New Sailing Speed Record

It never ceases to amaze me how fast people can get going under sail power. To quote Captain Jack Aubrey, "Gentlemen, this is the shape of the future. What an amazing modern world we live in."

The l’Hydroptère sustained 51.36 knots over 500 meters and peaked at 55.7 knots making it the fastest wind powered boat on the water. See Yachtpals for the complete story and video.

Fast & Furious

The SailRocket is really phenomenal. They broke a sailing world speed record, clocking over 47 mph over 500 meters.

They then turned around and broke 52 mph...in a sail boat. Of course, they ended with a big bang of stellar proportions. Did I say sail boat? Maybe I was thinking sailplane. Check out the photos and additional info on YachtPals.com. Note that the "pilot" escaped with some bruises. The boat and Paul Larson who was at the helm, are recovering in Namibia. What's next?

A Tour Around the Harbor on a Gentle Breeze...NOT

I'm not a sailor, but this caught my eye. Scenes form the iShares Cup at Skandia Cowes Week in the UK. these folks are hardcore; over 40% of the teams were out by race 4 due to capsizes and collisions.

I first spotted this in a digest from Yachtpals then stopped by the site. they have video and more images as well as detailed race coverage. http://www.yachtpals.com/cowes-ishares-3007 It is worth a look.