Do boats sail faster in fresh water or salt water? The SailGP teams in Chicago have the answer…Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Ben Ainslie sails past the city skyline during a practice session ahead of T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier, Season 3, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 16th June 2022. Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP. Handout image supplied by SailGPDo you sail faster in fresh water or salt water? It\u2019s a question you\u2019ve probably never had to ask yourself, but it\u2019s one the SailGP teams in Chicago this weekend have been delving into.
\nExplore the question for conventional sailing boats and you\u2019ll come across a couple of differing arguments, one being that the increased density of salt water equates to increased buoyancy, so for heavy displacement yachts (and particularly large ships), less volume of boat is in the water, so reduced drag equates to increased speed.
\nThe other view is that the increased density of salt water equates to increased resistance moving through the water, and slower boat speeds. Either way, for most yachts and sailors any difference is likely to be negligible.
\nThe only way to settle the discussion is with real, empirical evidence, and if there\u2019s one sector of sailing which has endless data on relative boat speeds of multiple, equally matched boats in different sailing areas, it\u2019s SailGP.
\nThe F50 fleet training on Lake Michigan ahead of the T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix | Chicago at Navy Pier. Photo: Ricardo Pinto\/SailGP
\nAhead of today\u2019s first day of racing for the Chicago stage, the 10 teams have been training on inland Lake Michigan, and recalibrating foil handling for sailing on fresh water has been a key focus. There\u2019s no question that for the foiling F50s, fresh is faster.
\nFresh water is faster
\n\u201cIt\u2019s about 2 knots difference,\u201d Russell Coutts told me after the pre-event press conference.
\n\u201cThey have to be selling a little faster for the take off, but the top speed is about 2 knots faster. It\u2019s a pity we\u2019re not going to get a windy weekend because we probably would have seen a new top speed here, because it\u2019s interesting that the onset of cavitation, according to the analysis, is about half a knot faster.\u201d
\nThe F50s have a number of foil and rig combination options. Canada SailGP Team work on their F50 catamaran ahead of T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix in Chicago. Photo: Simon Bruty\/SailGP.
\nBen Ainslie, skipper of Great Britain SailGP team, confirmed: \u201cWe weren\u2019t on the fastest configuration [in training] because we had the large area rudders on, but we got 92kmph yesterday [49.6 knots] and I\u2019m pretty sure with smaller area rudders we\u2019d have been nudging 100 kmph [53.9 knots]. So it\u2019s a couple of knots faster.
\n\u201cIt probably takes a bit more speed to get the boat up on the foils, but once you\u2019re up it\u2019s slightly less resistance.\u201d During pre-race training, one element the Great Britain team were focussing on was calibrating take off speeds for fresh water in light, sometimes marginal flight conditions.
\nSail GP Chicago
\nUnfortunately, a new F50 top speed is unlikely this weekend, despite the fresh water advantage. After the strong gusts of Thursday which saw Ainslie\u2019s Great Britain team nudging 50 knots in training, and SailGP Canada knocked over in a capsize whilst paused alongside a support RIB, yesterday\u2019s practice races were held in gentle conditions that saw the F50 teams racing in light wind four-crew mode despite having their practice course moved outside Chicago Navy Pier\u2019s breakwater.
\nPractising racing an F50 four-up: Switzerland SailGP team training ahead of T-Mobile United States Sail Grand Prix Chicago. Photo: Jon Buckle\/SailGP.
\nToday\u2019s racing, for the second event of season three, will take place inside the breakwater with forecast breezes of 9-12 knots. It\u2019s a tight racecourse under the iconic city skyline and should deliver classic Sail GP nip-and-tuck competition.
\nFirst race is at 2pm local time, 8pm UK time: watch live via Facebook or YouTube.
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Do boats sail faster in fresh water or salt water? The SailGP teams in Chicago have the answer…Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by Ben Ainslie sails past the city skyline during a practice session ahead of T-Mobile United States Sail … <\/p>\n