Vestas Sailrocket 2, Paul Larsen and the team revisit the stunning achievement of setting the 65 knot plus record

Paul Larsen of the Vestas Sailrocket 2 team nominated for Rolex sailor of the year award

From the following article submitted to Sail-World by

http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?Nid=116601&refre=y&ntid=0&rid=1

Paul Larsen became the fastest man on the water, reaching 65.45 knots on Vestas Sailrocket 2 and eleven years of hard work and effort came to fruition on 24 November 2012. For his endeavours and testing the restraints of physics in sailing Larsen received a nomination for ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year.

Speaking in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman Larsen said, 'I guess I’m representing the fringe dwellers of sailing who go out and chase the records and endeavours that aren’t so much in the spot light. We’re not represented by a class and we don’t have a huge defining event like an Olympics or Vendee Globe.

'We often live in shipping containers on very remote shores and when we have our success there are five or six people around to acknowledge it. To have the sport’s governing body to acknowledge that is nice. It’s comforting.

'I’m proud to be here and representing everyone else in our discipline.'

read more here

Bernard Smith's Amazing sailboats, reference site on the pioneering work that led to Paul Larsen's Vestas Sail Rocket 2

Paul Larsen cites Bernard Smith's seminal work the 40 knot sailboat as his inspiration for creating the ultimately record breaking Vesta's Sail Rocket 2.  Paul and the team suffered a multitude of setbacks in their quest to claim the short course outright sailing records but kept doggedly to the task and were finally rewarded with success easily surpassing the old record and raising the bar for future challengers.

http://www.geocities.com/aerohydro/home.htm

Little Merrimac model, Bernard Smith