That was Speed Week that was

Weymouth Speed Week does not attract the sponsorship money of the 70's and 80's, when entry was by invitation, but a small band of enthusiasts continue to keep alive the outright sailing speed record flame in Britain with the cooperation of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and the support of Weymouth Sailing Centre.

The lack of rules for determining, seaworthiness, controllability or practicality provide the ideal proving ground for both experts and dreamers to build the type of boats, which, but for this event would never see the light of day. There are no restrictions as to who may enter and all types of sailing craft are welcomed - Weymouth Speed Week is a unique event.

Portland Harbour is bounded on its south western side (the direction from which the prevailing wind blows) by Chesil Bank. Chesil Bank is a huge natural breakwater that stops the waves but not the wind, thus within Portland Harbour ideal speed sailing conditions of smooth strong winds and flat water occur.

Two courses can be set depending on the weather conditions, one short 200 metre course close to the beach in shallow water, ideally suited to the boards and planing hull designs. The other, a 500 metre course, is set in the harbour in deeper water.

The course length is accurately measured using a laser range finder and the timing equipment at the start and finish are in radio contact. As soon as a competitor is started the finish boat can 'see them' on their computer screen and prepare to finish them as they approach the finish line.

The objective for competitors at Weymouth Speed Week is to sail as fast as they are able over a distance of 500 metres, about one third of a mile. At a speed of 30 knots it will take approximately 30 seconds to cover 500 metres. For optimum speed competitors require to sail 'off the wind' on a broad reach. The best angle will depend on the design of the boat or board, the windspeed and the sea state. Typically the angle is in the range of 20 to 30 degrees downwind component.

For competitors there are two main records to be broken. Portland sailing speed record of 36 knots (41.4 mph - 66.6 km/hr) set by Tim Coleman's Crossbow in 1980 and the World Record for the absolute sailing speed record of 46.52 knots (53.5 mph - 86.2 km/hr) set by Simon McKeon sailing Yellow Pages Endeavour in Australia in 1993.

In Portland Harbour Crossbow took the outright record from 31.1 knots in 1975 to 36 knots in Crossbow II format in 1980. This was broken in 1986 by Pascal Maka on a board, sailing in the Canary Islands at 38.86 knots and continued to be held by various boards, reaching 44.66 knots in 1991. In 1993 Yellow Pages Endeavour, the board record is now 45.32 knots (52.2 mph - 83.9 km/hr) by Thierry Bielak, set in France also in 1993.

How the spirit of Speed Week (top photo) is rigged - see page 5

Speed Week 2001 continued......