Are you interested in racing your sailboat next summer in an electric sailboat race. The race would start in Santa Barbara and circumnavigate Santa Cruz Island and then end in Santa Barbara. The racers would be required to anchor at Santa Cruz island for 36 hours before returning to Santa Barbara. (Santa Cruz Island is so beautiful it would be a shame not to have some fun over there) We would find a way to document time in and time out of anchorage..(
Racers would be able to use their electric motors as much as they would like though their could be a penalty for depleted battery banks. The boats could be any length, have any size motor, battery bank or solar or wind generation. The only requirement would be no fossil fuels are allowed for propulsion purposes. Classes would eventually be formed for like size boats.
The fundamental reason for few rules is to drive the technology to create the fastest, most practical electric boat.
Imagine the job of the tactician for a moment. Should you use the electric motor to round a mark? How many batteries will you want on board? Can you afford Lithium Iron Batteries? If its blowing hard should you keep the sails up and regenerate? Perhaps a little zero thrust feathering of the propellor on a downwind leg? Don't forget to tack the solar array to keep the panels facing the sun.
The race would be intellectually challenging beyond the norm of sailboat racing. It would be a race that took into account all of the natural energy sources available, not just the wind on your sails.
I envision a fun regatta of like minded electric boaters. I would like to take the proposal to the Santa Barbara Yacht Club so they may assign a date for the regatta sometime in July or August of next year.
Racers with previous experience setting up a race like this would be welcome for the organization committee. All ideas are welcome. At this stage nothing is written in stone... just post up your comments and lets plan a great electric sailboat race!
Please email your interest to me at james@toolboat.
I will be electric-sailing my Catalina 30, Kapowai and of course will want to win the race, just like all of the rest of you!
Hope to see you at Santa Cruz Island next summer for the ultimate sailboat race!
James Lambden
Above the Waterline
Keep up to date with this race at:
http://www.propulsi
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
No comments:
Post a Comment