SP80 The Swiss challenger in pursuit of the World Sailing Speed Record has been testing a reduced-scale prototype of the boat on Lake Geneva since June.
The first results, revealed on video, are promising!
Reaching 80 knots (150 km/h) in sailing, beating the current record set at 65,45 knots and hence becoming the fastest on water in 2022: therein lies the objective of the SP80 project.
The team, composed of more than forty engineers and students from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), has conducted test after test on Lake Geneva with a half-size prototype of the final boat.
The launch of this 4,5 by 3,5 meter prototype, constitutes a key stage of development in the race for the record. It enables the team to validate certain concepts and start the optimization process in anticipation of the construction of the final boat which will begin in 2021.
The prototype is towed by a motorboat in a way that replicates the forces of a kitesurf wing independently of wind conditions.
A dozen tests have already been carried out and the results, presented in the video, are very conclusive for the team. They validate the latest simulations and demonstrate the stability and control of the boat at high speeds.
These qualities, indispensable for the record, were notably attainable because of a mechanical stabilization system invented and patented by SP80.
Several runs on Lake Geneva are still on the agenda for the end of Autumn.
At the same time, the team is looking for sponsors to complete its operating budget and is focusing on the preparation of the boat’s construction planned for 2021.
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