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A Class 2016 Midwinters Key Largo

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Report by a-cat.org, video by Nick Bowers

While the North European fleets shiver in drysuits and 5mm wetsuits or are still laid up, over in Florida, the US Ronstan Midwinters took place at Key West. USACA President Bailey White reports

The 2016 Ronstan Midwinters at the Upper Keys Sailing Club turned out to be much bigger than we expected and even more fun. What started with registration just breaking twenty turned into 35 boats as they just kept showing up on Friday.

About 15 boats made a week of it and enjoyed flat water, mid teens winds, and warm tropical weather all week.

The club put a lot of effort into making sure we had a good time with home made food and great work all around. They are already talking about next year. Skip Kaub and his finance Melania made the event possible by hosting enough boats at their home to keep things comfortable at the club.

Thursday’s foiling clinic started with video and set up review at the club led by me. It was a good time for people to ask questions and share their insights on what was working and not working. A lot of talk on rudders, getting the boat up, etc. UKSC prepared several drills for both foilers and classics and got us all on the water but a storm system brought us in quickly.

Friday’s weather gave us high winds and big gusts at the beginning of the day. The club postponed us until 2PM and we got in three great races in windy conditions that moderated as the day progressed. It was the first day for me to try a second prototype of a deck sweeper made by Carolina Sails. It is fairly flat and performed very well with good upwind speed and relatively stable foiling.

Saturday was more of the same initially but conditions lightened. Matt Keenan continued to foil on his eXploder with Glaser DenBen in light conditions while the rest of us struggled to make it pay. He had more rudder lift in his setup. He got his first bullet in the A-Class in Race 5 and said it was his first win in 15 years! Matt is getting really fast, especially if he keeps the boat right side up. Woody Cope showed who is the boss with his first bullet of the weekend in Race 6 on the Nikita before the wind freshened a little again for me to pick up Race 7.

A lot of very close racing up and down the fleet. A lot of smiles all around, even from Galt who at 16 was the youngest sailor at the event and also the only one to foil into a crash jibe and break his previously repaired mast. It will go to OH Rogers and be ready for the next winter event.

Sunday started off with almost no wind, but created the perfect time for the Woods brothers to scatter their dad’s ashes on the start line. The Race Committee gathered everyone around as Larry spoke about his dad from his boat. Kevin and Gerard gave each sailor a flower to drop in the water as part of the ceremony. Really touching.

Original post here

A Class Petition

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by Thierry BOISBOUVIER via change.org

aclasspetition

The French Sailing Federation FFV has decided to impose its point of view in France on the International ‘A’ Class Catamaran that has been raced at regattas for 30 years in France without any major problems.

The FFV want to separate the class into 2 types (classic and open/foiling) and prohibit starts of over 20 boats for the open/foiling class.

This decision was taken in spite of the FFV’s stated duty to be compliant within the class rules, by its international commitments to World Sailing (ISAF) and it’s continuing to allow start lines of frequently over 100 boats without major incidents.

We ask :

• The FFV to comply with the Class Association (AFCCA) and the decisions taken by its members in accordance with its own rules.
• The FFV respect its international commitments to World Sailing (ISAF) and IACA
• Does not impose a split of the boats within the class.
• Does not impose starts limited to 20 or 25 for the A Class open/foiling designs.

Sign the petition

10+ teams to compete on the 2016 GC32 Racing Tour

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by GC32 Racing Tour

At least 10 teams are set to contest the 2016 GC32 Racing Tour, for this, the third season of foil-born racing for the flying GC32 catamarans.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/TbttmK5Z46A]

As GC32 class founder Laurent Lenne puts it: “Racing courses with reaching starts and finishes, on foiling catamarans, with more than ten boats competing – how cool is that? It has never been done before.”

The sizeable fleet includes a mix of keen, enthusiastic amateurs and professionals. They are drawn to the GC32 Racing Tour due to the compelling cocktail it offers: The chance to race ultra-high performance, equally-matched one design foiling catamarans that are affordable and logistically simple to run, in venues that are relatively close together in southern Europe, and which, importantly, have been chosen for their regular winds in order to provide the best possible foiling experience for their GC32 catamarans.

The 2016 fleet includes a mix of return customers and new faces.

