Wouldn't this be a blast!

[Joe]

Mini Fastnet....... 21 footers compete in 500-600 nm ocean races. These are NOT displacement hull vessels.
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=84879 Yes, that is Jessica Watson steering.

 

[kloudie1]

What a hoot !!! sailed on a similar sized boat back in the 80's in Mobile Bay (not as fast as these dagger board speeders) .. A custom design by Lee Creekmore that was built to win local races.. and it did a few !! Had a steerable bulb keel that could be angled underway as appropriate.. She was affectionately known as "Mudhead" because of the "learning experiences" that resulted in the mast head being embedded in the muddy shallow bottom of the bay !! She was quite a handfull but a joy when planing along..

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I'm impressed by the wake of that boat ... it looks nice enough to ski slalom behind her. I wonder what the speed is in that photo ...

 

[Joe]

I'm impressed by the wake of that boat ... it looks nice enough to ski slalom behind her. I wonder what the speed is in that photo ...

Well... I can say that it's probably exceeding "theoretical hull speed" heh, heh.

These boats are so cool... I want one....maybe not... read this promo for the forthcoming Mini 6.5 meter transatlantic race. Yikes. http://www.minitransat650.com/html/promo.html

As far as speed..... here's an excerpt from the log of a Mini Fastnet competetor:

Day 4: Fastnet - Ile de Ouessant (240 miles)
Wednesday afternoon we finally pass the Fastnet Rock after 3 days upwind beating. It is a huge relieve that we can finally fly the kite. We are now in third position with the second boat 100 meters in front of us and the leading series boat half an hour in front. The wind is now steadily increasing and at sunset we got 30 knots of wind. So perfect conditions to surf back at to Douarnenez in a straight line. These are exactly the conditions the boats are designed for. We hoist the small kite and attain regularly top speeds of 16-17 knots. The remaining miles to the finish are rapidly decreasing and we pass a lot of top lights in front of us.
During the night both of us stay on deck, one steering the other after the helmsman with the spinnaker sheet at reach for emergency situations. Every hour we change positions to keep concentrated. In the early morning hours we do have a difficult time due to sleep deprivation. It is a strange experience to surf over the water at 16 knots almost falling asleep during a couple of seconds and waking up by the splashing water. It is a miracle we did not have single broach during the night thanks to the incredible stability of the Pogo2.
At the finish we learn that that night 5 boats dismasted. Fortunately there were no injuries and all boats arrived in Douarnenez under jury rig.

Here's one on the trailor...

 

[Scott T-Bird]

Test of stamina apparently ... Jessica Watson is out there to make a name for herself, that's for sure. Her sailing resume is getting to be pretty impressive!