When it comes to high speeds, for some reason everyone immediately thinks of airplanes or cars. But in fact, watercraft also demonstrate super speeds. In our review, the 10 fastest ships in the world in history.
Fastest submarine
Maximum speed: 83 km/h
This submarine was the only ship in its class. She boasted a titanium hull, two 2 × 177.4 MW pressurized water nuclear reactors and two 80,000 steam turbines. horsepower. Thanks to the combination of low mass and high power, the substrate could carry on board a crew of 82 sailors, 10 P-70 Amethyst anti-ship missiles and 12,533 mm torpedoes at a maximum speed of 44.7 knots.
2. Warship HCMS Bras D’Or 400
Fastest warship
Maximum speed 116 km/h
This experimental Canadian hydrofoil is one of the fastest ships ever built. Bras D'Or was designed based on the ideas of Alexander Graham Bell and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney gas turbine engines. Unfortunately, the experiment was closed in 1971, and the only ship built was put on display in Maritime Museum Quebec.
3. Sailboat Vestas Sailrocket 2
The fastest sailboat
Maximum speed 120 km/h
120 km/h doesn’t seem like much, but for a vessel that doesn’t have an engine, it’s impressive. Sailrocket 2 broke all speed records in sailing.
4. Yacht World Is Not Enough
The fastest yacht
Maximum speed 129 km/h
A luxury yacht that can reach a speed of 70 knots - what else can I add?
5. Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept
The fastest electric boat
Maximum speed 160 km/h
Mercedes-AMG, in collaboration with Cigarette Racing, has released the fastest electric boat in the world. It has 12 electric motors with a total power of 2220 hp.
6. Brad Rowland's South Bay 925CR Pontoon Boat
Fastest pontoon boat
Maximum speed 184 km/h
The fact that someone made a pontoon boat that can go 184 km/h is crazy in itself.
7. Catamaran Spirit Of Qatar
The fastest catamaran
Top speed 393 km/h
The catamaran Spirit Of Qatar uses twin Lycoming turbines with a total power of 9,000 hp.
8. Problem Child
The fastest seaplane in the Top Fuel class
Maximum speed 422 km/h
Seaplanes class Top Fuel similar to a Top Fuel dragster, except they race through water. Eddie Knox's Problem Child is the fastest boat in its class, and like the dragster, it is powered by an 8,000 hp Hemi V8 engine.
9. Seaplane Bluebird K7
The fastest seaplane
Top speed 444 km/h
The K7 was the first of the crazy turbine hydroplanes that set water speed records seven times between 1955 and 1964. During its last run, it reached a shocking speed of 444 km/h. Unfortunately, its pilot, Donald Campbell, died in 1967 while trying to reach 482 km/h.
10. Spirit Of Australia
The fastest boat
Maximum speed 511 km/h
511 km/h is an astonishing figure, made even more impressive when you learn that the Spirit of Australia was built by an enthusiast in his own backyard. Ken Warby designed the superboat in 1978. Ken Warby's boat speed record has not yet been broken.
The sail is one of the oldest ways of human movement on water. At the same time, today it is sailing yachts that are the main carriers of high technology and engines of progress in the yachting industry. Five of the most amazing creations by yacht designers are in our hit parade. The fastest
The brainchild of Frenchman Alain Thibolt is the fastest sailing yacht on the planet. Tebo invented and built it in order to fulfill his old dream - to go around the world in 40 days. This hydrofoil sailing trimaran is built from carbon fiber and titanium.
Thanks to the wings, the hull of the yacht rises above the water at a certain speed. The smaller the contact area with water, the higher the speed. Hydroptere will outperform not only a sailboat, but also most motor yachts and even speedboats. The trimaran's own record today is 61 knots (112 km/h).
Most luxurious
venture capitalist, living legend Silicon Valley's Tom Perkins is used to risky projects. His 88-meter yacht Maltese Falcon became a challenge to traditional technologies and the canons of yacht building.
