Ketch proves speed in trials

Press, 4 March 1989, Page 8

Ketch proves speed in trials

By

PHILIP WORTHINGTON,

on Steinlager 2 off Banks Peninsula Steinlager 2, the maxi ketch Peter Blake will skipper in the 19891990 Whitbread Round the World Race, looks fast. The slightly flared bow, flush deck, towering mast and tucked-up counter stern hint at speed. Blake and his 14man crew will bring Steinlager 2 into Lyttelton at 8 a.m. today for a two-day port visit. It will be a break from extensive sea trials and sail evaluation.

The 25.6 m (84ft) ketch will be open to the public this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon.

The port visits are combined with the sea trials as part of a promotional campaign — an obligation to the sponsors.

Crowds at Tauranga, Napier, Wellington and Nelson have already been aboard Steinlager 2 to meet Blake and his crew and see the craft they will race 33,000 miles round the world.

After Lyttelton, Steinlager 2 will visit Timaru, Port Chalmers and Bluff. On the sea trials full race watches are stood and the amount of work is the same as during the race for which Steinlager 2 has been built. Part of the reason is the continuous evaluation of sail combinations. Steinlager 2 has more than two dozen sail’s aboard and the two masts of the ketch rig allow many variations.

Each change is closely monitored and logged to a network of electronic sensors and on-board computer. Readings, such as wind speed, wind angles, boat speed, sea conditions, sail settings and even strain on the rigging, are all computed and reduced to one factor — efficiency.

The calculation is retained and can be produced almost instantly whenever the same or similar conditions are met. It is a simple matter then to know what sail combination should be used and what speed and heading are obtainable.