In Port-Leucate, this strange winged boat wants to beat the world sailing speed record

Mayeul van den Broek et Benoît Gaudiot (au centre et à droite), deux des trois cofondateurs du SP80, sont aussi les pilotes pour battre le record. MAXPPP – Jean François Ottonello

Designed by student engineers at the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne, this strange prototype looks more like a fighter plane pulled by a kite wing. It is carrying out its tests in the Aude, a very windy spot, to beat the record in the spring.

In Port-Leucate (Aude), the barge can see a strange bird: the SP80, a prototype pulled by a kite wing that is a boat in name only, designed by a Franco-Swiss team with the aim of breaking the world speed record under sail in the spring of 2025.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

65.42 knots to beat

Trimaran-type hull, double cockpit reminiscent of those of fighter planes, an articulated arm and a kite wing as a mast… The skiff was designed for speed by engineering students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPLF). In early December, the 11-meter by 7.5-meter vessel underwent a series of tests over a week, reaching 27 knots, or 50 km/h, still far from the world record set in 2012 at 65.45 knots, or 121.06 km/h, by the Australian Paul Larsen.

The foil, an essential weapon

It had reached 43 knots (around 80 km/h) in the summer of 2024, assures the company's communications manager, Laura Manon, but with a foil that had only been designed to go at 40 knots, and the new foil still requires meticulous adjustments. The foil, a sort of supporting wing that replaces the keel and allows boats to levitate on the water and thus reach record speeds, had already allowed Paul Larsen to set his world record.

In addition to this device, the SP80's main innovation is the use of a kite wing, similar to that of paragliders, which should allow it to generate more traction thanks to the wind. In the boat itself, the two pilots Mayeul van den Broek and Benoît Gaudiot, two of the three co-founders of the SP80 who met in Lausanne, share the roles: one steers the ship and the other maneuvers the sail.

Applying the use of kite sails to maritime transport

They will have to manage to maintain an average speed of more than 65.45 knots over 500 m to beat the record, which they plan to achieve in the spring of 2025. “The goal is to go for this record. Afterwards, the boat was designed to go at an average speed of 80 knots, so that is the long-term goal terme”, says Benoît Gaudiot.

After the record, the SP80 company plans to use its innovations to develop the use of kite sails in maritime transport, to help propel cargo ships and reduce their fuel consumption.