The GC32 Racing Tour welcomes French Volvo Ocean Race winner Franck Cammas and his NORAUTO Racing campaign. While Cammas is new to the GC32 Racing Tour, he is far from new to the GC32. In fact, in preparation for his International C-Class Catamaran Championship victory in 2013, Cammas, along with GC32 designer Martin Fischer, developed an 18ft foiling catamaran, which became the test bed for the GC32. Cammas will sail with some of the best French multihull sailors and with youth sailors from the Team France Academy, whose goal is to develop sailors who can compete in crewed racing at the highest level internationally.

Also making its debut on the GC32 Racing Tour is Gunvor Sailing, backed by the Geneva-based commodity trading group, who’s CEO is Torbjörn Törnqvist. The crew of Gunvor Sailing has yet to be confirmed, but will comprise young Swedish sailors with guest appearances from notable sailors such as London 2012 Olympic 49er gold medallist Nathan Outteridge and Francesco Bruni (Gunvor also supports other youth development programs in Sweden, like ice hockey with AIK Hockey).

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Switzerland has a long history in multihull racing, where every year hot competition takes place on Lake Geneva in D35 catamarans. Two of the top teams from this join the GC32 Racing Tour in 2016, including the reigning D35 champion, Alex Schneiter’s Team Tilt. Skippered by Schneiter’s Olympic 49er sailor son, Sébastien, Team Tilt is gunning for the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. Significantly, their crew is being bolstered this season by the addition of two eminent sailors from Emirates Team New Zealand: skipper and multiple A-Class World Champion, Glenn Ashby, and Ray Davies, considered one of the world’s top tacticians.

Realteam, skippered by Jérôme Clerc, finished the 2015 D35 Championship in fifth place, but won the championship in 2012, when Realteam was also first home in the prestigious Bol d’Or Mirabaud, Switzerland’s premier race. As a group led by skipper Jérôme Clerc, Realteam has been competing for a decade and has also competed internationally on the Extreme Sailing Series, where its top result was third overall in 2014.

Five teams are set to return in 2016. Of these the highest placed finisher in 2015 was the Yann Guichard-skippered Spindrift racing, which was a close third. This year Brittany-based Spindrift racing has one of the busiest schedules of any professional sailing team, also competing on the World Match Racing Tour and the D35 circuit, while also campaigning Spindrift 2, the world’s largest and fastest offshore race boat.

From nearby in France is Team ENGIE, skippered by Sébastien Rogues. With a background racing offshore in monohulls, Rogues last year had to make the biggest transition of all the skippers taking part. This year he is supported by several top multihull sailors, including F18 and foiling catamaran ace Gurvan Bontemps.

From the USA is Argo, of two time Melges 32 World Champion, Jason Carroll. Having dipped his toe in the GC32 Racing Tour last season in Cowes, Carroll will be sailing more of the circuit in 2016 and is importing more top foiling experience into his team: In addition to Moth ace Anthony Kotoun he has recruited powerful British talent in Peter Greenhalgh (who won the GC32 tour last year with Sultanate of Oman) and former Luna Rossa sailor and Extreme Sailing Series champion, Alister Richardson.

Longest standing GC32 campaigner is President of the GC32 International Class Association, Swiss former Olympic Star sailor Flavio Marazzi and his ARMIN STROM Sailing Team. Uruguayan jib trimmer Diego Stefani is back on board and for this season Marazzi will be sailing with leading New Zealand Olympic and offshore sailor Sharon Ferris-Choat – the only woman competing on the circuit.

Having a similar tenure in the class as Marazzi is GC32 founder, Amsterdam-based French businessman Laurent Lenne, After finding himself often watching from the sidelines over the last seasons, finally this year Lenne is getting to mount his own campaign, Team Umpirex. “After four years of hard work pushing the GC32, I am excited to return to the water to race the coolest and most exiting class in the world”, he says.

At least two more teams have signed up to join the circuit over the course of this season and will be announced shortly.

GC32 Class President, Flavio Marazzi, observes: “The GC32 International Class Association is very proud of the positive growth of the class: The Extreme Sailing Series will start its worldwide tour in March with eight teams on their new GC32s, while in Europe, the GC32 Racing Tour will have at least 10 boats on the starting line. We are looking forward to a great mix of ambitious owner-drivers and professionally-driven boats crewed by America’s Cup sailors, Olympic medallists and World Champions. We strongly believe this mix will provide one of the most fascinating One-Design racing circuits at the moment.

