Lake Lefroy on Sat 21st May 2016.
Taking advantage of some of the smoothest salt conditions I have ever seen on the lake and the first cold front of the season with winds forecast to reach 35 knots (65kmh), Bryan Cook with the aid of Ben Ashby took the opportunity to put in some very fast speed runs.
Fastest run of the day went to Bryan Cook with a top speed of 110kmh logged by 2 GPS units and witnessed by Ben Ashby.
Lake Lefroy Land Sailing Club congratulate Bryan and Ben for some seriously fast sailing.
During one of the runs this rim shattered, guess they weren't designed for +100kph.
Well done Bryan it was truly courageous effort.
It was definitely the strongest winds I've ever sailed in, stronger than 2 years ago when did 108km/h
It was scary trying to chase you in my mini with a dangerously over-powered 3m sail.
You are the new record holder of 110km/h for Performance Blokart.
Other GPS speed achievements:
-Production Spec. Blokart 83km/h
-Pod sailing (no rigging) 18km/h
Lake Lefroy is one of the fastest surfaces in the world!!!
It was a ton of fun. Cant tell from the video just how fast it was. Next time we will set up a row of cones about 3 kms long to get an idea of speed.
Thanks to Ben for assisting, go pro to record it and support. Wouldn't have gone out alone to try it.
Also thanks Ben for the GENTLE nudge at about 90 kph to get going. HaHa
The wheel that broke I think was one I hit a kerb in a carpark about a month ago.
Seemed allright at the time but must have cracked it.
Wheels not balanced, bearings soso, fitted all glass mast on 1.8 m sail.
In my experience to get over the ton you just need a heap of wind.
Ballsy!
But why did they decide to fly that ugly kiwiana teatowel at 1:49? Hoping it would disintegrate in the nuking winds?
Awesome effort fellas!!
I was hoping someone would make the most of the forecast wind last weekend.
Can I suggest that the broken wheel rim be used as the base for a trophy?
Use it as an annual prize for top speed or something similar?
stephen
1st time I've busted a rim, or even heard of one failing, I'm sure it was the same rim I slammed against a kerb in a carpark about 1 month ago.
A fitting trophy base for the fastest mini yacht / blokart on Lake Lefroy.
Ben was with me on the runs as well, pretty gutsy sailing with a 3 m sail in those conditions.
congrats on the record.
.... that 110kph wasnt just for the brief second old mate nudged you tho was it ?
what side fairings Nux? you mean the Pod?
That's a standardly available Blokart accessory.
Congratulations Bryan, and to your equally fast filmcrew!
I wish we had an accessible salt pan like that nearby.
Have a close look at the photos you can see some sorts of side fairings!
in the photo of the cart on its side, you can see them sticking out the back & the one with the guy sitting on the wheel, under his hand & the white on the other side! the pod normally follows the same line as the side bar.
not trying to take anything away from what he has done. but just asking the question.
cheers
The side panels are coreflute, real estate signs.
Have pictures of them in seebreeze in my profile. Not blokart parts like the sail, but I'm after speed. Take em off at a blokart event, put them back on as needed.
Its still a blokart and it hit 110 kph.
I have a aftermarket. sports exhaust on my Holden, still a Holden.
I'll leave to you guys to argue the details.
Lake Lefroy is made for high wind sailing, the windjet with Richard Jenkins used it for a crack at the world speed record. But for an untimely downpour he would have done it here.
More work will be done, more pimping to do. I will notify all when done and if it works. Next cold front.
The wheels weren't balanced, didn't check pressures, bearings were ok.
Will run a kart stock performance setup next time as well to see what difference my mods make. Keep the purists happy. Even wear my blokart tee shirt!!
happy sailing at any speed
I don't really care about the blowkart/not blowkart/5.6 mini biz.
Shore in a class race setting then all yachts should conform to the class spec that's the whole idea.
This was not a class race this was one ballsy individual trying to sail bloody fast, on a day when most people were huddling by the fire. Ok so technically it might not be accepted as a "Blowkart" world record but, if Blowkart want to see their product progress and continue to be respected then they would be well advised to take a close look at Brian's very simple and very minor mods.
What I've done with my blokart guys have done for the last 100 years with cars, namely, how can I make it go faster, handle better?
Kiwi Burt Munro is a great example of this thinking in getting his Indian motorbike to run 4 times faster than the original.
Still called an Indian. Only raced on beaches in NZ and salt lakes in the states.
Maybe a new class of blokart is the Pimped class, see what the karts can really do!
I know I will get my kart over 110 sometime.
oh bryan ,the wowsers could even get to the end of the week!
great effort mate, you are now officially 20kph faster than me. with 2 records, lake lefroy mini And INTERNATIONAL 5.6 mini. let the rest of em stew in their on carparks
Fantastic job Brian,
We'll have to dust off Vindi if you keep this up!
Don't know how you keep kart in a straight line at those speeds.
A real credit to you and Ben.
Cheers
Need to make a 1.5m mono-film sail for mini and blokart that will be seriously fast.
You don't realise how fast you are going on the salt as there is no point of reference. The scariest is coming back along the causeway.
Its great to have two yachts out there pushing each other the limit.
I was a little concerned when i did multiple spins at high speed not knowing where i was
It was the strongest winds I have experienced to date.
Me and Ben are busy tweaking my blokart to get 115 kph or more out of it.
Smaller sail, 2 mast sections high, streamlining, dampened steering, balanced wheels with cover disc's, full harness to hold me in.
Still a Blokart , Just pimped. Racing the wind, no one else.
Have had my mk 2 speed-spec blokart out twice. Haven't had a good blast yet, just shake down runs, some mods work, some need a bit of fiddling around to get things better. More things to do as it is evolving.
Ben has a picture on Lake Lefroy- Land Sail & Kite.