November 12, Hydroptere 4 breaks the nautical mile record with a speed of: 50.17 knots

Photo's: Guilain GRENIER - www.martin-raget.com

The concept of l'Hydroptère is simple - freeing her from Archimedes' Principle, by lifting up the hulls of the boat through a vertical thrust developed by the foils, which are like sea wings.

Performance:

Within the past 100 years, our skies have seen the transition from airships to aircraft. The same transition has taken place in the sailing world today: From sailing boats to flying boats. Contrary to the present trend for power and mass, l'Hydroptère aims to reduce brake and drag. A jewel of technological perfection totally in line with sustainable development; 5 tons of carbon and titanium that can take off only with wind force.

Less sail area, less brake, less consumed energy, only 2 m¾ in contact with water.

From the first prototype launched in 1994 until today, l'Hydroptère's teams, driven by their passion, have known how to benefit from technological innovations to build, improve and make a pioneer sailing boat fly, combining glide and perfection.

The story of this carbon bird is more than just an adventure that has gathered together skippers, engineers and technicians from the leading companies in the aviation and naval industries.

An extraordinary sport and human adventure linking sky and sea, with a boat built to break the sailing speed record at more than 50 knots . . .

When the idea of the Hydroptère was born, technology was not advanced enough to allow the development of the concept. In the mid-1970's, Eric Tabarly imagined and designed a trimaran on hydrofoils, but with the materials of the time, it was impossible to make it; one had to wait for composite materials.

* Carbon and titanium structures to meet the double demand of extreme lightness as well as extreme strength thanks to the competences of the Airbus plant in Nantes.

* A 3D flight simulator: the Hydrop 6, developed by Philippe Perrier, to understand and master the prototype's flying range

* On-board measurement systems which help the sailing team to know in real time the strain values on all boat's strategic points. Then the data recorded are analysed to improve performance.

September 4, 2009

photo: Gilles Martin-Raget / L'Hydroptere

Friday September 4, 2009 - 7:00 pm. l'Hydroptère has just crossed the mythical 50-knot barrier with an average speed of more than 51 knots over 500 meters. The data will be confirmed after the analysis of the measurements and will then be validated by the WSSRC.

25 knots of established wind and gusts at 28 knots were enough for l'Hydroptère to beat the absolute speed record. The process has been faster than planned. This great performance rewards the commitment and the work of Alain Thébault and his crew members.

Click for full report

Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget

December 20, l'Hydroptère capsized after a record run, attempts on the record will resume as soon as weather conditions improve.

After crossing the Channel in 2005 faster than Blériot in his plane, l'Hydroptère broke two world speed records in 2007, thus showing her combination of reliability and performance.

Today, Alain Thébault's flying trimaran holds the record for being the fastest sailing craft over one nautical mile, with an average speed of 43.09 knots. The next goal is to cross the legendary 50-knot speed barrier, which is the equivalent of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier, so as to enter the History of Sailing.

Click for l'Hydroptère web page and latest news

l'Hydroptère is a project that combines technology, performance and human adventure.

When the idea of the Hydroptère was born, technology was not advanced enough to allow the development of the concept. In the mid-1970's, Eric Tabarly imagined and designed a trimaran on hydrofoils, but with the materials of the time, it was impossible to make it; one had to wait for composite materials.

* Carbon and titanium structures to meet the double demand of extreme lightness as well as extreme strength thanks to the competences of the Airbus plant in Nantes.

* A 3D flight simulator: the Hydrop 6, developed by Philippe Perrier, to understand and master the prototype's flying range

* On-board measurement systems which help the sailing team to know in real time the strain values on all boat's strategic points. Then the data recorded are analysed to improve performance.