The GC32 has definitely stepped out of its baby shoes and is providing the most fun, high-speed and adrenaline One-Design sailboat racing on the planet. Come and join us!”

Teams for 2016

ARGO – Jason Carroll (USA)
ARMIN STROM Sailing Team – Flavio Marazzi (SUI)
Gunvor Sailing – TBA
NORAUTO Racing – Franck Cammas (FRA)
Realteam – Jérôme Clerc (SUI)
Spindrift racing – Yann Guichard (FRA)
Team ENGIE – Sébastien Rogues (FRA)
Team Tilt – Sébastien Schneiter (SUI)
Team Umpirex – Laurent Lenne (FRA)

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Skipper quotes

Jason Carroll (USA), skipper Argo: “The GC32 is going to be Team Argo’s racing focus this summer, and we’re really excited to race in some of our favourite European venues. We absolutely expect to take our knocks – this is a very experienced fleet and a boat that demands a lot of practice. But the fastest way to improve is to race against the best.”

Yann Guichard (FRA), skipper Spindrift racing: “Even if it is a one design, the GC32 is at the forefront of technology and demands scrupulous preparation from its participants, which is very stimulating for our team. In sports terms, we want to continue to make progress on these particularly demanding flying boats. For these reasons, the GC32 Racing Tour is a very good platform for Spindrift racing.”

Jérôme Clerc (SUI), Realteam: “Realteam wanted to go flying, so I think the GC32 is the best boat to do that right now. The GC32 Racing Tour will have fantastic racing with around 11 boats, in good, windy venues. It will be great fun, but we need to learn a lot about the boat – that is why we have a three year plan in which to try and win the circuit.
There are some very good teams and the level will be very high. The other teams are more experienced than us. Some have already sailed on the boat for two years, so it will be tough for us to reach a high enough level to compete against these teams.”

Laurent Lenne (FRA), Team Umpirex: “We have a lot of work to do, because although we have a lot of knowledge of the product, customers have taken priority – so our boat will have a relatively late delivery and with the creation of a new team, we will probably, of all the sailors, be the ones with the least racing hours. Nevertheless, my ambition is strong as I believe that the GC32 is not about an individual’s skills, but about team coordination. So I think we have a shot and there are a lot of new teams.
Let’s not forget that aside from the racing, we are planning to enjoy the beautiful sailing spots we will be going to.”

Sébastien Rogues (FRA), Team ENGIE: “We are preparing for a year building on our experience from 2015 that served us well and has helped us optimise the Team ENGIE boat. I have a great team that is very motivated to sail at an exceedingly high level since most are preparing for the America’s Cup. In short we’re very motivating and ready to go.
We are very excited to go sailing and are really looking forward to participating in the first event. We will do our best. I am very proud to be the skipper of the Team ENGIE.”

Alex Schneiter (SUI), Team Tilt: “It is clear to us that sailing is moving towards foiling – it is the natural evolution. I think foiling is great.
For me the GC32 Racing Tour is very attractive. The venues are excellent for sailing, like Lake Garda and Palma. In 2016 we know that we are new to the GC32, so we’ll be coming in quite humbly.
The GC32 will be also a great platform for the youth of Team Tilt to train ahead of the next Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, which will take place in Bermuda on the AC45 foiling catamarans in 2017“.

Franck Cammas, skipper NORAUTO Racing: “With Norauto Racing, we’ll be at every event of the circuit. GC32s are foiling boats that we are training on all year long. They offer a great opportunity to improve more and more and give a chance to the young sailors of Team France Academy managed by Louis Viat, to race against top sailors in great competition.”

Seth Thomas Pietras, spokesman for Gunvor: “Gunvor Sailing is entering the GC32 circuit to train a Swedish youth team with an eye on the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup. We expect appearances, as well as coaching, from notable individual sailors from time to time, including the likes of Nathan Outteridge and Francesco Bruni…that is if the youth team is lucky!”

