| 61 Knots under Sail !!!
...courtesy of BYM
France. Hydroptere achieves 61 knots then capsizes
Sunday, 21 December 2008
l’Hydroptère has just recorded a speed peak of 61 knots this morning. Thus, the flying trimaran is the first sailing boat to reach such an extraordinary speed. Wind conditions were pretty though with an established wind at 35-38 knots and gusts at over 45 knots off Napoléon beach at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, which is the speed base of l’Hydroptère, certified by the WSSRC.
That’s in these conditions that the trimaran started the first full speed run of the day. Taking advantage of the established wind, the speed progressively increased: 50, 55 and then 61 knots at top speed! The squall that provoked this acceleration was really powerful and resulted in l’Hydroptère’s capsizing.
For the moment, Alain Thébault and his crew are preparing the towage of the trimaran, which will be moored in Fos sur Mer before being put in dry dock. The crew members are suffering from little injuries, but they are above all delighted with this speed peak which confirms the boat’s potential. They are impatient to get back to the attempts and stabilize those impressive speeds.
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