He drifted to Hobart in one of the oldest and slowest boats in the fleet, but now sailing´s "mad scientist´´ Sean Langman has unveiled a radical beast he hopes will set a world speed record. Already costing $250,000 and expected to require another $500,000, Wot Rocket is the craft Langman hopes will deliver him and co-owner Graeme Wood a place in the record books on Botany Bay.
"Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it´s a hybrid of both. It´s the future,´´ Langman said.
Last year his timber yacht Maluka averaged 5.6 knots in 4 days at sea in the Sydney to Hobart. Langman is hoping to go almost 10 times faster in Wot Rocket.
"The record is 48.7 knots set by Finian Maynard on a windsurfer (in 2005),´´ Langman said. "We are going for 50 knots on Botany Bay in February. A good analogy is, if you are driving your car between Sydney to Newcastle, this boat would sail past you.´´
Able to go just one way and resembling an aeroplane more than a sailing boat, the Wot Rocket has a 40-foot hull and a solid wing span of 27 feet. Perched inside a pod will be Langman and his co-pilot Martin Thompson, wearing wetsuits and oxygen masks.
"The pilot controls the direction and the power of the wing, and the co-pilot runs the foils,´´ Langman said. "You have to have a standing start like a rocket, and parts of the boat will fall off when not required, to reduce drag.´´ (www.news.com.au)
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