Average Cat Speed?

I'm looking to plan a long offshore trip of around 80 miles around part of the UK.  As a starting point I'm looking at what type of boat to use.  I think this will heavily influence all the other decisions (e.g. estimated time schedule, safety cover needs, accommodation (if needed) etc...)

A cat (e.g. F18) would obviously be a good way to cover the distance as they are relatively stable (compared to a fast mono) and very quick.  My question is assuming a constant reasonable wind speed (say F3-4) what kind of distance might be expected to be covered per hour? 

I know that this is far from a simple answer as it depends on whether you are beating, kite angles, sea state etc.  However there are quite a few long distance races out there so using them to get a rough idea of the time taken to cover that kind of distance, what are people thinking? 

I know the Anglesey Offshore race is 30 miles for cats and doesn't take all day, but i can't find any times as last year the course was reduced due to weather and only mono's entered.  I don't know enough about the other races to be able to judge anything from them.

Thanks, so based on all those results, an average of 5hr 15mins for 38 miles would be around 7.2 mph would be around 11 hours for 80 miles.

Gives me a starting point, thanks!

Lochness 50 miles ish , circa 4 hours As far as i can remember

Edited by catmandoo - 31 May 15 at 5:59pm

flat water !!!! lochness 25 miles  long on section we raced , so 25 mile fetch for waves , wind force 4 to 6 (proper ) did first year in hurricane 5.9 sx , second time solo in stealth sxl , both circa 4 hrs , 2nd race off to slow start, but wind soon kicked in , these times with 3 capsizes thrown in both races !! , both times ahead of any f18s (actually passed when suffered triple capsizes at finish race 1 through sheer fatique !), but they werent up to much in those days (rocket ships now , guess as quick if not quicker than tornado )  , first year was won by an auss pro in a Tornado who was off the planet speed wise , I thought he had retired as sooo far ahead I couldnt see him , i was second until wheels fell off my wagon with 2 miles to go !!!

Edited by catmandoo - 01 Jun 15 at 2:20pm

Thanks for this, were the speeds due to the extreme winds?  I only ask as it is unlikely that we would set off if the winds were much above a F4.

Looks to have been some epic racing though!