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North Sails Loft 57 Podcast

52.86 knots for l’Hydroptere

by l’Hydroptère media on 8 Oct 2008
l’Hydroptère has resumed her training for the absolute sailing speed record Hydroptere.com http://www.Hydroptere.com

Alain Thébault and his crew increased the record speed of l'Hydroptère from 47.6 to 52,86 knots last Saturday. In these very strong wind conditions with gusts records at over 40 knots, l'Hydroptère is the first sailing boat to break the wind barrier of 50 knots in top speed.

The WSSRC officially re-opened the spot on 30 September. Since then, l’Hydroptère has resumed her training for the absolute sailing speed record, recently established at 49.84 knots by the American kitesurfer, Rob Douglas (and since broken twice to now stand at over 50kts).

This performance has only served to strengthen the motivation of Alain Thébault and his crew, who hope to take on the challenge of 50 knots very soon, and who are eagerly watching the weather conditions.

This week the wind conditions were pretty favourable, but the swell formed by the west winds made it impossible to go to the speed base at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.

Therefore, l'Hydroptère trained in the bay of Fos sur Mer.

During these training sessions, Alain Thébault and his crew brought the boat's record speed from 47.6 to 52.86 knots52.86 knots. A recording from the official Trimble measurement system, required by the WSSRC is on the l'Hydroptère website.

http://www.hydroptere.com/

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