in Argentina and Bolivia, but I am really loath to send everything over there, because Lake Gairdner really is the ideal location when we have normal conditions. Another location would be very much a last resort.”
In early December, as the group re-assembled for a pre-Christmas session, Ashby was looking at the bright side, saying all the water helps smooth the salt surface of the normally dry lake-bed. “The grippiest salt surface is when it is just drying out,” he says. “In fact, all this adversity could be Mother Nature’s way of preparing the best surface ever for our run. I am optimistic she is looking after me.” Lake Gairdner, situated some 500km northwest of Adelaide, is an other-worldly place – a 160km-long expanse of bright white salt stretching further than the eye can see, surrounded by red desert sand. The ancient landscape is so vast, it plays tricks on the mind, requiring a total recalibration of distance and perspective. “The scale and energy of the place is so powerful, your brain struggles to comprehend it,” says film-maker Leon Sefton, who has been recording the team’s attempt. “It is vast and silent with impressive sunsets and blazing nightscapes.” Although Ashby is a seasoned traveller in the Australian outback, even he has been taken aback by the weirdness of their experience. “Up to now, the problem has been that on the few occasions the lake has been dry, the wind has been under 20 knots,” says Ashby. “Whenever, we have had winds above STOP PRESS: NEW RECORD, BUT THE QUEST CONTINUES 20 knots, the surface has been wet. On Sunday December 11, Ashby topped the 202.9km/h record “They have never managed to line originally set by British engineer Richard Jenkins 13 years ago with a up and give us the right combination new record of 222.4km/h – but he plans to keep pushing for more! of 20-30 knot winds with a dry
On the ‘other-worldly’ massive white salt of Lake Gairdner in South Australia, Glenn Ashby and his small support group of Emirates Team NZ technicians, broke the wind-powered land speed record. ‘For sure, there is cause for celebration,’ he declared, ‘but this isn’t the end ... It has always been about pushing things to the limit and going as fast as we possibly can. We know we can go faster, so we plan to.’ surface.There has often been 8-10mm of water covering the area. You just can’t operate in those conditions. The craft starts aquaplaning and it gets really dangerous.”
At that stage, the best run they had achieved was 159km/h, but that was in 17 knots and exceeded performance expectations.
Despite the frustration, everything the team had learned in its limited runs gave Ashby “110% confidence” that the record was within their grasp. “It is simply a question of getting the right conditions.”
And first indications from the December session on the lake appear to justify Ashby’s faith that, despite everything, nature might be on his side. He is absolutely certain that the speed machine Emirates Team NZ have designed and built is well capable of exceeding the target. There was a palpable air of celebration as it hit speeds of 175km/hr, 185km/hr and at last went over the 200km/h barrier.
“Finally to be able to sail on a dry surface is incredible with a decent amount of runway. We have only sailed in up to 20 knots of wind previously and to have a decent amount of runway now and a really beautiful surface just makes a huge difference. It is a totally different craft to sail. I feel like I am getting into 6th gear a couple of times and it feels like it has plenty more left in it.”
The official time-keeping process has to be validated by officials certified by the North American Land Speed Association. “We have two on standby, one in Sydney and one in Perth,” says Ashby. “Both have been out on the lake to see what we are doing.
“The Sydney-based judge has been here twice, when we thought conditions were going to be perfect. If only we had a couple more hours of dry surface, we might have had a pretty good crack at it, but
As an international business, we realise that our business activities have an impact, and we are committed to minimising these impacts as best we can. A tree is planted on the Squadron’s property at Kawau Island for every finished sail that leaves Doyle Sails New Zealand in partnership with Trees that Count.
Next time you purchase a sail from Doyle Sails, you will become part of our sustainability journey and have contributed to our commitment to protect our environment.
By sailors, for sailors doylesails.com
R
The quest to break the wind-powered land speed record has been a dream for Glenn Ashby since childhood. With the design and technological resources of Emirates Team NZ behind him, along with sufficient external funding, he has finally pulled it off.
unfortunately a huge band of uj-forecast rain came through and totally mucked it up.”
Like everything in such a remote location, it takes up to five days to co-ordinate all the logistics to get a judge in place. The process is that an SD card is slotted into the back of the craft and records all the GPS data. The judge must witness the card going into the slot and being removed at the end of the run. It is then plugged into a computer and the data is scanned for the best 2-second average over the duration of the session.
The craft cannot be towed up to speed and then launched off on its own, like a glider. It must either be pushed into motion by a couple of crew, like a bobsleigh start, or in 25 knots or more Ashby can sheet on the wing and it will self-start.
He has found a technique of reversing the wing, which effectively sets the craft in motion on the wrong tack. Being asymmetrical, like a proa, the ballast ama is out to starboard, so at speed the craft must always run on starboard tack.
“I can get it going up to about 100km/h on port tack and then gybe over onto starboard and build to terminal velocity. That saves about 2km of speed-build. Instead of requiring a straight run of 7km in one direction, you build speed for about 2km in the wrong direction, gybe over and then hope to hit the target in 5km. Logistically it keeps everything tighter in terms of radio comms, return trips and so on.
“Our prediction is that in 30 knots, it will take about 1.5km to get to between 120 and 150km/h. Obviously, the less wind you have, the longer it takes.”
Lying prone in a carbon fibre tube just millimetres above the ground, the ride is harsh and extremely noisy. “The suspension is very firm with only about 50mm of travel. The craft is very rigid, so it is like riding on small marbles. Up to 60km/h, you feel the slightest bump. Once you get to about 120km/h, it seems to smooth out, but it is bumpy and noisy – much noisier than I expected. With your helmet on and radio ear-pieces in, you get used to it.”
In terms of development, most has been within adjustable parameters that were built into the original design with moveable ballast and wheel positions. “There have been no major changes to the craft itself. It has just been about tweaking and tuning. It is all about getting the balance of forces right,” says Ashby.
Tyres have been a bigger area of change. With massive side force generated by the wing, the tyres are in constant cornering mode, relying on grip to fight leeway.
Originally, the two rear wheels, which are positioned one behind the other, ran with racing slicks, but they proved unsuitable. Particularly in the wet conditions, they were too slippery causing the craft to slide around.
The team now runs the back wheels on wet weather tyres from the V8 supercar series, at about 50psi pressure. The front tyre is a European saloon car racing tyre at 60psi, while the ballast ama tyre is a Goodyear landspeed tyre at 100psi. “We are still juggling tyre pressures a bit as we reach higher speeds.” On the more recent, faster runs, the steering became very heavy, suggesting more juggling might be required.
With the record already within touching distance, the question is how far Ashby and his group will push the envelope.
Time and weather have been against them. However, if, as he believes, Mother Nature was simply grooming the surface to perfection, you have to believe they will not be content with just squeaking past Richard Jenkins’ 202.9km mark. They will keep running as hard as they possibly can for as long as they can to smash it out of the park.
