2nd SailBot Regatta – 2008. Annapolis, Maryland

Welcome to the Webpage for SailBot 2008! SailBot is an international competition for autonomously controlled sailboats. Aimed primarily at undergraduate student teams, the goal is to give engineering students a practical application of the topics they have learned, while also providing a fun way to learn project management in a multidisciplinary environment. A successful SailBot balances the needs of naval architecture, mechanical engineering, systems and electrical engineering, as well as project management.

SailBots have a maximum length of two meters, a maximum beam of three meters and a maximum draft of 1.5 meters. There are few other restrictions, which allow for a wide variety of solutions. The boats must be, as much as possible, designed and built by the students.

The 2008 competition was hosted by the United States Naval Academy from 12-14 May at the Robert Crown Sailing Center. Included this year was an Exhibition Class (Open Class) for those boats and teams that did not meet the SailBot criteria.

Results!

Congratulations to Queen’s University for winning SailBot 2008! As is typical in early May, Annapolis provided a variety of weather conditions, ranging from 30 knots and rain, to sunny, warm and calm! Teams from three schools participated with close racing and the thinnest of margins. Each boat was quite different and all had some trials and tribulations.

Overall Scores:

Queen’s University: 25.5 points

United States Naval Academy: 24.5 points

University of British Columbia: 13 points

Events:

Presentation Winner: Queen’s

Match Racing Winner: USNA

Station Keeping Winner: Queen’s

Long Distance Race Winner: USNA

Navigation Contest: No starters

Exhibition Class Winner: UBC