Always On - Flying on the world's fastest sailboat

It's called L'Hydroptere and the French concept sailboat -- with its marine style wings -- basically flies on the water. CNET's Molly Wood meets Alain Thebault, the boat's skipper, and gets an inside look at the tech that makes it glide.
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[@phillipphil1615]

I met this guy when he was testing his larger and latest scale model in Quiberon in the winter, he was living in a small stone house, completely broke, having to scrounge wood to heat his small stone house. He is incredibly driven and passionate, he managed to convince companies to work and finance his project some came along, some left and others took over. Frankly the performance of the boat is really not what impresses me the most. It's undoubtedly Alain Thebault and his relentless passion.

[@yoliegunderson8749]

Phillip Phil how fortunate for you and thank you for sharing your story. It reminded me to stay the course.

[@wholeNwon]

I think at some level, we all yearn to live our lives like that. "Many men lead lives of quiet desperation." Others have the courage to liberate themselves.

[@jamesbadham9665]

Althought that boat and its speed of 60+ mph is pretty darn impressive.

[@gillescordier8033]

Phillip Phil I woulld say that the boat's performance is quite amazing...!!

[@samfrancisco8095]

I think your story is BS.

[@450cafe]

I don't understand, why so negative? This guy has followed his dream and created something amazing! Why slam him, he should be encouraged to keep going. This is how new products and innovations come to life. Keep going Alain, amazing accomplishment!

[@maxorbit357]

Trolls often disappear. How could you be negative about fast sailboats. lmao!

[@yoliegunderson8749]

Kasey Thompson yes!!! Absolutely. Well said!

[@micheldecaprio7261]

David Ginola

[@kelvinham8576]

I agree with you. These guys push material engineering, hydo dynamics efficiency to a new level. Applications can be picked up in unexpected areas. Big thumbs up to these guys!

[@FJDH11]

Down-voters are probably crazy feminists and beta males.

[@IanMacLeansnv]

At Chrissy Field, I saw AC 45's out on the bay practicing for a fleet race. Foiling. Inshore of them, however, were foiling moths, and downwind, the moths were blowing past the cats. And out in the middle of the bay, L'Hydroptere was making speed runs. I have never seen anything like it. When pointed right at you, the boat disappeared into it's own thinness much as fighter aircraft do (smallest profile = lowest drag). Sailboats aren't supposed to leave rooster tails larger than the boat. They're not supposed to look like fighter planes obscuring themselves in a supersonic condensation mist, but L'Hydroptere did, creating it's own speed mist which may have lubricated it's drag, come to think of it. Never seen anything like it, love that boat. One of the coolest things ever...

[@kevinmoore4887]

I use to windsurf off Crissy Field. The AC cats were fun to watch. Arne Andersen's Turbine powered boats were amazing too. 100 mph fast with a helicopter to look ahead. Almost zero wake. I have to look into the foiling moths.

[@The_Revealer_7]

Very cool design. I really liked the enthusiasm of the French sailboat designer :)) 56 knots is 103,71 kilometre per hour. Very fast.

[@adamdonovan5633]

This guy is a walking/sailing demonstration of what ALIVENESS looks like! Bravo Alain! Bravo!

[@alexcave7573]

56 knots ! Wow. That is faster than most powerboats on the water and almost the maximum land speed on a motorway. Great seeing the photos of the early model prototypes boats that this man built too. What a brilliant dream to have eventually realised.

[@BenDover-wm7wf]

Lol

[@sailawayteam]

Alain Thebault is charming! Many high end sailors are very enthusiastic, but he is so very exited, still like a child. Like when he's bouncing on the trampoline to show Molly the boat. :) And this after so many years with his dreamboats, and undoubtedly there have been a lot of setbacks.

[@yoliegunderson8749]

sailawayteam beautifully presented. Yes, I can see the joy in his heart.

[@RGTee]

sailawayteam n

[@michaelkeaton5394]

Just so you know the older guy olding the model at 1:26 is Eric Tabarly, and if you don't know him Google him...

[@bobbythompson3544]

This is one seriously talented man to make his childhood dream reality, well done sir!

[@u235u235u235]

he certainly hyped himself up. he told us he's passionate like 10x, he told us he's humble, he said he wants to fly!

[@nickigna]

Alain Thebault has this irresistible charm to him. What a good chap!