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2016 GC32 Racing Tour schedule

26-29 May: GC32 Riva Cup – Riva del Garda, Italy
7-10 July: GC32 Malcesine Cup at The Foiling Week – Malcesine, Italy
3-6 August: 35 Copa del Rey MAPFRE – Palma de Mallorca, Spain
22-25 September: TBA
13-16 October: Marseille One Design – Marseille, France

26 teams to compete in Hydrocontest 2016

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by hydros.ch

hydroscontest

Engineering and naval architecture schools from all around the globe are rallying together to take up the Hydrocontest’s challenge for maritime energy efficiency. Following the closure of registrations and review of the applications received, this 3rd edition officially counts 26 teams representing 12 countries from Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America, including 5 nations participating for the very first time.
This year, over 250 students will be involved in preparing for the competition and are already working hard on the 40 prototypes expected this summer on Lake Geneva. More motivated than ever, almost all of last year’s teams have re-entered the contest, mainly composed of new members taking over from their predecessors, while 11 new universities are joining the adventure this year.

All are undoubtedly determined to stretch their creativity and inventiveness to challenge the past results from the first editions and push the boundaries of innovation to imagine and design the boats of tomorrow. The participants will soon be introduced in more details under the “Teams” section of the Hydrocontest website for more information on their members, their motivations and their projects.

Teams in bold are participating for the 3rd consecutive year.
Countries marked with an asterisk are represented for the first time this year.

EUROPE
– CRO* – Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Maritime Studies, Rijeka
– CRO* – Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, Split
– ESP* – HIgher Technical School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Madrid
– FRA – Ecole Polytechnique & ENSTA Paris
– FRA – Ecole CentraleSupélec Paris
– FRA – Seatech, Toulon
– FRA – ENSM Marseille
– FRA – Ecole Centrale de Nantes
– FRA – ENSTA Bretagne & ENSA Paris-La Villette
– FRA – ENSM Le Havre
– FRA – Arts et Métiers Lille
– FRA – Université-Polytech Montpellier & IUT Nîmes
– GBR – University of Southampton
– GBR – University College London
– GRE* – School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Athènes
– NOR* – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
– SUI – Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
– SUI – Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et d’Architecture, Fribourg
– SUI – Haute Ecole d’Ingénierie et de Gestion du Canton de Vaud, Yverdon

ASIA-PACIFIC
– AUS – Australian Maritime College
– INA* – Universitas Indonesia
– MAS – Swinburne University of Technology, Sarawak Campus

SOUTH AMERICA
– BRA – Federal University of Pernambuco
– COL – Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellin
– COL – Universidad de Antioquia
– COL – Escuela Naval de Cadetes Almirante Padilla & Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Bogota

Oracle Team Usa capsize, no injuries

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by Oracle Team Usa.

All crew are safe and the ORACLE TEAM USA AC45S test platform is secure back at base following a capsize during training in Bermuda on Wednesday afternoon.

oracle17cpsize“It was a great day for training, sunny, 15-20 knots of wind,” said skipper Jimmy Spithill. “So it was a great afternoon of sailing until we capsized.

“The boat didn’t tip over through a nose-dive, which is what normally happens, but we were just pressed over sideways.”

The boat was righted quickly with the assistance of the team chase boats and was then able to sail back to base.

“It was a good test of our on-water safety procedures. Everybody is safe, it looks like we had minimal damage, but we’ll know more on that after the shore crew get a look,” Spithill said.

ORACLE TEAM USA is the second team to capsize during training in the past few months. Land Rover BAR capsized on the Solent in the UK just before Christmas.

“Hopefully we don’t see too many more of these, but this is where we are as a sport where you’re always pushing to be on the limit. We’ll learn from this and move forward.”

IACA President Andrew Landenberger replies to the French FFV about their recent pronouncements

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by International A-Division Catamaran Association.

landy

Photo by Gordon Upton

Dear Jean Pierre,
I have read your letter with great interest. It shows you have given detailed thought and consideration to the current situation in our class which is a constant evolution of changes during this time. I would however like to point out some details surrounding my letter to the class which you have referenced in your response.

Firstly my letter was completely my personal opinion, even as president of the class I do not have the power or authority to change the rules. This is a constitutional process which is governed by the members. My letter was intended to prompt the National associations to address the issues and put forward some possible solutions. Just for the record, there was a great number of responses to that letter but no formal submission for changes to our rules has been submitted to the class. The one outcome which has been widespread across many counties has been the introduction of a second score sheet for non foiling boats. I think this is where much of the confusion has been created.
The A class catamaran remains just one class. We have not separated in any way at all. Unofficially many countries have recognised the « classic » fleet with a separate score sheet and divisional prizes. The open a class competition however remains between all boats, foiling and non foiling. There is no separate foiling division.

