Blown Away. VESTAS Sailrocket 2 truly smashes the Outright world speed sailing record*

24th of November,2012. This is the day that VESTAS Sailrocket 2 took speed sailing into a whole new era. Having already broken the existing Outright world speed sailing record by the biggest margin in the records history a little over a week earlier, the team took to the waters of Walvis Bay in strong winds to try and be the first to take the sport over the 60 knot average mark.
This video shows the third run of the day. The record attempt had been plagued by unusually light winds but they knew that on this day, Walvis Bay was going to deliver the goods. After 11 years of hard work on a 'roller coaster of highs and lows'... everything was in place for something big to happen. Founder and co-designer of the Sailrocket project, Malcolm Barnsley, had flown in to see his dream play out before his own eyes. VESTAS Sailrocket 2 has put a mark way up on the graph to show everyone what is possible.
*Record subject to WSSRC ratification

Aerial photography by Bernt Bruns.

Directed, filmed and edited by Ben Holder.

• Category

  Sports

[brightsgrove1]

Congratulations! I will no longer make fun of sailors.

[Dan Erlich]

Paul Larson and his team have been chasing a target for ten years that has during that time not remained static but has moved tauntingly out of their grasp. No longer it was met and surpassed and by a margin sufficient to give others pause for thought for us to give them all our thanks and respect for what they have achieved

Bernard Smith is smiling down on these guys from Heaven above because they proved him correct. May “He” reveal to us the hidden secrets of the universe. Thank G-d.

[bakters]

Take that, surfers!

[Giovanniram22]

Great design, Great achievement!

[Erik Johnson]

That is so unbelievably cool. The ship looks like an airship landing on the water. Congratulations to the team!

[SoggySox1]

the pod is set at that angle so it will point into the apparent wind at its design speed.

[Dan Erlich]

When this video as posted Sailrocket II's magnificent achievements had yet to receive WSSRC ratification. Both the records were in fact later ratified - so what you are looking at here is the Official CERTIFIED FASTEST sailboat on the planet - with a very modest and respectful team who share the credit as due and who raised the bar for everyone. Amazing - eleven years never giving up from all adversity to well deserved triumph - and you made sailing EXITING 78 MPH is never boring.

[Dan Erlich]

This boat, design, crew - is not finished doing it's work - it has room to go faster and I am hopeful that they have the opportunity to take this miracle and see where it takes all of us. BTW - they have a lot of class - the name of the boat in honour of Bernard Smith, the cheer to his memory - a lot of class.

[xo1wes]

Market plan, build half scale models available to the general public, offer them in a fiberglass model and and elite version in pure carbon fiber,. Create a whole new market for sailers. DO IT!

[Pardus Panthera]

Congratulations team!! Well done. Perseverance paid off ... you smashed it!

[RayZ fox]

Drug runners need this technology. 

[arthurdeko]

Mental indeed.