[@peasoupman]

I love how passionate and energetic the guy is! He's fantastic! More people should look to him as a role model. He's doing something that he loves, He loves life, and he acts like a kid when he's a middle aged man.

[@muratguney8514]

World need this kind of man for inspiration.

[@orvillehobson8397]

The crowning word..Humble.

[@bestvip5803]

This guy reminds me of Elon Musk, wish we could replace every bad human with one of these types

[@Keet619]

AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME! Sailing Tech is advancing in leaps and bounds lately, good job.

[@evanpenny348]

Agree that there is no need for negativity, but in fact his design looks remarkable similar to a three foil boat designed way back in the late sixties (I think) and called the forty knot sail boat. It was designed by a NASA scientist but never got beyond the working scale model. Gosh, forty knots sounds like such a modest aim these days. so congratulations to Thebault for getting his idea to full size and actually proving the design.

[@sandergjertsenstvold1051]

"Just the wind, my paper, my pen, my passion" The most French sentence I've ever heard.

[@milesmouse72]

this thing is strictly business, no frills or accents. just a water based fighter jet...love it!!!

[@Mr7valentine7]

56 knots - unbelievable! My very best regards!

[@SabdoBagus]

The basic design of threemaran actually already adopted by fishery boat at Indonesia or south east asia region since the century past and untill now

[@biffbiffsail569]

Saw this boat in France several years ago.Very impressive. Has to be super strong. Lovely blond crew member talked to me about it and said it was a blast.

[@kikoleotte]

WELL DONE ... follow your dreams, the world is yours !!

[@CockatooDude]

Well you gotta get an education first. This thing doesn't work for everyone.

[@CockatooDude]

Dane Hartwell Why does that matter? All I am saying is that machines like this yacht here require lots of higher level physics to get the power of the sails, the speed required to hydroplane, etc. So while the guy was building model boats, he was also getting an education, so he could know what he was doing better and continually improve his designs. Also, I am 17, I can't exactly do much right now, but fear not, I definitely intend to make contributions to technology in the future.

[@rapid13]

My dream is where I see myself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at me.

[@vinorob]

I followed my dream and got 12 years

[@chicut84]

No is not true. ...not for every one..! Hi

[@petermuller7029]

I with you Kasey. Full of respect I am for this guy. Leave the others because they do not know what their missing.

[@theamorantoplace3493]

so inspiring!!! wishing greater heights for the sailing team!!!

[@barneybruns887]

Stay Humble, show by action. This guy will go far.

[@alfredferreira]

And with speed.

[@d.cypher2920]

11 years later... Still blows my mind, as a 9.5 years live-aboard sailboat dweller. Just blows my mind 🤯 🇺🇸😎🙏❤️❤️❤️

[@tonywilson4713]

I have no idea how an 11 year old video like this was recommended, but its kind of fascinating and also tragic. I checked the Wikipedia page and in 2015 they sailed from Los Angeles to Honolulu and docked in Kewalo Harbor. On 15 March 2016 the Harbor Master posted an "Abandoned Vessel" notice on the Hydroptère which was subsequently sold at auction. There's a comment above from 7 years ago that says they met "this guy" and he was flat broke.

[@TsarOfRuss]

Alain Thebault is a very POSITIVE MAN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So friendly, even with his mates

[@Rob-ln7dd]

What a fantastic inspirational energetic man, his passion energy and enthusiasm are truly a lesson to us all. I love this video it makes me happy and interested, I'd love to work with someone like this, brilliant !

[@Rich161202]

SIMPLY AMAZING! PEOPLE THAT ACCOMPLISH THEIR PROJECTS AND DREAMS,! Keep going for sure!!!

[@chicut84]

Senza parole la passione di quest uomo una passione di una vita trasformata in realtà ! Respect!!

[@777vikingfan]

This is how the Wright brothers started, an idea and a dream..bravo sir!

[@cervelo9465]

The new Ineos Grenadiers 2020 has just been launched in New Zealand. Est. top speed 56 knots. I loved Monsieur Thebault's video.

[@skakpedersen]

Columbus: “Can it fly?” Skipper: “She’d like to”

[@AllenVictorCox]

Hardly sea worthy fast but not safe!

[@cruithne6021]

Nov. 22 2012, the Vestas Sail Rocket took the record with a documented and recognized 63.25 knots.

