SP80 Trimaran aims to smash the current, unauthorized sailboat record record

This video shows how it is to approach the mythical speed barrier of 62.1 miles per hour, 100 kmh), which is seen as the overbearing barrier on the water on an unable to sail. At this speed, the cavitation under the water slows down every fuselage, and without a motor, to push it through, the hull design is crucial to move beyond this hump.

The team behind the rocket-like SP80 film, which recently reached more than 51 miles (59.03 miles per hour), plans to cross the magical 54-knot line on the way to beat the speed record of 65.45 knots (75.3 mph), which was set by Paul Larsen on board Vestas Sailrock in 2012.

“This run over 50 nodes enabled us to finally observe the behavior of our film in a speed range that remains largely unexplored in the world of sailing,” said Benoît Gaudiot, Kite pilot on board the experimental racing boat SP80. “We deliberately slowed the boat before we reached 52 nodes as a precaution, but our analysis of the data shows that it has not attracted any major obstacles.”

The slim 33-foot film trimaran with sponsors on both sides and a small, protected cockpit for the pilot and a co-pilot plays more like a kiteboard than a traditional sailing yacht. The team hopes not only to break the record of Vestas Sailrocket II, but also to break because its boat has a theoretical top speed of 80 knots or 92 miles per hour. Hence the SP80 name.

Despite the sponsorship by the Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille, the SP80 initiative is a shoestring startup that was launched nine years ago by three friends-Mayeul van den Broek, Xavier Lepercq and Benoit Gaudot- that decided to create a boat that would cross the apparently Unknot brand. The team uses a proprietary and yet unproved design, which combines the massive kitesurfing sails with a carbon fiber hull with only £ 330. The trimaran initially needed more than two years and 40,000 hours to design, and since then it has gone through several iterations.

According to the rules, the SP80 must not use the same type of electronics or lithium batteries to adapt the sails such as the America's Cup or SailGP films, although the SP80 has a much higher load on the sail. It can only use wind power. As a result, tests are carried out in one of the world's most secular routes in the world outside of Leucate, France.

“The boat is now close to its full technical potential,” says the SP80 pilot Mayeul van den Broek. “The challenge for Benoît and I is now to sail as much as possible to master the behavior of the boat from 0 to over 70 knots (130 km/h). We have to finely park our airways, improve our synchronization and push the machine even further. “

A mistake at these speeds could break the boat.

“The weather was not always cheap, although winds are often too light to collect considerable sailing lessons,” added van den Broek. “But we can feel it with every excursion – the logistics runs smoothly, the boat wants to go faster. Now we only need more time on the water to exploit its full potential. “

It hopes to achieve this potential in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, the Swiss team has a French competitor, Syroco, who uses a kite surf sail that actually raises the ship over the water. But it is bound to the water by a long fin under the surface, which serves as a sea anchor. The team plans to increase the SP80 edge by only sailing faster with 80.99 knots (or 93.2 miles per hour).