l’Hydroptère

As we ring in a new year here at YachtPals, we thought it would be a great time to reflect on some of the incredible sailing achievements made around the world in 2008. For high speed sailing records, it was hard to beat '08, and it will forever be the year that the 50 knot barrier was broken. Of course, the raw dragster speed of sailboards, kiteboards, and amazing boats like SailRocket and l'Hydroptere are only part of the record-breaking story of the last year, out on the open ocean, speed records were being shattered from pole to pole.

Let's face it, l'Hydroptere is one of the coolest sailboats there is, and though top "burst" speeds aren't counted for the record*, having hit over 60 knots, this boat now owns the fastest recorded speed by sail-powered craft on the water - EVER. Three hydrofoil equipped hulls, what looks like an acre of canvas aloft, and this incredible sailing machine is nearly flying.

Southern France - Though sailing at 50 knots average speed over 500 meters remains elusive to boats, even bursts of raw speed much over 50 knots are new and rare - be they on a kite-board or a boat.  So it seemed the team from l'Hydroptere was getting an early Christmas gift this year, as the giant trimaran lifted off today, and hit a momentary speed of 61 knots - phenomenal!  Unfortunately, the same conditions that led to the speed also led to a capsize, leaving l'Hydroptere stuck upside down.

Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, France - While 50 knots remains elusive to anything but two kite-sailors, the massive hydrofoil trimaran l’Hydroptère has just established two new sailing records while they attempt to break the 50kt barrier over 500 meters:

Lüderitz, Namibia - Speed sailing has come to be more than just extreme speed, it's also about extremes in size.  Until this past week, the record for a wind-powered watercraft was held (and is still officially held) by a sailboard - a giant in comparison to the new unofficial record holder:  a kiteboard, which was able to average an amazing 50.57kts, exposing the 50kt "wind barrier" as the arbitrary number it was.  However, this week also saw the giant hydrofoil trimaran l'Hydroptere set its own speed record, and

How fast is it? It's a question sailors hate to answer, because it usually comes out as an apology. "She'll cruise at 6 knots" doesn't exactly cause gasps among the non-sailors. More than once, some landlubber has spat back "I can run faster than that!" To which the proper reply, should you be faced with such a tactless rube, is "Great! Race you to Australia."