NOVEMBER 2001 SPEED TRIALS

Ivanpah Drylake, Southern Nevada THANKSGIVING WEEK, NOVEMBER 19 - 24 (with racing from November 23 to 24)

Report from Bob Dill

With three days of wind this was one of the best speed trials in recent memory. As usual, it was an informal affair with a lot of sailing and a couple hours of speed trials each day. On Thursday the wind stayed around 20 for most of the day. During speed trials it ranged from 18 to 24. Dennis Bassano (US2000) got the Green Machine to 71.6 mph with his Class 5 sail. On Friday, the wind stayed in the upper teens for most of the day. During Friday's speed trials it ranged from 15 to 19. Tye Bayless was the fastest at 65.2 with his class 3 sail. My best guess on boat speed to wind speed ratio for the most efficient boats is a little better than 4:1. This estimate is based on the average over many runs. The best efficiencies are in moderate winds. Most boats had maximum efficiencies of around 3:1. On Saturday, with a storm bearing down on us, the winds to 28 to 35 mph. Bob Schumacher and Larry Hatch put a couple of Manta Twins to the test with Larry getting 56.9, beating Bobıs best recorded speed by 0.9 mph. The big boats were planning to stay in port in the big wind until Paul Ackerman went out with a GPS taped to his Friendship with his Class 4 sail. He got to 73 mph. This convinced Dennis and Tye to give it a go. Dennis got to 78.8 before retiring after breaking his second steering cable of the weekend. Tye came in a little later with an 82.1 with his Class 5 sail. Upon hearing this, Dennis came out of retirement with a repaired steering system and got to the events top speed of 83.6. Paul went back out with his Class 5 sail and spend considerable time trying to improve his speed and got to 73.7. The rains were rolling over the mountains west of the lake by 3:00. By 3:30 we were all under Kent Hatchıs motor home awning in the parking lot at Primm handing out awards. The Awards for this year were: Class 2: Wally Hall, Ice Flyer: 55.3 mph Class 3 : Tye Bayless, US1501: 70.9mph Class 4: Paul Ackerman, Friendship 73.0mph Class 5: Dennis Bassano, US2000: 83.5mph Class 6: Terry Fulbright, Zest 61.5mph Classic: Dan St Lewis, TwinStar: 48.9mph Five Square: Larry Hatch, Fed 5: 54. mph Manta Twin: Larry Hatch, 56.9mph.

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