[@ivandavid-rewiri90]

Well done!!!! .....Follow your passion Alain.....like your boat. Show the sailing world what can be achieved!!!....when you have the passion.

[@ymp5000]

Holy shit that's fast.

[@kaasie71]

Nice to hear and see those passionate people speak about there lives and the things they achieved.

[@skakpedersen]

What would Columbus have paid, to see this boat? It’s fascinating to see the vast improvements on the vessels, and crew accomodations have been turned back to Columbus’ time. Thanks for sharing this magnificent video.

[@michaelbrewster3736]

Columbus was a jerk!

[@BenDover-wm7wf]

Then the indigenous peoples of the americas could have been eradicated much much faster. Yay!

[@dehdeh55]

Looks like fun. The water chop looks like no more than 25 knots at most, so he is going twice wind speed. Thus, like an iceboat, the wind speed and direction is mostly due to motion of the boat. Obviously, it is a huge step from the brief flat water speed runs to crossing oceans as he plans. Good luck!

[@shadowbanned5164]

56 knots is amazing for a sailboat holy cow.

[@Richard-wk9le]

I have sailed on many different kinds of multi hull boats from Hobie 16,s Tornados, Malibu outriggers and the Catalina express taxi cat which does 35 knots there is just something about going fast on water that gives you passion, flying a Hull must be experienced to be understood but flying an entire boat at those speeds is just incredible if you need more sponsors just take them for a ride.

[@matthewq2365]

Looks like fun! Beautiful work! I wonder what we will dream next!

[@sirql8]

65 mph is sick crazy speed for a sailboat.

[@MikeBarnett1776]

My little trimaran tends to get jealous when I watch videos of such amazing craft...

[@jaytemkar8077]

I had to do lot of calculation to understand exact speed. From noughts to miles to kilometers. Its record speed is 104 kilometers per hour. Amazing..

[@mikelewis5603]

L'Hydroptere had been sitting in Kawalo Basin, here in Honolulu, for a couple of years. Slip fees weren't paid. Then, towed over to Keehi Lagoon, a few miles away, and stuck on a mooring ball. Vandals stole everything. Sold several months ago for $20,000 USD. Very sad, for such a great boat.

[@petrufka]

holy moly flying jalopy! I love his passion, he is a child playing in the world as an adult. He is pushing the limits! I wonder if he and Laird Hamilton have influenced one-another? LAird redesigned a surfboard he uses to ride Big Waves where the board floats above the water riding a rudder deep in the water. He eliminated the chop one had to surf through. Increased speed, easier handling. Maybe Laird could water ski/surf behind this dude! That'd be sweet!

[@walterpalmer2749]

56 knots under the right conditions. Kudos. Even Magellan needed the wind.

[@trollerxoxox]

56 knots? I've met sailors who are proud of their boats doing 17.5 knots... This is AMAZING!!!

[@BR549guy]

A great guy with a great design and a great dream; .... an inspiration for everyone. That's the up-side. The downside is that, as any sailor would know, he could only achieve these speeds on a reach in either direction, most likely a close reach. That's the only way his forward motion could keep adding to the apparent wind. If he were running before the wind, unless he could retract those hydrofoils, my guess is that he'd probably go slower than your standard catamaran. Rule of thumb is: The faster you sail, the more you can only sail in one direction off the weather (in either direction, of course). That tends to rule out pointing, broad reaches, and running before the wind; leaving only 2 and 3, below, as options, but after tweaking catamarans for years, I'd put my money on 2; 0. Weather 1. Pointing 2. Close reach 3. Beam reach 4. Broad reach 5. Running before the wind Thus, out of 180 possible degrees of wind access on each side of the vessel, you're stuck with a little over 30 degrees within which one can attain those speeds. That's great, but if you're needing to go off that direction and can't attain those speeds, most likely the vessel won't get enough lift to get above the chop and it'll get slammed like any other boat in a rough sea.

[@ianb9028]

Not quite remember that you are dealing with the vector of true wind and apparent wind. Modern high speed boats (with a fixed pole asymetric spinnaker or foiling craft) do not start sailing directly down wind but run the vectors and tack downwind. As you build aparent wind you can run deeper (i.e. almost square to the true wind) because the aparent wind vector is always ahead and when this dominates the sails see the wind a close reaching regardless of the direction of true wind. There is a good (albeit rather ancient paper) on this from Frank Bethwaite who worked it out in the late 1980's watching 18ft skiffs on Sydney Harbour. I also recommend his books High Performance Sailing and Higher Performance Sailing.

