Posts Tagged ‘powerboat’

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20 years on, and still a world record

Wednesday, March 24th, 2021

In an age when records come and go almost at the blink of an eye, it might come as a surprise to know that the official world record for a powerboat transatlantic has stood unchallenged for 20 years. After all, isn’t this the same record that was challenged by the likes of Richard Branson’s “Virgin Atlantic Challenger II” in 1986, or the Aga Khan’s gas turbine-powered “Destriero” in 1992? Well, not quite. Both boats produced impressive times, but neither operated under the rules of the international governing body of powerboating – the UIM (Union Internationale Motonautique).

At the time, the official route for a powerboat transatlantic was New York to Bishop’s Rock in the Scillies, which was indeed the route Branson’s boat took. Except he refuelled at sea, which is forbidden under UIM rules. And while “Destriero” produced impressively fast non-stop crossings in both directions, they weren’t registered with the UIM as record attempts (they were more interested in claiming the Blue Riband, and they failed to meet the rules for that, too.) It all became somewhat academic in 2000, when the UIM changed the finishing post for official powerboat transatlantics from Bishop’s Rock to Lizard Point, at the tip of the Cornish mainland.

It just so happened that “Spirit of Cardiff,” fresh from breaking the fastest port to port record set by the round the world record-holder “Cable & Wireless Adventurer” (Gibraltar to Monaco, October 2000), was being prepared to attack Adventurer’s final two port to port records from New York to the Azores, and Azores to Gibraltar in the spring of 2001. But with the newly changed finishing post for an official powerboat transatlantic, the board had been swept clean. By continuing from Gibraltar to Lizard Point, “Spirit of Cardiff” would be able to claim the official world record, albeit via a somewhat dogleg route.

Things didn’t go quite to plan, but “Spirit of Cardiff” did indeed complete the first official world record transatlantic under the new UIM rules in May 2001 with a time of 248 hours 47 minutes, and the record has stood unchallenged ever since. That transatlantic was the last big trip “Spirit of Cardiff” made before her attempt on the round the world record in 2002. In recognition of holding a major world record for 20 years, “Spirit of Cardiff” transatlantic record-holders Alan Priddy, Jan Falkowski, Steve Lloyd and Clive Tully will be appearing in a series of “On this day” posts on Team Britannia’s Facebook page, including many previously unpublished photos. The story is taken up as “Spirit of Cardiff” is established in New York prior to several weeks of promotion, touring ports along the eastern seaboard of the USA.

“On this day in 2001 – retracing Spirit of Cardiff’s record-setting transatlantic” will commence with its first post on 29th March 2021.

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Introduction to a boating career

Thursday, May 2nd, 2019

It was 20 years ago this month that I first met Alan Priddy. Little did I know at the time that I would end up circumnavigating the world with him in his powerboat Spirit of Cardiff, or more recently help him found Team Britannia – another British attempt on the UIM round the world powerboat record. The catalyst was actually the previous summer, in 1998. I’d badly sprained an ankle on a three week trek in Kazakhstan, to the point that I was unable to do any serious walking for the next year.

Fearing I was about to lose a large proportion of my income, I started writing about more sedate things, but with watery pursuits as my little outdoor action fix. So I did a day learning to sail with the RYA on Hayling Island, a feature written for the Sunday Express. Apart from discovering the difference between a tack and a gybe, I also spotted Olympic hopefuls Iain Percy and Shirley Robertson training with the British sailing team. They both went on to win gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Somehow amidst all of the watersports activities I was introduced to the PR for Yamaha Motors UK, who had just supplied an engine and outdrive to Portsmouth-based expedition powerboater Alan Priddy to drive his newly built Rigid Inflatable powerboat Spirit of Portsmouth, purpose built to attempt the round the world record.

“Alan’s looking for a journalist to go out on the boat to do a story,” I was told. When I phoned him up, the initial idea was that I would join him for a short trip in the boat – just enough to get a flavour of it. My mistake was to ask if I could spend a night on board – I thought that way I’d get a better appreciation of what it would feel like when they attempted the big trip.

