Phil Robertson has unpacked the moment the Canada F50 hit a new SailGP speed record of 101.98 km/h while testing the league’s in-development T-Foils in San Francisco.
The T-Foils tests took place after Season 4’s Championship-deciding Grand Final, superseding France’s previous race record of 99.94 km/h.
The tests took place in 30-35 km/h of wind across three days, with the 24m wing used on the first day. The configuration was swapped to the 18m wing on the remaining two days to ‘reduce drag and get more top end speeds’, Robertson said.
Speaking about the new speed record, Robertson revealed that ‘it didn’t take long to click over 100 km/h’, adding the F50 began ‘shaking at this speed’. “It felt a bit wild and loose on the first speed run, but we found more control with time,” he said.
The third day of testing saw the team attempt longer speed runs on flatter water by ‘slowly bearing to the fastest [true wing] angle’ before ‘holding at this angle as long as we dared’.
The result was a 10 second period where the boat averaged 99.71 km/h, Robertson said, but added the team ‘wasn’t trying very hard to keep it there’.
Constructed from machined titanium and carbon, the T-Foils have thinner sections than the current L-Foils, allowing them to delay the onset of cavitation by around 11 km/h / 6 knots.
Cavitation is the phenomenon which sees the water boil - or vaporize - around the thickest part of the foil at high speeds. This results in a loss of control on board and increases the risk of nosedives and crashes.
However, Robertson revealed the new T-Foils delivered in delaying the onset of cavitation. “We felt really in control - cavitation was coming and going, but what was evident is everything cavitates a lot later.”
Looking ahead to the fleet wide roll out of the new T-Foils, Robertson said ‘the game is certainly going to change’.
“Speed-wise, the averages will go up, which means sailors will need to make decisions faster with closing speeds dramatically increasing,” he said. Specifically, he said the increase in ‘grip and control’ will be a ‘welcome change’ to the ‘newer and less experienced flight controllers’.
He estimated reaching speeds to ‘increase’, with boats on the bear away hitting 100 km/h as ‘standard’ in over 30 km/h. “Going round the bottom mark round up at 90 km/h is going to be a new experience for everyone.”