The vessel uses innovative sailing rig DynaRig. Three carbon fiber masts rotating around their axis carry curved yards on which the sails are stretched. By changing the angle of the sails and their total area, the Maltese Falcon adapts to any wind conditions. Moreover, all operations with sails and masts are carried out by one single person using a control panel in the wheelhouse. Today, this luxurious and high-tech yacht belongs to a different person, but still attracts everyone's attention wherever it goes.
The craziest
The masters of the powerful genie, whose name is oil, never tire of measuring the coolness of their toys. The Omani princes Aziz, Daoud and Hashim, who hold key positions at Masqat Airways, want to travel around their domain in an amazing hybrid of a sailing yacht and a jet aircraft.
The project of such a flying ship was developed according to their order by designer Yelken Okturi. The princes' flying boat will have a length of 46.2 m. The cigar-shaped hull will be crowned with four 40-meter masts carrying 1302 sq.m of sails. When entering flight mode, the masts lower and become wings.
So far, this project exists only in the form of a model, and Yelken Okturi is not ready to say whether his bold creation will one day be able to take to the skies. On the other hand, just five years ago no one thought that a ski slope would be opened in Dubai.
The most futuristic
The Ankida yacht from the Lila-Lou design bureau spreads its wings like a giant butterfly. Its creators moved away from the traditional canons of sailing yachts, replacing the usual masts with a complex structure in the form of an arch, connected into one piece with the keel of the vessel. A boom rotating 180 degrees is suspended from each side of the arch. Thus, the two triangular sails can be installed in any position relative to the wind and each other, allowing the yacht to move at any angle to the wind.
To move in the wind, a large spinnaker sail is raised, and thanks to the arched shape of the mast, nothing obscures it from the wind. The yacht's keel automatically adjusts for optimal mass distribution depending on the position of the sails and the heeling moment created by the wind. At the same time, electricity for all operating mechanisms is generated by a wind turbine at the top of the mast-arch.
The most environmentally friendly
Studio Berret Racoupeau does not accept compromises. Having decided to create an environmentally friendly sailboat, her designers decided to make it 100% “green”. Sailing catamaran Code[e] has 40 square meters of solar panels and two retractable vertical wind turbines. Together they produce 1100 W of electricity.
While sailing, electricity for onboard systems is generated by hydroelectric generators. All lighting on board is LED. For mooring and sailing in calm conditions, there is a hybrid engine that provides 15 minutes of autonomous running on batteries. In order to use the desalination plant as little as possible, the catamaran is supposed to collect, filter and purify rainwater. At the moment, French enthusiasts are looking for a shipyard and a customer ready to build such a yacht.
According to the rules determined by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC), there are a number of “tests”, and each of them has its own record holders, its own distances and chronological framework. The three most prestigious records are the average speed of a 500-meter passage, the average speed of a nautical mile, and the average speed of a 24-hour passage. The last nomination differs from the first two, like the run of a stayer from the run of a sprinter. Boats for long passages are equipped with cabins, storage facilities and traditional system rigging.
Of course, the speed record for a sailing ship depends on many factors, both subject to human influence and random ones. Finding the right “windy balance”—so that the wind is as strong as possible, but does not raise “impassable” waves—is quite difficult. There are only one or two bays suitable for these purposes on the entire planet. Paul Larsen, creator and pilot of Vestas Sailrocket 2, set his records near the port of Walvis Bay in Namibia. But his story was preceded by another, no less interesting.
The main task facing the Vestas Sailrocket 2 designers was to develop an ideal aerodynamic profile. To start, the boat needs wind blowing at an angle of 90° to the line of motion. When moving, the wind flows coming off the boat’s hull are directed onto the sail, combining with the “natural” wind and further accelerating Vestas Sailrocket 2. That is, the faster it moves, the more energy it receives.
