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This High-Tech Sailboat Just Broke a Speed Record
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- This High-Tech Sailboat Just Broke a Speed Record
(SP80)
The SP80 kite boat crossed the 100 kmh speed mark last week, reaching 108 kmh, or 67.1 mph. That makes it the second-fastest sailboat ever recorded, but the Swiss team still plans to pursue the record set by Paul Larsen on Vestas Sailrocket II in 2009. That boat posted an average of 75.31 mph over 500 meters, or 547 yards.
But it was good enough to surpass the top speeds recorded of the world's fastest racing sailboats. An AC75 in the America's Cup reached 63.98 mph, and the F50 sailing catamarans in SailGP hit 63.36 mph. Both racing boats are much-better funded designs than the SP80, but also differ with their racing objectives. The SP80 is designed to go fast alone in a straight line rather than the America's Cup or SailGP racers, which sail fast in tight quarters in a group around a circuit.
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Pilot Mayeul van den Broek maneuvers the boat while Benoît Gaudiot steers the kite in a well-coordinated, high g-force record attempt.
"Very few sailboats in history have broken the 100 km/h barrier, and we're now tangibly closing in on our ultimate goal," said Mayeul van den Broek, the boat's pilot, in a statement. "What's especially encouraging is being able to repeat those speeds multiple times throughout the week. It confirms not only the boat's reliability, but also its capacity to go even faster."
The Swiss start-up team, with an average age of 23, will analyze data from their base in Lecaute, France, and plan to return to the water when conditions allow. The goal for successive speed runs is to hold these high speeds for over 500 meters, a distance required for official world record certification. They will be going after two other records before attempting to break the world speed record.
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"We know the boat has the potential—now it's up to us to become more precise in our handling," says Benoît Gaudiot, the kite pilot. "We're discovering how the boat behaves beyond 100 km/h and learning to control it. Every run helps us improve, and our coordination with Mayeul is sharpening with each outing."
Opposing forces: The kite sail propels and lifts the boat, while its foils anchor it to the water for fast propulsion in a straight line.
The speed runs involve two pilots closely coordinating their actions: One pilot focuses on the kite, while the other steers the boat. It's a balancing act, especially considering the opposing g-forces on both the boat and kite at these speeds. While the kite is pulling upwards, the SP80's foil keeps it tethered to the water, running flat like a Formula One car. But one mishap could destroy the 34.4-foot-long, carbon-fiber boat which weighs about 330 pounds. Gaudiot, who helped design the SP80, holds the kitesurfing speed record in the under-18 category.
Despite the high-fives after last week's successful speed runs, the SP80 team still needs more than 18 mph to beat the world record. The team figures the kite boat will have to reach speeds between 98 and 103 mph during the run to beat the record. The company plans speed records through the end of June in the Occitanie region of France.
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