“If you can spare a few nights,” Alan told me, “you can join us when we attempt to set the first ever record for powerboating around the British Isles.” It was a bit like a cash register going off in my head. I’d gone from a short trip which would probably make an interesting story for an inflight magazine to something which would get me national newspaper and radio commissions.

Having agreed to take part in a world record attempt, I thought it would be a good idea to meet Alan before the trip itself, and so it was that I joined him in Portsmouth Guildhall for Spirit of Portsmouth’s official naming ceremony, a lavish affair with the mayor and other local diginitaries, along with people from the marine world. The boat made an impressive entrance, too, towed on her trailer in front of the Guildhall by a brewery dray horse.

My first trip out on Spirit took place the following month, and we made headline news when not much more than 12 hours into the trip we collided with an unseen obstacle off Lizard Point which disabled the boat, ending up with us being towed into Falmouth by RNLI lifeboat. You could say it was a baptism of fire, and I passed the test. A lot more followed, not least the boat’s name being changed to Spirit of Cardiff, all of which you can read about in Confronting Poseidon. Click here or on the ad opposite to download your copy.

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100 walks later

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

While I’ve been Camping magazine’s lightweight camping equipment expert for the last 20 years, since 2010, I’ve also devised a weekend backpacking walk for every issue, which has always made a very nice double page spread. As the editor told me recently – knowledgeable yet accessible. But increasing demands on my time have led me to decide to call it a day on the monthly walk.

The June issue (on sale May) will be the last to feature one of my weekend walks, and while it is purely a coincidence, that last walk will be number 100! I’d originally planned this in order to free up some time to spend on the Spirit of Cardiff documentary which I’m making, but some very exciting developments with Team Britannia‘s round the world powerboat project are also about to happen, and they have already soaked up some of my spare time.

I’ll still be reviewing lightweight tents and outdoors clothing and equipment in Camping, but the walks won’t be forgotten. With 100 weekend walks spread across the country, I’m already thinking that at some point they’ll enjoy a second lease of life either in a print or electronic book. In the meantime, there’s a big red boat to get into the water, and the time is coming close!

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Britain by Boat

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

Even before she has been launched, Team Britannia‘s round the world powerboat Excalibur is attracting celebrities. Last year it was TV adventure star and Chief Scout Bear Grylls.

This year – and we’ve had to keep it secret until the programme was about to air – it was telly icons John Sergeant and Michael Buerk. They visited the boatyard during the summer before the boat’s big turn round, spending a day filming with Team Britannia boss Alan Priddy. The series “Britain by Boat” will air on Channel 5 on Fridays at 8 pm, following Messrs Buerk and Sergeant as they sail around Britain in a 50 ft yacht, stopping off at places of interest along the way.

Their visit to the Solent didn’t feature just Excalibur, as they also visited the boatyard next door, where volunteers were busy restoring Sir Alec Rose’s historic round the world yacht Lively Lady. Since then, Lively Lady has gone back into the water, and the restoration team has been honoured by National Historic Ships UK with the Marsh Volunteer Award for Historic Vessel Conservation 2018.

Watch “Britain by Boat” episode two – the Team Britannia segment begins at 06:20.

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Closer to launching

Saturday, July 7th, 2018

The last month has seen significant progress with Team Britannia‘s round the world powerboat Excalibur. Not only are the engines in place, but we’ve had a trial fitting of one of the jets in order to get precise measurements for the way they fit to the transom. And the complex skeleton of aluminium framework, exposed for so long, is now hidden from view with all the deck plates having been welded into place. The 3/4 inch plywood floor has been fitted in the wheelhouse, which is also taking shape, so there is now no longer an uninterrupted view from bow to stern. The upper section incorporating roof and flybridge has already been fabricated, and will be lifted into place very soon.