My letter to the class was motivated by the discussions around our open world championships. To explain further, the A class traditionally limited the entries of the world championships to 100 boats. In the past few years we have experimented with opening the worlds to unlimited entry numbers. In the past few championships we have seen entry levels exceed 160 boats. My suggestions to split the class were based around the situation of these types of numbers, not 20-25.

We are currently racing up to 120 boats in one fleet and make not distinction if they foil, semi foil, float, or just make their way around the course any way they can.

My letter was very clearly addressing the performance differences in the boats which was potentially going to effect our participation numbers in future events so my suggestions were aimed at maximising entry levels at future world championships.
My understanding was that The French A class association voted to support the classic A class with separate score sheet, not split the fleet or race as separate divisions. At the time I thought this was very forward thinking and hoped other nations would follow. I don’t believe any of us expected this discussion you are now having in France which appears to alienate the latest designs which clearly will be the future of our class in the coming years.
I understand your major concern is safety, but please consider these points. Foiling boats have been racing amongst non foiling boats since 2014 worlds in NZ. To my knowledge there has not been one accident between the two types of boats. This is possibly because the speed difference between the two types of boats is not so great as it was in the Moth class for example. Also the different angle the boats sail downwind once foiling tends to separate them quite quickly.

From a performance perspective the classic A class is still a very fast boat and in lighter winds is still a faster boat around the course than the foiling A class. This currently makes racing very interesting and heavily wind dependant. Many of the non foiling members really enjoy being faster than the Foilers in these conditions and this has strengthened the arguments to continue the open fleet competition.

I hope this clarifies the class situation at this point and you will give further consideration to how the French championships will the conducted. France is a major part of the international A class association and this outcome could have major ramifications on our class internationally.

Kind regards

Andrew Landenberger
IACA President

Designed to fly

Posted in TFW's news, video on by .

by Oracle Racing Team

[youtube=https://youtu.be/Iup2ArrucxE]

How does a catamaran that weighs approximately 2.5 tons lift out of the water and foil while it’s under sail . . . oh, and without sliding sideways from the force of the wing? Find out from Steven Robert of ORACLE TEAM USA about the important design elements of “Oracle 17” that help make this possible in our latest #‎TechTuesday feature by Javier Salinas / ORACLE TEAM USA. 3D Animations by Cadabra Applied Computer Graphics Int.

10,500 USD. Cheaper doesn’t means slower

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by Andrew McDougall and the WASZP team

It’s been a busy few months over the Australian summer with the KA team heading to the Moth Nationals in Perth. Mach 2 / KA Sail chalked up another victory with Josh McKnight on top, counting a regatta score of 12 firsts and a third. WASZP designer Andrew McDougall grabbed 5th overall and first Grand Master.

Then it was back to it on the WASZP and there has been plenty going on.

Here’s the latest news for Andrew.

Andrew, can you update us on what has been happening since the last status report at Christmas?

As we mentioned in our last update we’ve been working hard on the rig and have gone back to the cambered sail.

We not only do we now know that this is our only performance option, we have also improved it dramatically since we first started working on that style of rig. It’s now much more like our latest Mach2 sail – just a little bit more powerful. We have also slightly increased the size for the large sail to 8.25 sq. metres.

We have made new camber inducers for the bottom battens to match the larger mast diameter, which are working really well. The sail is made with similar materials to the KA Sail moth sail although we have gone with slightly softer materials in the luff panels to give us a more user-friendly sail that rotates better and has increased reaction to downhaul tension.

The upside also of this material is that the sail is more colourful, and on that note we have added coloured panels to the main body to make the sail really stand out.

Below is the outline and graphics of the 8.25 sq.m:

e8a5c38b-4b29-4c24-b266-883ff0f50640

How about getting the rig up, are there still any issues there?

It’s now amazingly easy. As soon as we got the weight out of the rig everything changed but we wanted it to be fool proof.
We redesigned the boom to mast attachment so the boom can be connected once the mast is up. With just the mast and sail all the issues are gone.

And the trolley ?

We have continued to work hard on the trolley and we now have a hybrid solution.

You can tip the boat on its side and attach the trolley which some people will prefer to do. This is what I like as it suits where we sail at Black Rock and it works well.

But we have also incorporated a ‘shallow’ trolley design which means you can float it onto the trolley.

It becomes a little challenging in a lot of wind and waves, but very do-able. And the way which we are now attaching the trolley to the boat stabilizes everything once it’s on and makes for a very solid solution.

