The Kiwis of Emirates Team New Zealand's Project Landspeed nervously waited for the sun and soaring temperatures to dry out the bed of Lake Gairdner for months, but yesterday's performance of their land speedy land yacht made it worthwhile.
The plan all along had not been just to eclipse the wind-powered land speed record but to push the limits of their craft called Horonuku (Maori for 'gliding swiftly across the land'). Not only did they swiftly glide over the lake bed, but also shattered the previous record of 202.9 kp/h (126 mph) by going 222.4 kp/h (138.19 mph) in 22 knots of wind.
Pilot Glenn Ashby and the team are elated to have pushed the wind-powered land speed envelop further than anyone had before but are also convinced they can go even faster.
"The team and I are obviously buzzing to have sailed Horonuku at a speed faster than anyone has ever before - powered only by the wind. But in saying that we know Horonuku has a lot more speed in it when we get more wind and better conditions." Said Ashby, as reported in Sail-World.
In order for the record run to be official the team will need to go through a strict verification process in accordance with the international governing body FISLY (Federation Internationale de Sand et Land Yachting). A FISLY-approved judge was present to witness and verify the record run. In addition, to the judge's input, the team will have to submit data from Horonuku's GPS recording and all other mandatory requirements to FISLY within 48 hours.
The GPS system aboard is capable of survey grade, differential GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) data collection with over 21 data points recorded over the two-second run period, each with a position accuracy to within 10 mm (0.394"). Collectively, they will deliver an average speed of Horonuku over the run period and verify the record.
The team took advantage of a narrow dry weather period to break the old record that was set back in 2009.
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