What hasn’t been shown photographically is the system of pipes and pumps interconnecting the six huge fuel tanks. Apart from delivering fuel to the engine room ready to be mixed with the Clean Fuel emulsifier and water, there’s another purpose. The attitude of a powerboat in the water is generally controlled by trim tabs acting as trailing edge flaps on the underside of the hull at the stern. They work well, but in so doing, they introduce extra drag. Excalibur will be trimmed rather the way Concorde was in flight, by pumping fuel from one tank to another to distribute the weight.

We also hosted our first public open day on 30th June, when around 150 people visited the boatyard, some travelling from as far away as Scotland. They included partners and supporters, enjoying a close-up look at the boat and chatting to members of the crew, all in glorious sunshine, with the barbecue and bar kept pretty busy throughout. We were delighted to welcome Portsmouth North MP and Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt, and the media were there too, including Portsmouth News, Express FM and That’s Solent News.

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Top calibre Excalibur

Saturday, June 2nd, 2018

As construction of Team Britannia’s round the world powerboat Excalibur approaches its final stages, here are some of the technical questions which have cropped up recently from social media followers.

State of the art round the world sailing yachts are made from carbon fibre composite. So why not Excalibur? We’ve had a strong eco theme running all the way through the project, and for that reason, we couldn’t consider carbon fibre. Light and strong it may be, but in some quarters it’s regarded as the next asbestos time bomb. It simply isn’t an environmentally friendly material – there’s no responsible way of disposing of it once it’s done with. Excalibur, on the other hand, is not only made from recycled aluminium, but in the event that she’s ever scrapped, over 90% of the boat will be recyclable.

The way she’s been put together is also worthy of note. We’ve used pulsed MIG (Metal Inert Gas), an efficient form of welding which provides a neat strong weld, and is particularly favoured for welding thinner aluminium plate, where the problem of warping and burnthrough would otherwise be a risk. Unlike other forms of welding, there is no spatter which has to be cleaned up afterwards, and it’s also favoured where the welder is operating in a confined space.

One of the great advantages of working in aluminium is the way bits can be added and removed to assist with the construction process. An early example of this would be the extra lugs welded on fore and aft to allow the boat to be turned over from its initial state upside down. With the installation of the six fuel tanks and retaining beams which will also support the wheelhouse floor, the top parts of the original frames in the wheelhouse area have now been removed. And with the FPT engines bolted in, you might wonder too how major servicing or replacement would take place, as the photos show the tops of the frames in the way. Here, too, when the transom is in position, the ceiling of the engine room will be remodelled to allow for a bolt-down hatch which can be unsealed if we need to lift anything in and out. Why did the engines go in first? Simply because it’s a lot easier sliding them in from the back rather than craning them in from above!

The boat has been built to conform to a whole raft of codings, verified at every stage of construction by an independent inspector. Excalibur won’t just be A1 – Lloyds of London’s highest shipbuilding quality – but well in excess!

With the installation of our two FPT diesel engines, some have questioned whether they have the power to push a boat of over 50 tons through the water. But having to run passages of over 3,500 nautical miles, the focus is not on brute force, but maintaining a modest average overall speed. This means that when the boat leaves each port fully fuelled, its initial speed will be quite slow. Then as the fuel burns off and the weight reduces, so the boat picks up speed. More powerful engines wouldn’t necessarily add much to our overall average speed, but could burn significantly more fuel.

Apart from a fuel-saving hull design, we have the most efficient power transmission, with the FPT engines coupled directly to our Castoldi jet drives with no intermediary gearboxes. The final piece of the jigsaw comes with our use of Clean Fuel, the diesel, water and emulsifier mixing process which will not only extend the boat’s range, but power it without emitting any of the pollutants normally associated with diesel engines.

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Light at the end of the tunnel

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2018

Yesterday saw Team Britannia boss Alan Priddy talking technical stuff at ABC Marine on Hayling Island. They always knew that the mooring posts and cleats for the boat would have to be immensely strong, but just as importantly, they had to be sited in the correct positions.

