l’Hydroptère sets new record for the 500 and 1000nm plus Video

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World on 8 Sep 2009
l’Hydroptère, the French foiling trimaran became the fastest yacht on the planet yesterday, setting a new record for the 500 metre mark of 51.36 knots, thus beating the previous record set by kitesurfer Alex Caizergues who held the previous record of 50.57kts set in Namibia last year.

Alain Thébault and his crew also set new records for the 1000 metres lifting this mark from 43.09kts to 48.72 kts.

The records were established at Hyères (and are subject to the ratification of the WSSRC). A westerly wind of 28 kts was blowing for the records.

During the run Alain Thébault and his crew hit 55,5 kts (103 km/h) and a set a mean velocity of 51.36 kts.

A parallel project, is in the course of manufacture. Hydroptère.ch, an experimental platform which will sail on the lake Léman, will be launched in spring 2010 and will be used as demonstrator for the development of the maximum sized hydrofoiler, which will sail/fly around the world. Three records are targeted: the Atlantic, the Pacific, and round the world tour.