l’Hydroptère back in the water

by Event Media on 28 Apr 2008
l’Hydroptère, arrived this morning in Toulon (South of France)

The boat will attempt to break the sailing speed record at more than 50 knots, after spending six months in La Trinité sur Mer being put into pure-speed configuration, in the shipyard.

Last season, the carbon bird broke two world speed records.

In April 2007, l’Hydroptère broke a first record over 500 meters at an average speed of 44.81 knots and a second one over one nautical mile, a performance which made her the fastest craft over the last distance.

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After this feat, the team decided to temporarily set aside open sea trials in order to concentrate on breaking the mythical speed barrier of 50 knots.

Thus, 2008 will be devoted to pure speed for which l’Hydroptère is now specialially configured.

In order to accomplish this, studies and trials have been carried out by our team of engineers, in collaboration with the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, prior to and throughout the entire works.

The rigging, the platform and the external parts have been finely modified to bring the boat’s speed potential over 50 knots.

The next few days will be devoted to a series of tests on the new rigging and sails, and on the new textile streamlining, which has recently been installed.

After a final phase of assembly, l’Hydroptère will be able to tackle her goal for 2008 – to become the fastest sailing craft on the planet.