When I was coming of age, many thought that the future of speed on the water would be in motor-powered hydrofoils. While there are still a few hydrofoil ferries in operation, the idea really never caught on. Now, however, hydrofoils have appeared from a different quarter, powered not by engines, but by the wind.
Last week, a photograph hit the net of the Oracle America’s Cup AC45 “flying” on foils in San Francisco Bay. “L” shaped daggerboard foils and a “T” foil on the rubber were added to the racing catamaran and “voila,” she could fly. Exactly how the foils are controlled is still unclear but the photos released by Oracle Team USA definately show the boat flying on the “L” shaped foils, or ‘flying like “L“‘ as the caption on their Facebook page describes it.
Coincidentally, another large sailing hydrofoil arrives this week on the West Coast. Alain Thébault’s l’Hydroptère DCNS has traveled by ship from the Mediterranean and is expected to be unloaded in Long Beach today. l’Hydroptère DCNS is the latest incarnation of Thébault’s “flying sailboats.” l’Hydroptère team will attempt to set a record sailing the hydrofoil sailboat across the Pacific in the coming months.
l’Hydroptère has already set several world records. On September 4, 2009, the Hydroptère broke the outright world record, sustaining a speed of 52.86 knots (97.90 km/h; 60.83 mph) for 500m in 30 knots of wind. In November 2009, she broke the 50 knot barrier for a nautical mile with a speed of 50.17 knots (92.91 km/h; 57.73 mph) in Hyères, France.
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