A while ago the question was raised whether the 30kt alpha or hour would go first.The Alpha went first and it looks like we will soon see the 30kt hour ( maybe even a team average>30kt hr)
What is the next huge milestone?

I was going to suggest the 50 knot team 2 sec, but I just checked. Those dutchies have been at it again...

gpsteamchallenge.com.au/sailor_session/show?team=67&date=2012-01-03

Year rankings are only available to gold members
www.gps-speedsurfing.com/default.aspx?mnu=rankings

Next in GPS world should be an attempt to quantify the state of the water. We still see a video like that in the other post. www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Gps/One-Design-Speed-sailing/

and have no idea how good the guys really are. Nobody could guess how fast they would have gone in similar conditions. The chop looks bad but without quantification no one knows for sure. It took the BOM about a century but it now adds a windchill factor to its temperature readings. It's a rough indicator added to a precise reading but it's better than nothing.

Iphones now come with an accelerometer. An accelerometer could be packed into a gps. For a consistent response you'd have to mount the unit between the footstraps. Board width, rider weight, board speed, rider skill would all affect the response of the device but we'd learn to allow for that.

A bit of clever software should produce a graph like this with each run



In this example the maximum wave energy is at 0.7 hz in a direction directly downwind. Your run back up wind at an approximately orthogonal angle should provide the information to plot the 3 dimensional details.

http://metronu.ulb.ac.be/imacs/lausanne/SP/180-4.pdf

The problem with measuring water state is that the good guys make chop appear to be flat.
We had Chris Lockwood over here in January at our best speed spot (lake Clearwater).
It didn't seem flat to us locals but he made it look flat and went 3kts faster than our best local on the day (Dan Willemse).
Looking at his data in gpsar versus ours, his acceleration graphs are a lot more regular.
Ours look like we're in chop.
So he's either got an unusually smooth board (probably) or he's much more tuned into the conditions (highly likely).
I reckon guys like him would confound your data.

dont feel bad about he does the same to us over here.
chris makes chop look like he is sailing on flat water

Te Hau said...

The problem with measuring water state is that the good guys make chop appear to be flat.
We had Chris Lockwood over here in January at our best speed spot (lake Clearwater).
It didn't seem flat to us locals but he made it look flat and went 3kts faster than our best local on the day (Dan Willemse).
Looking at his data in gpsar versus ours, his acceleration graphs are a lot more regular.
Ours look like we're in chop.
So he's either got an unusually smooth board (probably) or he's much more tuned into the conditions (highly likely).
I reckon guys like him would confound your data.

remo81 said...

slowboat said...


The next big thing in GPS at the pointy end will be bagging 50 in one of the more significant categories- like 100m, 250, 500m, and 5x10.

MR Boat has a point. What about getting rid of Hr and Km and replacing it with something that matters like 100m and 500m????

Dude whatever you do don't say your bored, they'll have your nuts

I think the reason the short distances aren't in the Gtc, is the gps problem of not being able to measure them exactly. The GT's only measure once a second, at 40kts that's a distance of 20metres.
so you could have anywhere between 90 and 110 metres.

That's why time has been the main unit, and the 5X10 gives a good indication of consistent ability.

Although hardie proposed the idea of an online gps team challenge. From memory most of the Aus speed sailing community had an input into it's format, don't think any one place/state can claim it.

Dead right Hardie, inclusive...don't change a thing. Great competition !

Re 55 kts..... coming soon if you can get those Dutchies to try a fin.
They sail the same gear and the same old draggy barn door fin all the time, and get the same top speed time after time. Getting boring.
Need a bit of imagination from those guys since they have the perfect conditions. Can't believe they haven't been tempted to try an assy yet.