''Hydroptère'' is a French experimental
sailing hydrofoil trimaran imagined by the yachtman
Éric Tabarly
Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly was a French Navy officer and yachtsman, born 24 July 1931 in Nantes and died 13 June 1998 of drowning in the Irish Sea. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Osta ...
. The Hydroptère project was managed by
Alain Thébault, the design done by naval architects
VPLP design and the manufacturing by a group of French high-tech companies. Its
multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered
vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with
Éric Tabarly
Éric Marcel Guy Tabarly was a French Navy officer and yachtsman, born 24 July 1931 in Nantes and died 13 June 1998 of drowning in the Irish Sea. He developed a passion for offshore racing very early on and won several ocean races such as the Osta ...
since the 1980s. On 5 October 2008 she reached a record speed of , however this was over a shorter distance than the 500m necessary to qualify for an official world record. On 21 December 2008, the ''Hydroptère'' briefly reached near
Fos-sur-Mer
Fos-sur-Mer (, literally ''Fos on Sea''; Provençal: ''Fòs'') is a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France.
Geography
Fos-sur-Mer is situated about north west of Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast, and to the west ...
, but
capsized
Capsizing or keeling over occurs when a boat or ship is rolled on its side or further by wave action, instability or wind force beyond the angle of positive static stability or it is upside down in the water. The act of recovering a vessel fro ...
and
turtled shortly thereafter.
![Launching Hydroptère](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Launching_Hydropt%C3%A8re.jpg)
On 4 September 2009, the ''Hydroptère'' broke the
outright world record, sustaining a speed of for in of wind. In November 2009, she broke the barrier for a nautical mile with a speed of in
Hyères
Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.
The old town lies from the sea clustered arou ...
, France.
Abandonment and sale
During July 2015, the ''Hydroptère'' sailed 2215 nautical miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu and docked in Kewalo Harbor. On 15 March 2016 the Harbor Master posted an "Abandoned Vessel" notice on the ''Hydroptère'' which was subsequently sold at auction.
In June 2019, L'Hydroptère was bought by Chris Welsh (USA) and Gabriel Terrasse (FRA). In November 2019, l'Hydroptère was sailed from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California by professional sailor Mike Price and a delivery crew so that she could undergo an extensive re-fit.
See also
*
Hydrofoil
*
Sailing hydrofoil
*
World Sailing Speed Record Council
The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC) was founded in 1972, initially to ratify records at the inaugural Weymouth Speed Week held every year since in Portland Harbor.The WSSRC is the body authorized by the World Sailing (formerly Internati ...
*
Speed sailing record
Speed sailing records are sanctioned, since 1972, by the World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC). Records are measured either by average speed over a specified distance or by total distance traveled during a specified time interval. The three ...
*
Speed sailing
References
External links
Hydroptère 2.0 official site Youtube Video of ''Hydroptère''4 September 2009, world record video (51.36 kts) on Youtubewww.hbm.com (The Worlds Fastest Sailing Boat using HBM Measurement Technology)
Hydrofoils
Multihulls
2000s sailing yachts
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