Adventures of a Frenchman
Six years ago, in October 2007, Popular Mechanics wrote about the futuristic trimaran l’Hydropt?re, built by the Frenchman Alain Thébault. At that time, “Hydropter” had just appeared in the field of view of journalists and aroused skepticism rather than admiration. But years passed, and Tebo established on his “ the ugly duckling» five world records (four in the nautical mile and one in the 500m), which seemed unbreakable until Larsen came along with his Vestas Sailrocket 2.
L" Hydropt?re is a hydrofoil sailing trimaran. The 6.4 m long wings are fixed at an angle of 45° to the hull and create a very significant lifting force: with a fairly modest wind (about 6.5 m/s), the trimaran is already lifted off surface of the water. If the ship hits a serious wave, gas shock absorbers are activated, “letting go” of the wing, which can move up to 60 cm, taking the energy of the impact.
A nautical mile is a very respectable distance, 1852 m, requiring a record-breaking vehicle sufficient stability. The short 500-meter course opens up the widest field for… kitesurfing. Since the International Sailing Federation officially included kitesurfing as a sailing discipline, athletes who have tamed kites have set six (!) short-distance speed records. However, both l‘Hydroptere and Vestas Sailrocket 2 different times became record holders in this category.
Tebo set his first record back in April 2007 - he covered a nautical mile at an average speed of 41.69 knots (77.21 km/h). It is interesting that the four previous records in this competition were set not on yachts, but on sailing windsurfing boards (the famous Danish windsurfer Bjorn Dunckerbeck, who set three world records for the nautical mile, was especially noteworthy). Subsequently, Tebo improved his performance three times and brought it to 50.17 knots (92.91 km/h) by the fall of 2009, thus becoming the first to exceed the fifty-hundred mark at this distance.
All your eggs in one basket
The main goal that Australian Paul Larsen set for himself was to become a world record holder in both disciplines. Funding for such a project, given the proper quality of the idea, is not so difficult to find - in Larsen’s case, the sponsor was the Danish company Vestas, the world’s largest manufacturer of wind generators. Larsen and a team of engineers set to work - and by 2008 (note that at that time Tebo was also still in its “formation” stage, that is, the French and Australian projects were developing in parallel) the Vestas Sailrocket catamaran was completed. On December 3, 2008, near Walvis Bay, Namibia, Larsen went on his first record swim and had a chance of success. Alas, the lift force exceeded the design one, the sailboat took off, somersaulted in the air and crashed. Larsen was lucky - he did not receive a scratch.
Short-lived record
Interesting story occurred in 2010 in the Namibian port of Lüderitz, where a team of kite surfers set a world record for average speed over 500 meters. Frenchman Sebastien Catellan has just become the world record holder, showing a result of 55.49 knots (102.76 km/h) and becoming the first person in the world to “sail” on a sail of 55 knots. 14 minutes later, fellow American Robert Douglas flew a mile at an average speed of 55.65 knots (103.06 km/h), breaking the record. Thus, Catellan was "on top of the world" in less than a quarter of an hour. To Catellan’s credit, it should be noted that he became a world record holder for the second time.
The finalization of the catamaran took four long years. The laws for building record-breaking sailboats are defined quite clearly: above the water there is a streamlined cockpit and a rigid sail, under water there are wings. Therefore, the main difference between the second generation of Larsen’s “car” both from its predecessor and from competitors such as the “Hydropter” is a different configuration of the hydrofoils. The new Vestas Sailrocket 2 turned out to be very light (275 kg) and quite long (12.2 m), and this time no errors were found.
As a result, on November 16, 2012, Paul Larsen broke Thabo's nautical mile record, showing a result of 55.32 knots (102.44 km/h), and two days later surpassed the 500-meter result of kitesurfer Robert Douglas, racing the distance at a speed of 59.38 knot (109.97 km/h).
The French l'Hydroptere is much more massive than its competitor Vestas Sailrocket 2 (length - 18 m versus 12.2; total sail area - 560 m2 versus only 22), and the crew can accommodate from 5 to 11 people (versus a maximum two).
