Mike Cooke from Bristol has set a new UK speed record of 28.8 knots. This is now the fastest recorded time in the UK and has surely opened the door to the elusive 30 knot club.
Mike Cooke tells us how it was done….
“Well conditions were pretty hostile to be honest, but with my wingman badger egging me on we decided to take to the skies. Some pretty big blasts down the lake saw Badger going into a 5g inverted dive that ended in a big ball of spray, his black box was later recovered recording 27.5 knots. I barely got away with my wings in a 30 knot puff but was rewarded with a big score at 28.8.
Conditions were starting to get really wild after that so we retired to the hard deck for a nice cuppa”
Kevin Ellway, the designer of the Ninja and Ninja foils said “The foil design is the culmination of hundreds of hours of 2D and 3D CFD modelling combined with 3 degree of freedom dynamic system modelling. This should provide a foil system which can win around the racecourse over the wide range of sailing conditions we experience in the UK and Europe.
The foils have performed as predicted during initial sailing trials and performance looks very promising. As ever, however, the proof of the pudding is around the racetrack, so it will be interesting to see how the season unfolds.”