Whilst crunching the numbers on this, they also ascertained the kind of stresses on the deck likely to be encountered in the extreme event of what is known in the boating world as “stuffing” – where the boat ploughs into a wave at speed. One hopes this isn’t too often, but it happens! On the round the world powerboat Spirit of Cardiff, the most impressive stuffs resulted in broken windscreens! While Excalibur has already been designed to withstand everything that can be imagined, they decided to add some extra upright bars between the keel and deck to provide additional bracing in the event of a full stuff, which could see as much as 100 tons of water on top.

They’ve decided too that the cabin floor will be made from 3/4 inch plywood, with substantial aluminium bracing underneath. With all six 6,000 litre fuel tanks and all the bulkheads in place, they’ve started attaching the deck panels, and the wheelhouse – already assembled – will soon be craned into place and welded on. If that isn’t exciting enough, I can also report that the engines are booked up to be installed in the first week of June. We’ve been down an extremely long tunnel, but the light at the end is now getting very close…

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Progress at the boatyard

Sunday, April 22nd, 2018

This photo of Team Britannia‘s round the world powerboat Excalibur caused a bit of a stir when it first appeared on Facebook. Was it Halloween? Evidence of Excalibur’s sharp edge? In fact it’s a special red dye used by our boatbuilders to check the quality of the welds, here along the position of two bulkheads.

And while the views inside the hull, steadily filling up with fuel tanks and bulkheads, look impressive, this above-deck shot with crew member Steve Mason standing through the deck on top of one of the forward fuel tanks conveys the real scale of the boat. It’s going to look even bigger when the wheelhouse and inflatable tubes are in place!

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Tanks for the memory

Wednesday, April 18th, 2018

The first full week of resumed work at the Hayling Island boatyard building Team Britannia‘s round the world powerboat Excalibur produced some pretty impressive progress. First a bulkhead was welded into position, then the two forward fuel tanks, 6,000 litres capacity each, were manhandled into place and secured on beds of high-density rubber.

With the tanks in the bow, another bulkhead was welded behind them, followed by another further back, separating the main cabin area from the six-berth forward sleeping area. The main cabin area will actually be above the remaining four fuel tanks to go in – it will all make rather more sense when the already completed wheelhouse is welded into place on top of the hull.

And even as our ace welders from Latvia and Russia continue to work in confined spaces inside the boat, Team Britannia project leader and skipper Alan Priddy has concluded a deal with Technifast, a company manufacturing special mechanical fixings which will attach Excalibur’s enormous inflatable tubes around the sides of the boat.

At the current rate of progress, we’re hoping the boat will be in the water by late June or early July, at which point sea trials will begin, with one or two smaller world record runs before we base Excalibur in Gibraltar ready to tackle the big trip around the world.

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Going to the movies

Friday, February 23rd, 2018

Last weekend saw me celebrate a birthday which some might regard as “significant.” Having survived quite a few close shaves over the years, I’m inclined to think that every birthday is significant!

But it has led me to think about one or two changes, including starting a long overdue project – making a movie about my first attempt to break the record for circumnavigating the world by powerboat, which took place in 2002. It produced at the time a highly acclaimed book, “Confronting Poseidon,” and I shot a lot of video which was turned into short TV documentaries as well as news output. But TV producers have different priorities when they’re making a programme, and I wasn’t really happy with any of them.

So the plan, once I’ve transferred about 20 hours of video from MiniDV tapes on to a new computer, is to turn them into a full-length feature documentary. I recently bought the DVD of a British-made production called “Mission Control” (reviewed below), all about the back-room boys of the Apollo moon landing programme. It intersperses lots of archive footage with present day interviews with surviving flight controllers and astronauts. “Confronting Poseidon – the movie” will have a similar kind of construction. Mine is even going to go one better – as a musician, I’m intending to compose my own soundtrack. I’ve already come up with a lot of ideas, and doubtless more will surface as I put the film together.

With the new record attempt with Team Britannia (which I will also be documenting in words, pictures and video) likely to eat more into my time as this year wears on, I’m not really sure about the timescale, but I don’t feel the need to rush it – I want to get it right. But in the meantime, if anyone wants a flavour of what to expect, they can of course download the book.

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