As one who is fascinated with yachts, the amazing speed and design of the record breaking yacht called “l’Hydroptere” has really caught my interest. While ultimately a luxury yacht in nature, this water vessel has been referred to as the “Fastest Sailboat in the World” due to the fact that it can travel a distance of over 500 meters in a span of just ONE nautical mile.
Furthermore, it is also a relatively large sailing yacht, coming in at seventy nine feet in length. On September 7th of 2009, this amazing yacht set a new record as far as speed is concerned. It was clocked doing 51.36 knots in a span of a little over 500 meters altogether!
Many of you are probably wondering what the true fascination is regarding this particular water vessel, right? I know because I wondered the same thing myself at first. Well, first of all, it has the reputation of being the absolute fastest watercraft in the entire world that is solely powered by wind alone. This type of yacht, which is referred to as a “Hydrofoil Trimaran” is constructed of a material that is referred to as “Carbon Fiber”. A man by the name of Alain Thebault actually created the design of this amazing yacht – which seems to simply skim the water at record breaking speeds with little to no effort from the crew onboard! While many cruising yachts and sailing yachts in general are known for slow speeds and bulky composition, this is a yacht that is truly in a class all of its own!
I took a close look at this amazing water vessel. You know, when you look at it, it almost looks like a small airplane – like a Cessna. Despite the fact that it has a relatively large body overall, the design seems to be quite slimming. As a result, I feel this is what contributes most to the yacht’s amazing ability to reach record speeds in such short distances. It does appear as if there is a need for a full crew to successfully operate this sailing yacht, so it will likely not be the best choice for those who aspire to meet world records like sailing solo around the world, or through various bodies of water. For those that want to achieve records related to traveling fast distances in short amounts of time, the l’Hydroptere seems to be the best matched yacht among all available.
In all honesty, I feel as if this particular sailing yacht will set new standards when it comes to the future of designs and speed enhancements in the yachting industry. While it is a relatively new architecture when it comes to yacht design, it is one that I feel will help to create more of a variety in boating. I find it absolutely amazing to research news on the yachting industry and find a water vessel that stand outside the standard of typical yachts, which really “breaks the mold”. Just when I thought I have seen just about every type of yacht on the market, the exquisite l’Hydroptere hit the market and literally swept me away!
And now let’s look at this marvel of engineering in action:
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Related links:
l’Hydroptere’s official website
Foto: hydroptere.com