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Displaying items by tag: P1 Superstock

Appalling weather conditions washed out Saturday's racing at the Pwllheli Grand Prix of the Sea.

Consistent rain and strong winds kept the powerboats moored in the marina as the teams remained indoors to keep themselves dry and mull over tactics for Sunday's high octane action.

Whilst most of the UK was basking in glorious summer sunshine, a small pocket of miserable weather in north Wales conspired to foil the P1 SuperStock teams, who were left feeling frustrated ahead of round three of this year's championship.

Rhys Evans of 300 Class outfit Evans Heritage Developments rued their poor luck after a period of continuous beautiful British weather. He said: "It's hugely frustrating. After checking and rechecking everything on the boat, including exhausting every possible error, as well as our onboard communications, we are left twiddling our thumbs wanting to get out on the water."

For the 300 Class teams there is added caution using this year's new Mercury 300 XS engines. Evans added: "Every race you want to put 'peddle to the mettle' but if conditions are as rough as this, you always reservations about how hard you want push it.

"We are still learning about the performance and durability of the engine, so in violent conditions you want to be cautious. It's just part and parcel of motorsport racing."

Unlike in popular four-wheeled motorsports a powerboat race track is ever-changing and places the emphasis on the expertise of the pilots. Whether or not powerboats race in flat or bumpy conditions, Evans believes it is still a matter of personal preference. "Driver's can use different tactics but it all comes down to working the wheel and keeping the boat as level as possible.

"Instead of looking 100 metres ahead the pilots have to look even further in choppy waters. Keeping the prop in the water and maintaining a decent speed are the priority for every team but inevitably there is an element of uncertainty when you take off from a wave and hope to get a smooth landing."

Racing will now start at 10:00 on Sunday 11 July with each class racing twice.

Published in Racing

The Star keelboat is a 6.9 metres (23 ft) one-design racing keelboat for two people designed by Francis Sweisguth in 1910.

The Star was an Olympic keelboat class from 1932 through to 2012, the last year keelboats appeared at the Summer Olympics at which Ireland's representatives were Peter O'Leary and David Burrows.

Ireland has performed well in the class internationally thanks to some Olympic campaigns including a bronze medal at the Star World Championships in 2000, won by Mark Mansfield and David O'Brien.

The boat is sloop-rigged, with a mainsail larger in proportional size than any other boat of its length. Unlike most modern racing boats, it does not use a spinnaker when sailing downwind. Instead, when running downwind a whisker pole is used to hold the jib out to windward for correct wind flow.

Early Stars were built from wood, but modern boats are of fibreglass and carbon construction.

The boat must weigh at least 671 kg (1,479 lb) with a maximum total sail area of 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft).

The Star class pioneered an unusual circular boom vang track, which allows the vang to effectively hold the boom down even when the boom is turned far outboard on a downwind run.

Another notable aspect of Star sailing is the extreme hiking position adopted by the crew and at times the helmsman, who normally use a harness to help hang low off the windward side of the boat with only their lower legs inside.

At A Glance – Star Specifications

Designer Francis Sweisguth
Year 1910
Crew 2 (Skipper + Crew)
S + 1.5 C ≤ 250 kg (550 lb)[1]
Draft 1.016 m (3 ft 4 in)
Hull Type keelboat
Hull weight ≥ 671 kg (1,479 lb)
(including keel)
LOA 6.922 m (22 ft 9 in)
LWL 4.724 m (15 ft 6 in)
Beam 1.734 m (5 ft 8 in) at deck
1.372 m (4 ft 6 in) at chine
Hull appendages
Keel/board type bulb keel
401.5 ± 7 kg (885 ± 15 lb)
Rig
Rig type sloop
Mast length 9.652 m (31 ft 8 in)
Sails
Mainsail area 20.5 m2 (221 sq ft)
Jib/genoa area  6.0 m2 (65 sq ft)
Upwind sail area ≤ 26.5 m2 (285 sq ft)

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