Intrepid seaplane pilot Captain Fred Ladd would have been in his element, flying fast and low over the Hauraki Gulf.
Ellen MacArthur and her team on B&Q were tuning her high-tech racing trimaran yesterday for a tilt at single-handed racing records around the globe.
The Nigel Irens-designed yacht has exceededexpectations, clocking speeds that would leave many powerboats in its wake.
Figures in the high teens on the wind are easily achieved, and easing the sheets can bring 30-plus knots.
The sensation when a gust hits is more akin to motorsport than yachting - the suggestion to use the loo before departure was a sensible one.
The escape hatch on the main hull above both upright and "inverted" waterlines is a sobering sight and collision bulkheads in the hulls are insurance against other marine hazards.
A spaghetti of control lines in the cockpit and twin tillers operate the three rudders.
The towering 33m all-carbon rotating wing mast carries a fully battened mainsail and three furling headsails.
Down below, a single-burner stove cooks the freeze-dried fare, the toilet is a bucket and there is a single bunk.
By contrast, the navigation station looks like something out of Star Trek.
Five satellite systems are linked through laptop computers, giving global voice and image data plus weather tracking and navigation information.
On deck, the gleam in MacArthur's eye suggests she knows she has a record-breaking rocketship.
It's sailing Jim, but not as we know it.
Hang on tight, Ellen. It's going to be a hell of a ride.
