World's fastest land sailor - now for the ice!

by Sail-World Cruising on 11 Apr 2009 The British engineer who became the fastest human on earth powered by the wind alone in a land sailing boat will now try to better his speed on ice.

Richard Jenkins clocked 109.57 knots in his Ecotricity 'Greenbird' powered only by 25 knot winds in late March on the dry Lake Ivanpah near the border of California and Nevada in the western desert region of the United States. He eclipsed the previous record of 100.8 knots, set by American Bob Schumacher ten years ago.

The Greenbird, which looks like a stretched missile with a giant fin, is the most advanced wind powered vehicle on Earth. It uses technology found on Aircraft and Formula 1 cars to achieve staggering speeds without an engine.

It is a carbon fibre composite craft -- described by the makers on their Web site as "part airplane, part sailboat and part Formula One car" -- that uses solid sails to harness the power of the wind.

The technologically advanced Greenbird works by using the flow of air over its vertical sail to push it forward. It transfers the side force of wind into downward energy to keep it from taking off -- a similar concept to that used in Formula One race cars.

With the land sailing record under his belt, Jenkins now plans to return to work on his Greenbird ice sailing craft -- which he feels has the potential to be even quicker than the Greenbird land racer.

"Theoretically they should be a lot faster, but currently ice yachts are not as quick as land yachts. We are not completely sure why."

Jenkins said his next ice sailing attempt would likely take place in December this year on Canyon Ferry Lake in Montana, where the ice is large and secure enough for the vehicle.

It is also important to make attempts before snow falls on the ice, creating more drag, Jenkins added.

Ice sailing is significantly more risky than land sailing, he told reporters.

"Depending on when you go, the ice can be a lot more unstable. There is the risk that you could go through a water-hole into the ice. We try not to think about it," Jenkins said.

The current Greenbird is already the fifth generation in a line of vehicles designed and built by Richard Jenkins on his ten year quest to break the world speed record.

The name is a nod to Donald Campbell's Bluebird, a fuel-powered car which achieved record speeds in the 60s.