Banque Populaire

Nantes, France - The World's largest racing trimaran sailboat, the Banque Populaire V,  was officially christened in France this week, and over 20,000 sailing fans were there to see the excitement. The yachting community is now abuzz with talk and anticipation over what this mammoth can do, and whether it's components or sailing records we might watch her break in the coming year.

Lorient, France - The largest racing multihull yacht ever built started testing on the waters in France this week.  Rather than taking it easy, and sailing her slow on the maiden voyage under sail, the crew of Banque Populaire V just couldn't help themselves from seeing what the new boat could do, and flying a hull in the ideal sailing conditions.  Built to smash ocean sailing records, this yacht is made to test the limits.  Just how large can a racing trimaran get?  At 131 feet (40 meters), this giant boat is answering that question.

A couple of incredible new sailing trimarans have hit the water in the last few days. In France, the enormous 131 foot Banque Populaire V, the largest racing multihull ever built, was launched. More than a third of the way around the world in Washington State, champagne crashed against the bow of the new BMW Oracle boat, which the team hopes to be the next America's Cup winner. While certainly big and beautiful, these boats weren't designed for aesthetics - they're built for speed.