Larsen did not stop there - on November 18 he improved the mile record, raising the bar to 59.37 knots (109.94 km/h), and on November 24 he finally broke away from his pursuers in the 500-meter race - 65.45 knots (121.06 km /h). Thus, in both nominations Larsen “brought” 10 knots to his closest pursuers. Considering that such records are usually broken by 1-2 knots maximum, the Australian’s achievements are amazing.
Past and future
Since 1972, the 500-meter speed record has been set 24 times, and the first seven times it was set by the same person - Briton Tim Coleman, first on the Crossbow catamaran, then on the Crossbow II. In addition to Coleman's two boats, only three full-fledged vessels became record holders: are these the Hydropt described above? re and Vestas Sailrocket 2, as well as Yellow Pages Endeavor, whose record stood from 1993 to 2004. Seven world records have been set in windsurfing, and another six in kitesurfing.
Speed records for the nautical mile have been recorded relatively recently, since 2003. They were set ten times, four of them by windsurfers. It is difficult to say how long Larsen's records will last. The configuration of his Vestas Sailrocket 2 is known to everyone - it would not be surprising if a number of clones appeared in the coming years. True, with his achievements, the Australian seemed to have knocked out windsurfers and kitesurfers, who had physically exhausted the speed capabilities of their equipment, from the record race.
Vestas Sailrocket 2's 500-meter record is very high compared to all pursuers and therefore has every chance to last at least ten years. We should not forget that for all the genius of the ship’s design, the role good luck The circumstances and weather conditions during the swim can hardly be downplayed. To break a record, you need to try very, very hard - subject to incredible luck.
On the other hand, if anyone can set a new record, it will most likely be Larsen, since he has a “head start” - a ready-made technical scheme of a very high level. If he improves his “car”, he will be able to gradually exceed his achievements - time after time, at least by half a knot, setting new and new world records.
The trimaran Banque Populaire V is designed for long passages - this is immediately evident from its dimensions: length - more than 23 m, displacement - 23 tons. The windage of the record trimaran exceeds 1300 m 2.
Third indicator
A few words still need to be said about the fastest daytime crossings. The last three records in this category were set during swims for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. Today, in both of these categories, the Frenchman Pascal Bidegorry excels on the trimaran Banque Populaire V - on August 1, 2009, he managed to overcome 1681 km in 24 hours (!). In total, Bidegorry's team crossed the Atlantic in 3 days, 15 hours, 25 minutes and 48 seconds.
As already mentioned, ships for long passages are seriously different in design from cars for one-time instant speed races. For example, Banque Populaire V had a crew of 11 people and, accordingly, all the supplies and premises necessary for their three-day journey. By the way, in 2011, the trimaran was taken over by another captain, Loic Peyron, and a year later, under his command, Banque Populaire V set a new record for high-speed circumnavigation, circumnavigating the entire planet in 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes and 53 seconds.
The record race never stops. Nobody knows where the upper limit of speed is, and therefore for many years a person will have something to strive for. You give 70, 80, 90 knots per hour; perhaps someday sailing ships will overcome the 100 knot limit. And at such speeds, they can return to the oceans again, competing with their diesel counterparts.
Sunseeker yacht
When a motor yacht glides across the sea, the impression can be conveyed in one word - breathtaking. And the first thing that catches your eye is the beauty and grace of a woman.
Recently, in many countries, motor and sailing yachts have become more accessible not only to a group of fairly wealthy people, but also to relatively to a wide circle representatives of the so-called “middle class”. Mass creation of relatively inexpensive plastic hulls and other equipment for small yachts 8-12 m long, as well as the ability to take yachts for rent () allowed millions of people to join amateur water sports and sea travel.
But we will limit ourselves to studying the development of the fleet of motor yachts. Steadily growing demand in recent decades has generated increased production small vessels both in states where the creation of pleasure yachts has long been traditional, and in countries that are new to this area.
