| Hydroptère | |
| Designer: | VPLP design |
| Launched: | 1994 |
| Owner: | Chris Welsh & Gabriel Terrasse |
| Length: | 60ft |
| Beam: | 74ft |
Hydroptère is a French experimental sailing hydrofoil trimaran imagined by the yachtman Éric Tabarly. The Hydroptère project was managed by Alain Thébault, the design done by naval architects VPLP design[1] and the manufacturing by a group of French high-tech companies. Its multihull hydrofoil design allows the sail-powered vessel to reach high speeds on water. The design is based on experience from a range of hydrofoil sailcraft that Thébault built in cooperation with Éric Tabarly since the 1980s. On 5 October 2008 she reached a record speed of, however this was over a shorter distance than the 500m necessary to qualify for an official world record.[2] On 21 December 2008, the Hydroptère briefly reached [3] near Fos-sur-Mer, but capsized and turtled shortly thereafter.[4] [5]
On 4 September 2009, the Hydroptère broke the outright world record, sustaining a speed of for 500m (1,600feet) in of wind.[6] In November 2009, she broke the 50kn barrier for a nautical mile with a speed of in Hyères, France.[7]
During July 2015, the Hydroptère sailed 2215 nautical miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu and docked in Kewalo Harbor.[8] On 15 March 2016 the Harbor Master posted an "Abandoned Vessel" notice on the Hydroptère[9] which was subsequently sold at auction.[10] In June 2019, L'Hydroptère was bought by Chris Welsh (USA) and Gabriel Terrasse (FRA).[11] [12] In November 2019, l'Hydroptère was sailed from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California by professional sailor Mike Price and a delivery crew so that she could undergo an extensive re-fit.[13]