Yesterday, we posted about a head to head race between trimarans Sodebo and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild/Gitana 17 attempting to win the Jules Verne Trophy. While the race for the trophy is against the clock, the two boats that sailed within hours of each other, sailing what amounted to a Maxi-match race, added a novel element to their attempt to beat the existing speed record for voyaging around the world under sail. The match race, however, between the maxi-tris has ended.
After three days at sea, the attempt by the crew of the foiling trimaran Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been interrupted by a high-speed collision with a UFO (an Unidentified Floating Object.) The trimaran is returning to port for repairs, intending to restart the race once the repairs are completed and a favorable weather window presents itself.
Coincidentally, the current Jules Verne Trophy record holder, Francis Joyon and his crew sailing IDEC Sport, interrupted their attempt on the same day in 2016 after sailing into unfavorable winds in the doldrums. They restarted their attempt 19 days later, setting the current record of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes 30 seconds.
Sail-world.com describes the collision: On Thursday afternoon, whilst slipping along downwind at over 30 knots between the Azores and Madeira, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild hits a UFO (Unidentified Floating Object). The impact is violent, immediately causing the 32-metre giant to slow. Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier’s crew alerts the shore team and begins its investigations. The effect of the impact on the rudder of the port float and more precisely its trim tab, has caused a piece of the steering system to break.
After deciding to turn back, the crew of the Edmond de Rothschild also discovered damage to the port foil, confirming their decision to return to port for repairs.
The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in flight: power and stability
My only concern? The boat appears to make alot of noise. Sailboats are normally quiet. These appear to howl when under sail. I cant help but wonder what noise is being generated in the water. The UFO? Could have been a marine mamal that came up to see what the noise was?
The crew has no way to tell if they had hit something living. By the time that boat comes to a stop, it will probably gone at least 300 yard from the point of impact. Generally a creature that gets attacked will leave the area. I am not of Greenpeace or save the dolphins movement. Yet if a dolphin were to try and ride the pressure wave? I dont know where to take this further. Some one help me out here.
Let me address the fear that some of the Unidentified Floating Objects boats with foils flying above water may encounter, and why one should not be afraid of it.
Technological progress is important: it is the essence of humanity and gave birth to it through a process of artificially natural self-selection. In particular present humanity, with 7.8 billion individuals, using the technologies it had to use to get to its present situation, has put spaceship Earth on an unsustainable course.
There are two ways out of this: either a spectacular regression, through war, famine and collapse, or a spectacular progress into new technologies which will make our integration with the biosphere sustainable again.
Sailing technology and flying above water could be technologies of the future even for the most massive transport of goods and people. The latter essential activity creates much of the world’s pollution as it is, and it is therefore essential to reduce it. The impact on sea mammals could probably be reduced precisely because the foils make noise, and should warn sea creatures. Maybe studies could be made to generate a clearer warning, or maybe collisions are mostly with man-made oceanic debris, and that, per se, should be an important object of study leading to diminution thereof.
Other ships collide with sea creatures, but nobody cares as the ships are too large to be affected by the collisions. Hence the travails of maxi-trimarans with UFOs attract attention to this problem, which has been so far ignored. Efforts to avoid collisions, necessary for the maxi flying trimarans, could then lead to reducing collisions and pollutants in the high seas, both laudable objectives. So let’s celebrate the efforts to fly on boats around the world in less than 40 days! Such efforts are not just technological and even scientific prowesses, but also economic and moral prowesses!
As I understand it certain waterways in North America have speed limits for commercial vessels to reduce the number of impacts with whales and vessels can be fined for inappropriate passages.
We certainly need more information about UFO incidents, maybe cameras can be installed in the leading edges of keels, foils and rudders to help analyse strikes.