So, in Italy alone, more than 60 companies are engaged in the construction of motor yachts. Today, the shipyards' portfolios contain about 500 projects of yachts up to 32 m in length, and 41 of them are more than 25 m. The lion's share of these products is exported. A considerable number of medium-tonnage motor yachts are created in shipyards in the USA, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Australia. The development of yacht building in Japan, Spain, Turkey, Egypt and the UAE is also gaining momentum. Along with this, there has been a steady increase in the creation of larger and more expensive motor yachts, the cost of which ranges from 7 to 100 million dollars. Naturally, the purchase of such toys is affordable only for rich people, for whom, as a rule, a yacht becomes a symbol of prestige, a place for business meetings, and a way of profitable investment. material resources- after all, with proper care, and with growing demand, a comfortable yacht can be sold profitably even after 5-8 years of use. In addition, the yacht can be rented through brokerage organizations to partially cover ongoing operating costs.
IN recent years There is a real boom in the choice to create ever larger motor yachts. Of the $6 billion valued today's global powerboat market, the majority comes from yachts more than 45 m long.
Among those under construction, there are about a dozen yachts ranging from 70 to 138 m in length. Such superyachts are designed for 14-28 guests in luxury conditions. There is also a growing fashion for the construction of ocean-going motor yachts 70-80 m long in the Explorer class. These research yachts have a decent cruising range of up to 5 thousand miles and can carry crew boats and even a helicopter on board. As a rule, they are useful not only for long-distance cruising, but also for research work in various areas of the World Ocean.
motor yacht "Lurssen "Queen"
In the production of large motor yachts, the palm is occupied by shipyards such as Luerssen and Abeking&Rasmussen (Germany), the Feadship group (Netherlands), Benetti, Codecasa and Rodriques (Italy), Oceanco ( South Africa), Oceanfast (Australia) and Palmer Johnson (USA). However, modern ones are not characterized only by size. Persistent modernization continues technical characteristics. Lightweight and durable composite materials are being increasingly used for the production of hulls, the power and efficiency of installed power plants is growing, modern propulsors such as partially submerged propellers and are being actively introduced, air conditioning and domestic water supply systems are being improved, consumer qualities and aesthetic properties of room decoration are growing.
speed or comfort of motor yachts?
What about the speed of yachts? This value can vary within very wide limits - from 10 to 80 knots - depending on the purpose, method of operation and size of the yachts, and, of course, on the preferences of the owners. Among small sports class yachts with a length of 10-15 m, especially popular in the USA and Italy, there are many vessels capable of reaching speeds of up to 40 knots, and sometimes much higher. Modern advances in the field of hydraulic engineering are capable of providing such speeds on yachts mass-produced for private use. As a rule, motor yachts of this type are single-hull boats with planing contours and a system of longitudinal and transverse steps, with an open cockpit and power plants that include either two or three powerful outboard motors or Z-shaped rudder propellers.
On such a high-speed yacht it’s nice to rush along the resort coast, delighting spectators, but you can also compete in speed by participating in informal competitions. These ships are usually popular among the wealthiest young people.
However, it is difficult to travel along a long route on high-speed yachts - their seaworthiness and cruising range are limited. IN best case scenario, they are equipped with a small cabin, a bathroom and a mini-galley in the bow below deck. In the USA alone there are more than 20 companies producing yachts this type. Among them we can mention “ Fountain», « Baja Marine», « Hustler», « NorTech», « Donzi Marine" And " Hallet Boats».
motor yacht "Baja Marine"
Among large yachts with a length of 18-25 m and much more comfortable ones with two or three double cabins with individual bathrooms, a cozy common salon and a galley, there is also a subclass of ships capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 knots. Their bodies, as a rule, are made of composite materials, have a lightweight design, and their power plants are twin-shaft with high-speed diesel engines. The owners of such motor yachts are dynamic people who value time. They are impressed by the opportunity with a group of friends to quickly get to a secluded bay or deserted island, located several hundred miles from the quay wall, have a barbecue and swim there, and return home in the evening. Companies such as Sunseeker and Princess (Great Britain), as well as Riva, FIPA Group, Pershing, Alfamarine (Italy) have made particular progress in the construction of yachts of this class.
