S&S Worldwide unveiled its new ride vehicle at IAAPA yesterday (17 November), as the opening date for its magnetic triple launch coaster was confirmed. Once the coaster is finished, a second coaster is to be built around it.

Gale Force, which opens in May 2016, has been designed by S&S to fit in a small-footprint site at Playland's Castaway Cove in New Jersey. The attraction's beachside location and sometimes fierce weather conditions inspired the coaster, which was made to fit the requests of park owner Scott Simpson.

The main challenge was designing the ride to fit on the small site, and further challenges will no doubt present themselves to the park as another coaster is going to be built to wrap around Gale Force. Those drawings are currently being finalised by E&F Miler.

"We get a lot of gales on the New Jersey coast," said Tim Timco, sales and marketing head at S&S. "The name is inspired by that, and the blue is the colour of the ocean, which is right beside the ride. Scott wanted it to look quite boardwalk-ish, and not with too much thrill, because he wanted to keep it accessible to his family audience."

The rides at the park have a nautical theme, so the blue and grey Gale Force has been themed to further enhance the look of the park.

The single-vehicle Gale Force coaster, which was announced in September, features a forward launch, a backward launch and a final 64mph forward launch. It includes a 125-foot crest, a 100-degree down-drop, a 180-degree twisting climb, a corked roll, a top hat twist and a raven dive.

S&S launch coaster planned for Playland’s Castaway Cove