Trimaran breaks two speed records

The 60ft French trimaran l'Hydroptère broke two speed records in early September, including the world sailing speed record over 500 metres.

Averaging a speed of 51.36 knots over 500 metres, the dramatically designed tri-foiler cut through the water of Hyères Harbour at almost 100km/h, skippered by Alain Thébault.

The new 500 metre record of 51.36 knots bests the previous record set by Alex Caizergues in 2008, where he kitesurfed to an average speed of 50.57 knots in Namibia.

In addition to the 500 metre speed record, the French  trimaran l'Hydroptère also broke the nautical mile speed record, averaging 48.72 knots which blew apart the previous record of 43.09 knots.

The record set by the Hydroptère trimaran is a particularly sweet accolade because nine months prior, the cutting edge yacht capsized when decelerating from an alleged 61 knots, which significantly damaged the vessel.

Alain Thébault, l'Hydroptère's skipper, was clearly very pleased with the performance of the tri-foiler, using one of Yoda's lines from Star Wars: "There is no try… It's do or do not!. Today we did it!"

"We should not forget that this record is above all a technological adventure and a team work which could not have been possible without the support of our partners" added Alain Thébault, referring to Thierry Lombard, the managing partner of private banking house Lombard Odier which has been the Hydroptère's principal partner since 2005.

Together with Alain Thébault, l'Hydroptère's record-breaking crew included Jean-Mathieu Bourgeon, François Cazala, Anders Bringdal, Matt Hodgson, Jérémie Lagarrigue, Pierre Trémouille, Damien Colegrave, Stéphane Dyen, Gérard Navarin and Jacques Vincent.

The next challenge for the captivating Hydroptère trimaran will be open ocean long distance records, and more boats (including l'Hydroptère maxi) are expected to appear in 2010 and beyond.