Science in HS 50 years ago|In the 1974 sailing competition, a computer named Fred monitored, for example, the wind and the work of the crew.
IN JULY 1974: A device has been developed in Australia that makes sailing foolproof. A racing sailboat called the Southern Cross, Australia’s entrant in the 1974 America’s Cup, has arrived in the United States with a little secret weapon.
It’s a battery-powered, Australian-made computer that the men piloting the boat have named Fred. Fred is a black box, only 914 x 762 mm in size.
It has 10,000 computer programs that contain all the important information about sailing a I2 meter boat.
For example, Fred can inform the sailor at what angle to the wind the Southern Cross is traveling, the distance and location of the next sea mark, and the speed at which maximum performance is achieved at any given time.
Fred can also tell if the sails are being used at full power, if there is a need for creatives when the wind changes when the boat is going upwind, and if the men are really working to the best of their ability.
Fred’s existence on the Southern Cross was announced at a press conference by the owner of the Australian race boat Alan Bonda 36-year-old multi-millionaire, landowner, businessman and sports enthusiast from Perth, the capital of Western Australia.