Video of the Week - l'Hydroptere Fastest Sailing Yacht in the World
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.
l’Hydroptère's 61 knot top speed was followed by a capsize, but that's what happens when you're pushing boundaries. SailRocket actually took flight when it hit its top speed of just over 52 knots. Both boats are going to be back at it as soon as possible, and with kite-boarding now officially recognized, we can look forward to more serious leap-frogging on the record books in 2009.
*As officiated by the WSSRC, the overall speed sailing record is for average speed over a 500 meter stretch, and is currently in the hands of kite-boarder Alexandre Caizergues at 50.57 knots.
Tip: Click the little tv icon on this video player to view the sailing video in full screen.
More about l'Hydroptere and other fast sailboats:
- Holy l'Hydroptere! Sailing Over 60 knots then Turtled
- Flying Trimaran - l'Hydroptere Setting Speed Records
- Sailing Photo of the Week - l’Hydroptère Flying all Hulls
- World's Largest Racing Trimaran Sailing in France - Banque Populaire V
- Francis Joyon Sailing for New World Record on IDEC
- New 24-hour Sailing Record - Thomas Coville and Sodeb'O
- Extreme Sailing - The 50 Knot Speed Barrier is Broken
- New Racing Trimarans - The Big and the Beautiful
- SailRocket - The Fastest Sailboat in the World
- The World's Fastest Sailboats - Sailing for Speed Freaks!
- Sailing Video of the Week - Vestas SailRocket Crash!
- Sailing Video of the Week - Flying a Moth Sailboat
- Sailing Records (all articles about sailing records)
Submitted By YachtPals on 21 Dec
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Faster and faster
l'Hydroptère's hull, foils and controls are the key to her stability at speed - yes she did capsize, but that was while pushing it faster than anyone before. Being a big tri she has a seaworthiness unmatched by any of her speed rivals. We can look forward to a Hydrptère class of racers.
Power kites however are the high performance rigging of the future. Because they exert their force at the top of the hull, not midway up the mast, far greater forces can be applied before capsizing the hull. There will be capsizes - because unlike a sail they do not reduce their force as the hull rolls. It takes as much skill and continuous handling to control a power kite as it does to control a hydrofoil.
Now imagine the size of power kite that could be flown from a Hydroptère hull. Then consider using negative lift on the leeward main foil to increase the available balancing couple... and a lot of very fast active control for both foils and kite. Sixty one knots may not be the limit....
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