Earlier this month, the big swinging, uh, booms, of the world’s fastest sailboats raced through the frigid, green, wind-whipped waters of San Francisco Bay. The boats that fly over the water at 40 miles per hour, only a hydrofoil wing or two keeping them connected to the water at all. Each boat costs approximately 75 bajillion dollars and are piloted by people who spend most of their lives in places like Monaco. At least we assume.
We kid, we kid, they’re incredible to watch.
Our online editor Justin Housman was invited to tag along on a chase boat watching the elegant madness zip around the bay, but a child’s sickness (and, to be honest, a debilitating fear of seasickness) kept him home. Had he been there, he’d have had a front row seat to a fairly rare occurrence, one of the baddies getting out over its skis and flipping into the chop.
Pro surfers Jamie O’Brien and Kai Lenny were aboard as part of a Red Bull promo, and we got our hands on footage of the wreck and an interview with the two wide-eyed sailors, accustomed to incredibly heavy situations in the ocean, nevertheless rattled by a crashed fast boat.
Check it out:
Looks like there are multiple boats of the same design – what makes one faster/better than the next? Crew?
The boats are identical…. so the trim of the sails (wings) as well as the foils is what makes one faster/better than the next. Also there are right of way rules that come into play while sailboat racing. Meant to keep everyone safe when crossing paths with a competitor. Then reading to wind…. seeing it come across the water, as it increases/decreases, changes in direction (wind shift).
WOW!!! Now I want a ride more than ever
Thanks for the clip
I’m no sailor and don’t follow sailing very closely so take this with a grain of salt.
I’ve heard that the winner of the previous America’s Cup gets to choose the rules for the next edition. Some years ago, Larry Ellison, the billionaire owner and founder of Oracle, sponsored a team that won the competition. He then proceeded to change the rules about what types of boats were allowed to be used for the next race. He essentially priced out much of the competition because his stipulations were incredibly expensive so teams that didn’t have a massive funding source were unable to compete.
Having said that – awesome video, I’d love to be out on one of those sailboats!
Despite their names, iceboats and dirtboats are not really boats.
Sorry but iceboats and dirtboats are much faster boats.
Despite their names, those are not really boats.
Not world’s fastest sailboats by a long shot. Fastest one-design racing series, perhaps.
Lance is correct. The speeds we reach with a sail on ice and land are faster.
French Hydroptere was faster 15 years a go
American’s Cup racers need to experience iceboating and how they hike and how to jibe while hiking. Looked very familiar when they flipped, out of control.
Came across this article and thought I would chime in with some info from a lifelong amateur sailor/racer
The boats racing in SailGP are doing over 50 knots now. About 60mph. Going four times the speed of the wind. Really it’s closer to flying than it is to traditional sailing. Even one of the main jobs on those boats is called flight controller. Airbus and formula one are design and technical sponsors of some teams in the America’s Cup which are monohulls with large T foils on each side that go up and down. The f50s in sailgp are pretty much at the max they can possibly go without the water around the hydrofoils boiling causing cavitation and lose all lift.
Imagine trying to run around on the bed of a flatbed truck while doing 55 on the freeway and the truck will suddenly do 90 degree turns while other flatbed trucks are coming at you at the same speed and directly crossing your intended path in front of you. Kai has dropped in on waves so big you have to have a jet ski tow you in to catch them, and sailing on the F50 intimidated and scared him. That’s pretty insane.
There are some groups doing challenges to wind powered vehicle records. Current America’s Cup holder and defender is the Emirates Team New Zealand team. To keep their design team together and sharp during the offseason they are going after the wind powered vehicle land speed record currently set about 126mph by a British team called Greenbird over 10 years ago. There’s also a couple French teams SP 80 and Syroco I think they are called, using kites with opposing foils to go after the wind vehicle on water speed record. 150 km/h or 80 knots or 90mph give or take is their goal. Paul Larsen reached over 65 knots, 121 kmh or 75 mph in his Vesta Sailrocket about a decade ago is the current speed holder. All of those teams and previous record should be easy to find on YouTube if interested.
Way I remember it, these F50 boats came from the America’s Cup cycle that ended in Bermuda a few years back. That was kind of odd because Ellison with Team Oracle Racing won in San Francisco with the San Francisco yacht cub and usually defenders hold the cup in their home waters. However Emirates Team New Zealand just announced they are holding the next cup in Barcelona Spain so location is quite negotiable these days. But to their credit they are starting to have more nationality requirements for crew as well as boat Design in cup teams. These f50 boats came out of the trials for that Bermuda cup where Ellison lost to Emirates Team New Zealand few years back. He bought all of the teams boats from the challenger series and made them all one design like NASCAR to start a new circuit that would go around every year as opposed to every few years like the cup. I thought covid would have killed it but it’s really starting to get some attention and speaking for myself it’s quite fun to watch.
Having said that, over 150 years every cup that I’m aware of has had a bunch of BS associated with it. There’s always arguments and fights because the defender can make most of the rules although there has to be some agreement from the challengers or no one will come. Team Lawyers are always pulling crap on the deed of gift which was written in the very beginning very simply. There’s always been some sort of hijinks associated. Even how Larry Ellison won the cup the first time to be able to defend it in San Francisco was kind of a BS cup that spent a hundred times more time inside courtrooms than on the water. It’s seems kind of tradition to be that way and its almost part of the charm of cup racing in HINDSIGHT. What do you expect from a yacht club full of rich people with too much time and money on their hands?
Of course any lifelong sailor over 40 can’t help letting the curmudgeon come out occasionally while reminiscing about the America’s Cup of old with traditional keelboats where gaining one tenth of a knot in speed is a huge deal. I think most of us always figured that we could jump on those boats and would be able to be competitive, beer bellies and dad-bods to boot. Nowadays you have to have the strength and athleticism of an NFL wide receiver with the endurance and stamina of a Tour de France cyclist with the intelligence and resolve Under Pressure of a Navy SEAL. Not exactly a job anyone with a little bit of experience could do. When these boats are on opposing tacks in good wind, the closing rate between them is too fast, way over 80mph, for anybody but a very well trained and practiced professional team to do it. They require them to wear helmets and impact vests with emergency oxygen and knives to cut themselves loose as well as frequent survival training. Because of that they have had a pretty good safety record despite having a couple of gnarly collisions. Also all of the recorded data when they’re racing is open for every team to be able to see and use so you really have to be the best crew to get out front and stay there. I’m not sure if or where any secrets or room for innovation is allowed but now I’m wondering about that. I’ll follow up finish this off if I find anything.