Ready to set a new transpacific speed record, Hydroptere is an awesome sailboat designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel. More specifically, the team behind this project is composed of Jean Le Cam, Alain Thébault, and Yves Parlier. The following weeks will be dedicated to its crossing of the Pacific, starting in Los Angeles and finishing in Honolulu.
The boat is an excellent example of advanced aeronautical engineering and top-notch technology. Fitted with foils or ‘marine wings’, it can float five meters (over 16 feet) above the water. As it pushes though the waves, the water thrusts the sailboat above the surface, ensuring its passengers a fun and very thrilling experience.
Because they have to withstand very high pressures, the Hydroptere’s wings had to be manufactured from special composite materials. Its makers chose epoxy-impregnated carbon fibers together with lightweight titanium parts, and the result might just be the world’s new fastest sailboat to ever cross the Pacific. Right now we know that it can reach a very impressive speed of 52 mph.