[@CharlieWellsPlus]

Amazing interview.

[@firstlast7719]

Alexander Graham Bell should be given more credit for his invention in Canada. He was a pioneer and achieved speed records more than a century ago.

[@georgezlei]

Googled it and sorry to see the final result. "During July 2015, the Hydroptère sailed 2215 nautical miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu and docked in Kewalo Harbor.[8] On 15 March 2016 the Harbor Master posted an "Abandoned Vessel" notice on the Hydroptère[9] which was subsequently sold at auction.[10][11] In June 2019, L'Hydroptère was bought by Chris Welsh (USA) and Gabriel Terrasse (FRA).[12][13] In November 2019, l'Hydroptère was sailed from Honolulu, Hawaii to San Francisco, California by professional sailor Mike Price and a delivery crew so that she could undergo an extensive re-fit."

[@FrikInCasualMode]

"Is it a boat? Is it a plane?" "Yes." Incredible construction.

[@gwenaellepage4450]

And now even monohulls are foiling. That thing paved the way.

[@bobbyjohnnascar]

He said it's powered by passion , I think that's the same as detroit diesels.

[@Kopie0830]

This guy has the passion to make his dream come true. Perhaps it is true, faith can move mountains...

[@heartfullyhonest]

This is one of the best stories of believing in your dreams and putting everything into it to succeed. Wow 🤩

[@jmyers9853]

i first heard of this concept fifty years ago in a book call "the forty knot sailboat"

[@bokeflo]

It must be incredible sailing on that sailboat.

[@heifaramurat]

Because of guys like him that I am proud to be French. We have survive because of our will and our brain.

[@adrianfaulkner3270]

56 knots, that is amazing!

[@theengineer704]

Amazing!! He is a genius. That boat is a dream.

[@reflex1377]

This is what I've been DREAMING of. A sailboat that can FLY!? AND YOU CAN LIVE IN IT!?

[@NauTzZz]

A very friendly conversation! I like it!

[@wordreet]

This beast of a boat can definitely go faster in bigger seas, but the latest (24-11-2012) sailboat speed record stands with Paul Larsen and his one man Vesta Sailrocket with a 1 mile average of 65.45 knots, and a max speed of 68.01

[@dumon13]

It is considered fastest sailboat because it has a whole crew, the Vesta Sailrocket is considered the fastest sailing vessel, but indeed, these are just wonderful peaces of engineering

[@wordreet]

Yeap, the Vesta Rocket is more of a dragster than a family car. ;¬)

[@pacerodi]

Across the Oceans?

[@alexcave7573]

@@wordreet ha ha. Love this analogy. Well put ! But both are still sublime sailing vessels

[@gospeedracer40]

I've been sailing since I was a child love cat's and tri's' so fast so beautiful, now with wings as a hydro-plane. congratulations on your dreams. coming true.

[@tundra5046]

I love cats

[@Electobat]

I love Americans. I love their; sail boats, car drives, walk stairs, side walks, dry wall, horse riding, eat outs.

[@bcmiller2000]

This is a super large boat attaining these speeds...sail it baby! The Vesta II Sail Rocket reached speeds of 75 mph, now lets break the 100 mph barrier!

[@auggiecontreras8068]

The definition of "contagious energy" 🙂

[@Wolf-xu1fj]

"When I was young, I told my teacher I wanted to fly" so I built a boat. WHAT.?

[@jonathanellis8737]

You know, flying ships in fantasy stories.

[@trevisonclark7135]

It’s the French...

[@alaskawilliam1]

Hydrodynamics and Aerodynamics are the same. Viscosity is different.

[@Wolf-xu1fj]

william bennett yes, but flying and boating are like sky and water

[@Binette96]

@@alaskawilliam1 maybe a lil difference about the density too ^^

[@domdegood5376]

The hydrofoil was invented by an Italian in 1939. he wanted to build a ferry to cross the strait of Sicily at high speed.

[@Lucky-uk1bv]

Who was chasing him... no wait... maybe he had to turn quickly to change sides.... ha hah

[@domdegood5376]

Idiot, read the comment., to build a ferry to transport people in 1939, before the war. the allies won the war because they had 10 to 1 power.

