VIDEO Sailing at 80 knots? Here are the record-breaking astroboats
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
The hunt for the world sailing speed record is on again: the target is 150 km/h (80.9935 miles per hour).
Possible? yes, if you watch the video now:
You’ll see how the Syroco Concept team wants to break the world speed record in 2022, which currently stands at 65.54 knots achieved by Vestas Sailrocket 2 in 2012.
Until now it has been thought that 65 knots was the maximum point that could be reached. Beyond this threshold, in simple terms, the boat/foil/sail combination becomes impossible to handle with the risk of disintegration. Now two teams want to prove that 80 knots is achievable.
Reaching 80 m/h according to the French
The French Syroco team think they have solved the problem. The Syroco concept – named after the hot “sirocco” wind that originates in the Sahara desert – essentially consists of three components: the hull or module; a kite, which provides the driving force; and a hydrofoil, whose purpose is to compensate for the vertical force and provide a counterforce to the forces generated by the kite. This foil is on a long vertical with a T-foil at its base.
The foil and kite operate in tandem, so if the kite is flying higher in the air the foil will rotate to position itself deeper in the water and if the kite is closer to the surface of the water, the foil will move to be more horizontally aligned to the surface.
Although we are used to foils operating as lifting surfaces, the foil used by the French Syroco team will be used extensively to keep the whole boat in the sea and prevent it from flying away. In theory, this balancing of the forces of the foil and the kite generating power means that the more the kite pulls, the more negative lift will be needed on the foil to maintain balance.
How the SP80 team thinks to break the record
But there is also another Swiss team, SP80, that wants to break 80 knots. With a different approach from Syroco. SP80 starts from a slightly more “normal” concept. To understand what SP80 is, watch this video,
In detail, SP80 will use two floats located on each side of the main cockpit to produce stability. In this sense, the concept is not so far removed from the current fastest sailing boat in the world, Sailrocket.
Also similar to the Sailrocket concept is a large foil at the aft end of the boat that will take care of the lateral forces of the kite. This foil will be what they call super-ventilated – ventilation is different to cavitation in that it refers to air being sucked along the length of the foil from the surface.
When the SP80 foils break the surface, they will manipulate this ventilated air in a similar way to how Syrocco manipulates the air created by cavitation pressure voids. So the team has superventilated rather than supercavitated foils.
Another super-ventilated foil is located at the bow, which will be used as a rudder, while two other small foils are located under each float to keep the boat flat on the surface of the water.
A key element of the SP80 concept, similar to the Syroco concept, will be the stern kite control module. This module can rotate around the circular aft section of the hull and is attached to the main foil.
HELP US TO KEEP YOU ALWAYS UPDATED
The journalists of Giornale della Vela, together with Motorboats and Top Yacht Design, commit themselves every day to guaranteeing quality, updated and correct information on the world of boating for free through the websites. If you appreciate our work, please support us by subscribing to our magazine. The annual subscription costs only 49 euros!
DISCOVER OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Every day, interviews, sea trials, webinars. All the sailing world, minute by minute, but on line. CLICK HERE to sign up, it’s free!
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER, IT’S FREE!
To stay updated on all the news from the world of sailing, selected by our editorial staff, subscribe to the newsletter of Giornale della Vela! It is very simple, just enter your email below, accept the Privacy Policy and click on the “Subscribe” button. This way, you will receive the best sailing news in your email twice a week! It is free and you can unsubscribe at any time, without obligation!
ISCRIVIMI
Share:
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
“Broadening the base of sailors by focusing on young people.” Word from Alberto La Tegola, president of the VIII Zone FIV
Since 2013 President of the Regional Committee PUGLIA – VIII Zone of the Italian Sailing Federation, Alberto La Tegola is living proof that when you do your job well you are rewarded. Alberto La Tegola, president “quater” The executive in
Maxis put on a show in Sorrento, 30 of the world’s most beautiful boats to play for the European
What a battle among maxis in Sorrento waters for the Inshore program of the European Maxi, a review that opened with the Regatta of the Three Gulfs and which proceeds these days with the coastal trials and between the
Farewell to Giorgio Carriero, the “lord” of Italian offshore sailing
The sailing world mourns the passing of Giorgio Carriero, one of the most emblematic figures of Italian offshore sailing, who passed away peacefully on May 17, 2025 at the age of 92. Owner of the legendary Mandrake, boats with which
Regatta of the Three Gulfs: the little ones mock everyone in compensated time
A decidedly memorable edition of the Regatta of the Three Gulfs this 2025, both in terms of the emerging standings, with many surprises, and the weather conditions that made possible a new record on the course. With an extraordinary time