The Fastest Man on Earth Aims to be the Fastest Man on Water
The 24 hour human powered boat distance record attempt September 8, 2008 on Whitefish Lake, Montana. The farthest distance a human has travelled under his own power is 647 miles by Greg Kolodziejzyk using a special bicycle on a race track in northern California in 2006. Now Greg is attempting to do it on water. The current 24 hour human powered distance record on flat water is 242 km by Carter Johnson on April 29-30, 2006 on Lake Merced, California using a Huki S1-x surfski kayak. On September 8, 2008, Canadian Greg Kolodziejzyk is going to challenge Carter's record using a specially designed, state of the art carbon fiber pedal powered boat called Critical Power 2.
Whitefish, Montana (PRWEB) September 4, 2008
The farthest distance a human has travelled under his own power on flat water is 242 km by Carter Johnson on April 29-30, 2006 on Lake Merced, California using a Huki S1-x surfski kayak. One day during the week of September 8 to September 12, 2008, Canadian Greg Kolodziejzyk is going to challenge Carter's record using a specially designed, state of the art carbon fiber pedal powered boat called Critical Power 2.
About Critical Power 2 human powered boat:
Critical Power 2 is considered to be the most efficient self-powered boat on the planet (over long distances). It will maintain a speed of 10 km / hr with an easy to moderate cycling pace. CP2 is a carbon fiber trimaran that was designed by human powered boat expert Rick Willoughby from Brisbane, Australia, and built by Greg Kolodziejzyk. It's 24 foot long hull is only 9 inches wide, weighs less than 20 lbs and displaces only 4 inches of water. Greg is positioned in a recumbent seat mounted on the deck enabling a powerful pedalling position. The pedals turn a right angle gear box which spins a shaft leading to a propeller under the water. The main hull balances on the water by two small outrigger floats mounted to each side of the main hull. The entire boat weighs less than 40 lbs and its top speed is 17 km / hr.
About the 24 hour record attempt:
A 5 to 10 km circular course will be marked and surveyed with buoys on Whitefish Lake in Montana. Greg will start pedalling his human powered boat Critical Power 2 at 9:00 a. m. and make continual loops around the course stopping briefly only to receive food and water from his support crew who will be stationed on a dock. He won't stop pedalling until 9:00 a. m. the next day -- exactly 24 hours later. "This will be by far the most difficult physical challenge of my life," says Greg. Official observers from the international human powered vehicle association will be stationed at key points along the circular course to verify that Greg stays to the outside of the markers, and travels the full distance measured.
The 24 hour human powered boat record will be observed, officiated and ratified by the International Human Powered Vehicle Association and Guinness Book of World Records.
Follow Greg's progress live during the record attempt at his web site: www. adventuresofgreg. com
About Greg:
Greg is the fastest man on earth with a world record set in 2006 on a race track in California for the most distance covered by human power in 24 hours on land. Greg powered his custom made carbon fiber bullet bike "Critical Power" 1046 km in just one day on a race track in Eureka California on July 19, 2006 breaking the existing world record by 26 km. Greg also holds a Guinness world record for the most distance travelled in 24 hours by pedal-powered boat which he accomplished in June, 2007 in Calgary. Greg is an endurance athlete who has finished dozens of marathons, 12 Ironman triathlons and qualified for Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Greg is well know by local elementary and junior high school students. Greg speaks at schools about his accomplishments, achieving goals and the importance of staying fit and healthy to lead a happy and productive life. His program "KidPower" teaches kids that they can achieve their dreams with focused effort, hard work and discipline. Greg's goal is to eventually expand KidPower to a nation wide program. Greg wants to see our children become active again and is committed to doing his part to make that happen.
24 hour human powered distance record history:
Kayak 24 hour records:
Date Rider Distance
1986 Randy Fine 193 km
1991 Marinda Hartzenbergt 220.5 km
2006 Brandon Nelsontt 235 km
2006 Carter Johnsontt 241.8 km
Pedal powered boat 24 hour records:
Date Rider Distance
2000 Kevin & Karin Hughest 90.25 km
2000 John Howard 168.43 km
2005 Team of 3 riders 176.8 km
2006 Greg Kolodziejzyk 173.76 km
Conventional means of human power on water using kayaks, row boats, etc, have consistently demonstrated more efficiency than pedal/propeller powered boats over long durations like a 24 hour effort. If Greg is successful in breaking Carter Johnson's 242 km Guinness world record, this will be the first time that a pedal powered boat has demonstrated greater efficiency than a conventional kayak for distances longer than a few kilometers.
For distances shorter than a few kilometers, pedal/propeller powered boats have the edge over conventional paddled or rowed human powered boats. The rowing record for 2000 meters is 18.2 km / hr average speed. This compares to the pedal powered boat record for the same distance of 20 km / hr average speed. The current world record for the fastest human powered boat for the 100 meter sprint is 34.2 km / hr and is a pedal and propeller powered boat called Decavitator.
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