[@davart311]

The aliscafo , winged beam in Italian , has been around for decades

[@domdegood5376]

Has been

[@domdegood5376]

Brad, remember Singapore where the Brits surrenderd before the battle,

[@vincentjanse]

Those people should be wearing helmets.

[@PatHaskell]

Indeed!!

[@rayventhekrayven]

out rage! no helmets! out rage! ten years in jail zero tolerance! outrage!

[@chiqo8]

Moi non plus je ne comprends pas, félicitations mon ami pour porter ton rêve aussi loin! Toute mon admiration et mon émerveillement!

[@nebraskatpp]

Top shelf technically. The cutting edge of sail technology.

[@DeadBunny69]

Unbridled enthusiasm is a powerful thing.

[@gr8o2h2o]

I like it! Water and wind is free, your flow dynamics principle with high density medium, water to cause flight at high speeds means you can get places around the world purely on wind power. Plug in stability and smoothness on a cat design and you are now living large. I like it better than traveling sideways slow and all green.

[@raymondhill3]

He was already great as a teenager!!!!!!

[@glennsecco8260]

Well done mate, awesome fruition of your dreams. Great example to pursue your dreams.

[@charlesleten3033]

On oublie que l’inventeur de l’hydroptère est Eric Tabarly

[@whatnow3185]

Love France to get this man into their Americas Cup challenge. for the new AC75. he would bring the fresh attitude ,the money he can get ,the new ideas.!!!

[@PhilippedeBersuder]

The Hydroptère was created by Eric Tabarly in 1976 then developped by Thebault later.

[@Mr7valentine7]

Atlantic in two days and a half - you are great!

[@BenDover-wm7wf]

Until they run into a bit of inclement weather and a little ten foot swell.

[@sk-6220]

Génial cette conception de limiter le frottement, la vitesse s'en voit augmentée, j'adore le concept, la france n'a rien à envier des grands pays nous avons les talents qu'il faut, un bateau fait surement déjà des envieux, super les gars ^_^

[@deemon710]

I like that guy. He seems like a real cool guy to meet.

[@slandshark]

My sailboat goes 7 knots.

[@Aeradill]

+slandshark you'd overtake me. mine does 5.6 max.

[@gijswh2498]

my goes 12 knots

[@gavinfaync]

30 knots maybe

[@Stonyartist]

My goes about 4 but i have reached 6,7knoot and the boat is 5,25m long

[@davidramentol]

mine does 6, but I reached 9 downslope once

[@user9b2]

If only sailing wings were invented back then, this boat could have been even faster.

[@Rompster123]

I love that man. Beautiful innovation.

[@CurmudgeonExtraordinaire]

I have this mental image of an aircraft carrier cruising at 30 or so knots and then being passed by this sailboat...

[@kisielthe1st]

Nice to see both the host and the guest being proficient in Frenglish.

[@ThePatriotization]

brilliant and bravo!!!!! Iwill follow your endurance and determination in another field off coarce

[@juliendauchy7831]

never-ending-story of speed i believe...beautifule-fantastic !!!

[@sigma_six]

compared to Larsen's Vesta Sailrocket, this thing is a Cadillac... that speed on a craft that size and that many crew, with an internal cabin, onboard computer electronics... 56 knots is pretty dang impressive

[@ricardograde5134]

Wow.... an amazing french guy. How does that happen!!! Go, go, go...

[@michaelsutherland5077]

this vid makes it sound like this guy invented the hydrofoil. It is a little different design than others but it is still a hydrofoil. cool boat and captain.

[@lionelzanette8762]

This guy changes the face of sailing design !

[@tundra5046]

This is why I love catamarans

[@rightcoast7049]

Thing is faster than just about every motorized boat. Amazing.

[@someotherdude]

65 mph on a sailboat would be terrifying!

[@user-bf7vy3ub9c]

2024 and most of the elite racing series are foiling!

[@johnnielsen7413]

Such infectious energy.

[@danielschechter8130]

This video is almost ten years old. I wonder how l'Hydroptere compares to this year's America's Cup racers.

[@111wbontheroad]

Add larger wings with flaps and slats, a 'roller-swing-keel-sail' with rudder, an automatic stabilizationsystem, and we wil have a sailing airplane. A sailplane! Just a matter of time I suppose.

[@simonplait5531]

That wouldn‘t work as the force on the sail and your “Roller-Swing-keel-sail” face in the same direction