And yet, the vast majority of modern motor yachts up to 25 m in length have a speed that rarely exceeds 20-25 knots. They are naturally cheaper and more economical to operate. They are used for short-term, fishing or one-day ones. Shipyards in the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, Italy and the USA are engaged in mass production of such yachts.
motor yacht “Riva 92”
motor yacht “Pershing 72”
As for “mega-class” motor yachts, a fairly predictable situation has developed here, in which the most numerous fleet of the lowest size subgroup, and these are yachts with a length of 28 to 36 m, has dozens of units developing maximum speeds of 40-48 knots. Most of all, high-speed vessels of this type include yachts with a dynamic silhouette of a fashionable design. south seas“semi-open” type with an opening roof. Among the modern models of such yachts, we can mention the 46-knot yacht " Predator 95» companies « Sunseeker" or a 40-knot yacht " Mangusta 108» by Overmarine.
motor yacht "Mangusta 108"
motor yacht “Sunseeker Predator 95”
The clients of expensive motor yachts over 40 m in length have a very atypical approach to high speed. The clients of these vessels are, naturally, very respectable people who want to relax in the most comfortable conditions. However, the rich also have their own whims, which can only be satisfied thanks to the latest achievements of technological progress and, naturally, generous financing of projects.
Technical innovations developed at, naturally, interested fans of high speeds, who were able to buy themselves as expensive yachts.
Here are some of the most striking examples. Once, in 1992, the restless billionaire John Staluppi ordered the yacht Moonraker from the Norwegian shipyard Ulstein Eikefjord, which reached a speed of 66.7 knots during sea trials. This record lasted for about 8 years. A significant reduction in the weight of the hull was achieved through the use of composite materials, and the power plant included a gas turbine powered by a medium water jet, while the onboard controlled water jet propulsors were driven by diesel engines.
motor yacht “Fortuna”
In 2000, by order of the King of Spain Juan Carlos, the English designer Donald Blount designed a 41-meter yacht with a combined yacht, designed to achieve a speed of at least 65 knots. The design of the vessel was finalized by the designers of the Spanish shipyard “Izar” in San Fernando, which carried out production yachts, called "Fortuna".
The contoured planing hull has a double chine and is equipped with transom plates to adjust trim when overcoming resistance. In order to minimize weight, the hull is made of aluminum alloy, and the superstructure is made of ultra-light composite materials. The interior of the motor yacht looks very modest - all for the sake of lightening the weight.
A three-shaft gas turbine unit with water-jet propulsion from the KaMeWa company provides the yacht with a speed of about 68 knots. Now Fortuna is the private yacht of the King of Spain, he can personally manage it at sea. For the safety of the monarch and his guests, the walls of the superstructures and all glazing are made of bulletproof materials.
motor yacht "Wally 118"
Another yacht for the title " the fastest yacht in the world"was built in Italy in 2009 at the Intermarine shipyard according to the design of the Wally company. Motor yacht The 36 m long Wally 118 can reach speeds of over 70 knots with a total power plant power of 17,000 hp. Designed under the direction of Luca Bassani, the yacht has a completely atypical “militarized” silhouette. The avant-garde interiors are also original. Tinted glass and sliding ceiling structures are widely used. The cost of this yacht is estimated at 17.3 million dollars.
Designer Frank Mulder once said: “ People have always loved speed. All that is needed to create high-speed yachts is technological capabilities and money..." Note that they are very large. Indeed, to increase the speed of, for example, a 40-meter yacht from 20 to 40 knots, the cost of a propulsion system increases approximately four times, and the total cost of the yacht increases by more than a third.
WIND DRIVING FORCE
The NASA website has published very interesting materials about various factors influencing the formation of lift by an aircraft wing. There are also interactive graphical models that demonstrate that lift can also be generated by a symmetrical wing due to flow deflection.
