Has the 50 knot problem been defeated?

Matthew Sheahan of Yachting World ponders the questions… Is 50 knots still the magic number? Or will the latest launches go through sailing’s ‘sound barrier’ for mile after mile offshore?

The trouble with round numbers is they always feel a bit artificial, especially when we’re talking about limits. Sailing’s so-called ‘sound barrier’ at 50 knots is a perfect example. Surely, it’s just too convenient that such an easily remembered half century should be a genuine physical hurdle for speed sailing? The limit seems especially weird when you consider how long this human-defined target has been in place in light of major technical advances over the last three decades.

But remain, it has. Breaking through that ‘barrier’ without spinning out has absorbed thousands of hours of design time as teams have tried to engineer a way to get to the other side. – Full story