The future of personal international sea travel
Posted on 22. Sep, 2010 by Jonathan Cherry in Technology
Sail away
With all this talk about ‘green-power’ and saving the planet options being a poor substitute for gas munching methods – it is with keen interest that we learn that this air-bourne looking yacht can achieve speeds of 50.17 knots over one nautical mile, meaning that it can go around the world in just 40 days.
Constructed from carbon and titanium, the boat combines state-of-the art techniques from both the aeronautical and marine industries. A trimaran with foils, the sleek vessel takes its name from the Greek words hydros (water) and ptère (wing). To achieve such a sizzling velocity, l’Hydroptère uses its wings to extract the boat’s hull from the water once it reaches a certain speed, thereby reducing drag.
With the delays that you have sitting in transit when you fly – this may just be a faster option in time to come.
One Response to “The future of personal international sea travel”
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steve
26. Sep, 2010
wow, for once you\’re a bit behind the game here.
L\’hydroptere has been charging around the med for a two three years now. But it most definitely can not be lived on. partly because it is manned by a bunch of looney frogs, but mostly it\’ll be stripped bare and won\’t even have a seat on it inside.
chasing 50knots has been the Holy Grail of speedsailing since the 80\’s when some aussies pushed it to about 45knots. the range of craft attempting it for the past four years has been amazing, but the f@#$ing! kitesurfers finally did it first (in luderitz, nogal). just like the four minute mile, within a week about five okes had gone over 50.
but l\’hydroptere did it about a year ago. the amazing thing is that she\’s actually a boat (the purists shun the kitesurfers on their serving trays). and even more amazing is that she can do it on the open sea, where most of the other contenders needed flatwater.
it really was exciting to follow.
start here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJqiYuLwRAM
and then google/youtube this:
l\’hydroptere (clearly)
finian maynard trench
sailrocket
macquarie innovation
yellow pages
luderitz speed week
there are others, but that should get you started