Comment on French adventurer seeks Pacific record with 'flying' boat

French adventurer seeks Pacific record with 'flying' boat

Los Angeles (AFP) - Skimming across the surface of the vast Pacific, Alain Thebault scans the horizon with his blue Breton eyes. He is feeling good. A record is there to be broken."It's like a magic carpet," Thebault said aboard the cutting-edge "Hydroptere" sailboat, which he hopes to pilot halfway across the Pacific from Los Angeles to Honolulu in record time.Off the California coast under azur-blue skies, Thebault accelerated the hydrofoil supercraft to 30 knots as the 18-meter (60-foot) boat stands on three foils that claw the waves, lifting the hull fully out of the water.The few passengers cling to the side as they experience the sensation of flying for a few moments."Welcome, it's back to work," Thebault said, smiling as he helmed the vast craft through the shallow waves off the coast of San Pedro, just south of Los Angeles.This is Thebault's first journey in three months on the ship that set a speed sailing record of over 50 knots in 2009, and now he is ready to attempt to best a crossing mark: reaching Hawaii from the City of Angels in under 4.19 days."We want that record," the fiery and passionate Frenchman said.A key to that goal is to keep the Hydroptere intact. It's broken down four times."The first challenge is to keep the structure," said the sailor."It will work well in flight stability between 20 and 29 knots with three-meter swells," Thebault said. "And don't hit floating objects."In June, stars should be aligned for the Hydroptere's journey.

 

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