Paul Larsen (AUS) broke the outright world sailing speed record in 2008, bettering a pace that had held since 1993. Three years later, he returned with a new craft and raised the rate five more times, finishing in 2012 at 65.45 knots averaged on a 500-meter course. The record has remained untouched, but a Swiss team has taken on the chase.
An attempt to improve on the record is underway with the SP80 kiteboat which has reached a top speed of 58.261 knots (108 km/h), a personal best which makes it the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Larsen’s Vestas Sailrocket II peak speed of 68.01 knots.
While peak speeds are not used for official world record certification, it reflects improvement following a round of optimizations.
“This is a major milestone for the entire team,” said Mayeul van den Broek, SP80 pilot. “Very few sailboats in history have broken the 100 km/h barrier, and we’re now tangibly closing in on our ultimate goal. 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. From here, the work continues: analyzing the data on land, and refining our handling on the water as soon as the wind allows.”
The short-term objective for SP80 is to hold these speeds over 500 meters, as only the average speed over this distance is eligible for official world record certification.
“We know the boat has the potential—now it’s up to us to become more precise in our handling,” explained Benoît Gaudiot, kite pilot. “We’re discovering how the boat behaves beyond 100 km/h and learning to control it.
“This week, we came close several times to averaging 50 knots over 500 meters. It’s naturally a bit frustrating to end the week at 48.6 knots, but we know it’s only a matter of time. Every run helps us improve, and our coordination with Mayeul is sharpening with each outing.”
Aside from the outright record, there are four record categories (based on sail area) the team is within reach of that could be certified by the WSSRC (World Sailing Speed Record Council):
• 50.07 knots average – Macquarie Innovation (2009), world record in Category C (sail area between 21 and 27 m²)
• 51.36 knots average – l’Hydroptère (2009), world record in Category D (sail area over 27 m²)
*SP80’s kite size is adaptable according to wind conditions with a surface area spanning from 20m2 to 50m2.
However, the team’s ultimate ambition remains unchanged: to break the absolute world speed sailing record set by Paul Larsen aboard Vestas Sailrocket II, with an average of 65.45 knots over 500 meters.
That means SP80 still has 16 knots to gain, but the team is confident it can continue progressing. New trials are planned over the coming weeks, through the end of June, off the coast of Leucate and Port-La Nouvelle, in the Occitanie region of France.
Details: https://sp80.ch/
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DemirHindiSG 28 Mayıs 2025-00:09
