Two new records for l'Hydroptère

[Source: Hydroptère] Holders of the absolute speed record over one nautical mile and of the 500-meter record in Category D since April 2007, Alain Thébault and his crew have just improved their performances and established two new records on Thursday:
- an average of 42.98 knots* over one nautical mile
- an average of 46.30 knots* over 500 meters

Accomplished off Napoleon Beach at Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, with a northwest wind blowing at 28 knots and a small swell of 0.6 meters, in the presence of Christophe Simian, WSSRC commissioner, these performances show l'Hydroptère's increase in power.

Alain Thébault and his crew, composed of Jean-Mathieu Bourgeon, François Brillant, François Cazala, Damien Colegrave, Jérémie Lagarrigue, Adrien Lombard, Sébastien Stéphant and Jacques Vincent, are satisfied with this training session. They are taking the time to fine-tune and to tame l’Hydroptère, whose performance improves with each sailing session. “We have had good weather conditions to improve our own records, but unfortunately they have not been sufficient to take on the absolute speed record over 500 meters. What is more, the swell has forced us to rein in the boat”, concluded Alain Thébault while stepping on land. With these two new records under their belt, the Hydroptère Team is, step by step, drawing closer to the final goal: to break the absolute speed record over 500 meters.

l'Hydroptère getting closer to the 50-knot barrier. Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône, 30 October 2008. Video copyright l'Hydroptère