Paul Larsen’s radical Sailrocket project has relocated from Weymouth to the Walvis Bay speed-strip in Nambia in its bid to be the fastest sailing boat in the world. The boat hit speed of 30 knots early last December with its new solid wing sail, click here for live video footage , but as British winter kicked in, the team were unable to sail and remained on standby for six weeks. Running low on funds, the decision was made to look at some other highly rated speed sailing locations; Larsen visited Walvis Bay early in January and the decision was made: ‘We had found a huge part of the speed sailing puzzle.’

The project’s designer, Malcom Barnsley, outlined his hopes for breaking the elusive 50knot speed barrier on the flat Namibian water. The boat’s Velocity Prediction Program (VPP) shows that it is capable of sailing at around 2.6 times wind speed in 20 knots of wind, assuming the foil keeps the water flow attached. In theory, this means Sailrocket should be able to break the existing world record of 48.7 knots in just over 19 knots of wind.

The team have also announced a major new sponsor, UK-based housing information business Hometrack.