Wednesday 22nd November
Colin Palmer
Speed Sailing
Colin is a naval architect by training. In the 1980s he collaborated with Malcolm Barnsley on the design and construction of high speed sailing boats, one of which was a forerunner to Malcolm’s record beating Vestas Sailrocket. Colin sails slowly in an Ovni. It was not until the 1980s that speeds started to exceed 30 knots, but this is now commonplace and 45 knots or more is within the reach of racing sail boats. But how can it be that a kiteboarder can keep pace with an America’s Cup cat? What was it about Sailrocket, the current world record holder, that enabled it to reach 70 knots and could even higher speeds be possible – maybe 100 knots?