The sail, being at an angle to the air flow, deflects it (Fig. 1d). Coming through the “upper”, leeward side of the sail, air flow travels a longer path and, in accordance with the principle of continuity of flow, moves faster than on the windward, “lower” side. The result is that the pressure on the leeward side of the sail is less than on the windward side.
When sailing on a jibe, when the sail is set perpendicular to the direction of the wind, the degree of increase in pressure on the windward side is greater than the degree of decrease in pressure on the leeward side, in other words, the wind pushes the yacht more than it pulls. As the yacht turns sharper into the wind, this ratio will change. Thus, if the wind is blowing perpendicular to the yacht's course, increasing the pressure on the sail on the windward side has less effect on speed than decreasing the pressure on the leeward side. In other words, the sail pulls the yacht more than it pushes.
The movement of the yacht occurs due to the fact that the wind interacts with the sail. Analysis of this interaction leads to unexpected results for many beginners. It turns out that the maximum speed is achieved not at all when the wind is blowing directly from behind, and the wish for a “fair wind” carries a completely unexpected meaning.
Both the sail and the keel, when interacting with the flow of air or water, respectively, create lift, therefore, to optimize their operation, wing theory can be applied.
WIND DRIVING FORCE
The air flow has kinetic energy and, interacting with the sails, is capable of moving the yacht. The work of both the sail and the airplane wing is described by Bernoulli's law, according to which an increase in flow speed leads to a decrease in pressure. When moving in the air, the wing divides the flow. Part of it goes around the wing from above, part from below. An airplane wing is designed so that the air flow over the top of the wing moves faster than the air flow under the bottom of the wing. The result is that the pressure above the wing is much lower than below. The pressure difference is the lifting force of the wing (Fig. 1a). Thanks to its complex shape, the wing is capable of generating lift even when cutting through a flow that moves parallel to the plane of the wing.
The sail can move the yacht only if it is at a certain angle to the flow and deflects it. It remains debatable how much of the lift is due to the Bernoulli effect and how much is the result of flow deflection. According to classical wing theory, lift arises solely as a result of the difference in flow velocities above and below an asymmetrical wing. At the same time, it is well known that a symmetrical wing is capable of creating lift if installed at a certain angle to the flow (Fig. 1b). In both cases, the angle between the line connecting the front and rear points of the wing and the direction of flow is called the angle of attack.
Lift increases with increasing angle of attack, but this relationship only works at small values of this angle. As soon as the angle of attack exceeds a certain critical level and the flow stalls, numerous vortices are formed on the upper surface of the wing, and the lift force decreases sharply (Fig. 1c).
Yachtsmen know that gybe is not the fastest course. If the wind of the same strength blows at an angle of 90 degrees to the heading, the yacht moves much faster. On a jibe course, the force with which the wind presses on the sail depends on the speed of the yacht. With maximum force, the wind presses on the sail of a yacht standing motionless (Fig. 2a). As speed increases, the pressure on the sail drops and becomes minimal when the yacht reaches maximum speed (Fig. 2b). The maximum speed on a gybe course is always less than the wind speed. There are several reasons for this: firstly, friction; during any movement, some part of the energy is spent on overcoming various forces that impede movement. But the main thing is that the force with which the wind presses on the sail is proportional to the square of the speed of the apparent wind, and the speed of the apparent wind on a gybe course is equal to the difference between the speed of the true wind and the speed of the yacht.
With a gulfwind course (at 90º to the wind), sailing yachts are able to move faster than the wind. In this article, we will not discuss the features of the apparent wind; we will only note that on a gulfwind course, the force with which the wind presses on the sails depends to a lesser extent on the speed of the yacht (Fig. 2c).
The main factor that prevents an increase in speed is friction. Therefore, sailboats with little resistance to movement are able to reach speeds much higher than the speed of the wind, but not on a gybe course. For example, a boat, due to the fact that skates have negligible sliding resistance, is capable of accelerating to a speed of 150 km/h with a wind speed of 50 km/h or even less.
The Physics of Sailing Explained: An Introduction
ISBN 1574091700, 9781574091700