I think the big gain with the WASZP over the Moth is just to be able to wheel the boat in and out with the foils in. It really is so much nicer than the Moth where foils have to be separated.

You just wheel the boat up, detach the boom, pull the mast down, roll the sail and it’s done.

So that leaves the question of production and pricing?

It has been a long road to get a final price on this boat and this week we have finalized all negotiations.

We are very happy to confirm we can meet the price we originally estimated.
The ex-factory price will be US$10,500 with a shipping cost to most countries of US$1,100.
Local import costs, taxes and duties, if any, are additional and vary by country.

There will be few countries that the shipping costs is cheaper and in some countries that are harder to get to the shipping cost will be more expensive.

And what’s happening at the factory – are we still on track to start production in March?

We have already started production – we are building hulls, we are building masts, we are building sails, we are building plastic components and we are building aluminum foils. Hopefully everything will come together by the end of March and will start putting complete boats together.

I’m off to China again in a few days and will be back over again towards the later part of March to oversee the final packing.

So notwithstanding any delivery issues with a critical component, we will be shipping as promised.

How about the class set-up, any action there ?

We’ve been making good progress on drafting the WASZP Class rules.

Overall, the intent is to make sure we have a very strict one-design so that it is a true boat vs. boat contest straight out of the box.

So with the exception of changing out ropes or pulleys that may need replacement with aftermarket alternatives, adding a GPS and doing repairs back to original there is not much else that can be done that will not be ‘as supplied’.

A draft will soon be available to download for review and comment.

50T, twin turbine powered hydrofoil

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by Hydrofoils Incorporated

HydrofoilsInc_50T_render

“This new space age, state of the art Hydrofoil is a giant step forward in design and technology and provides exciting high speeds (100 PLUS MPH), outstanding safety and a comfortable ride.”

Hydrofoils Incorporated has just released a test video of a scale prototype of their newest product entitled the 50T (50 foot, 15.2-meter) twin turbine powered hydrofoil. The company claims this 5-passenger, 100 plus kt, twin marine turbine powered, lightweight, boat has a stable, safe, comfortable, ride and can be ABS, DNV, HSC certified.

[youtube=https://youtu.be/mQ_whL3ctqw]

The main center hull is a carbon fiber epoxy composite as is the two outboard interchangeable engine module covers. Foils are aluminum and stainless. She can be quickly configured as a defense, commuter, or ambulance vehicle at various capacities. Draft is less than 1.5 ft., running (foils extended) or static (foils folded). The boat is operational in both modes with foils normally retracted while approaching the dock or shore.

These “Shallow Water” boats open up enormous new, previously inaccessible, marine exploration areas for a boat of this size. They use about 50% less fuel than other boats this size and power, since they do not displace water. They don’t make waves that upset wetlands and shorelines which makes an environmentally friendly boat. They are more comfortable than other high performance boats since they are not bouncing off waves. They are also much safer than older technology high speed boats that tend to blow-over and kite at speed. These double hulled boats will float fully awash with all doors open. They have little to no damage to the foils like older hydrofoils if striking debris.  Hydrofoils are the safest form of transportation compared to rail, auto, bus, plane, and helicopters. Hydrofoils Incorporated has been using this (100 mph plus) marine technology for over sixty years and have evolved it into a balanced, high speed, system. Costs approximately $3 million USD.

John Arruda, President of Turbine Marine Inc. Pompano Beach, Florida turbinemarine.com considered the premier, world, turbine supplier for very high performance marine craft and other turbine applications and the supplier of the engines for the 50T project added: “All of us at Turbine Marine Inc. are excited to be a part of the newest Hydrofoils Inc. project. Hydrofoils’ first 50’ high speed vessel will be powered by Turbine Marine Inc. Pompano Beach Florida. Working closely with the staff at Hydrofoils, both companies have developed a powerful, yet efficient, power module that will propel the proposed vessel to the reliability and performance goals expected. The Gas Turbine / electric Hybrid drive system will provide a total of 3600Hp for maximum cruising speed, and up to 400hp Eco friendly, electric drive for silent harbor maneuvering. This collaboration of technologies is a perfect match for of the future of high speed commercial and pleasure craft.”

“This a real game changer that finally allows marine transportation to compete with rail and auto” said Mr. Cook.

Contacts: