Vestas Sailrocket ready for another speed record attempt at Walvis Bay

5:33 PM Wed 25 Mar 2009 GMT

'Vestas SailRocket on 26/02/09 when Larsen did a 44.02 knot 500 metre run and a peak of around 46.' Vestas SailRocket

Latest news from Paul Larsen on Vestas Sailrocket, ready for action after her recent crash....

Well...it's great to be back.

The fact that Vestas Sailrocket now sits outside this here container 100% ready for another assault on the Walvis Bay Speed sailing course bears testimony to the effort put in by the team since the violent crash 13 days ago.

I still shudder when I look at the video as it all happened in an instant. I will show you all the video one day... but first we will focus on the job at hand.

(On video) You can just make out the slack back beam stay arcing out to the left of the roll-bar. This means the beam is coming back. I've already gone to full lock on the steering and the boat is skidding sideways. We are still doing 45 knots and are about to pull -3.5G's forward and 3.2G's sideways as the whole show comes to a thumping halt in less than a second. I remember this bit.

When it all went ’pear shaped’ - Vestas SailRocket

A week or so ago I committed the project to our third and final WSSRC ratified record period. As far as I can see... this will be it. We have until just after the middle of April to achieve our goal. It's the culmination of nearly 10 years work. This boat has done a brilliant job in getting this far. I can't think of another boat that has had a more tortured life and has still been capable of coming out number 1. She carries many scars from battle and what a battle it's been. I think that on the last run she felt it was time that I took some of the damage... just so I know what it feels like!

Despite getting knocked about pretty hard on the last run, I can't wait to get back into the cockpit. I feel I owe it to the boat. The last crash had nothing to do with the boat or the concept. It was more a case of using the wrong system in the wrong place and not changing it because... it worked before.

This combined with good ol' chafe of the dormant back-up strop is what brought it all to a grinding halt. The blame for this lies squarely on my shoulders. I can clearly recall each instant where that crash unfolded in the month leading up to it. It was a culmination of a number of little things as all great things are. Well at least the right person paid the penalty.

Paul Larsen’s new helmet - Vestas SailRocket

This time when I go out I will be wearing a full-face helmet, a HANS (Head and neck support) brace and a harness to keep me back in the confines of the roll-bar. The harness won't let me go forward... but will allow me to fall out if inverted. Before the last two crashes I would have said this was all over the top for a sailing boat... but I've been over the top now!!!

Thankfully the wind has returned to the Skeleton Coast. It's the Walvis bay we remember again. Today looks great as does the rest of the week. We will go out and spend a day just doing check-out runs to make sure everything is as it should be. If things check out then we will put the hammers down shortly after. Every day is still full of possibility and I'm quitely amazed that we are still in shape to finish the job.

It's been one hell of a ride and the good news is that it it's only going to get faster.

Never give up.

Cheers, Paul.