vitesse incroyable - Groupama 3

Groupama 3 has just achieved 824 nautical miles in 24 hours - 34.3 knot average speed during her attempt at a new Atlantic crossing record - this is something no canter with their continually running, ridiculous engines could ever do.

 

Yeah, yeah: bad engines ,bad engines. Except ,of course, when they're needed.
Good foils:
"As the record programme included above all the Jules Verne Trophy, it was necessary to take into account the `Southern ocean' parameter: the foils are far forward so that the boat is nose up, the freeboard is high to prevent the bow from burying, the height of the mast limits the trim changes. The balance when sailing is considerably safer than on a 60 foot Orma... "
http://www.cammas-groupama.com/en/trimarans/groupama3/caract_technique/index.jsp

 

Now 829 nm at 34.6 knots for 24 hours. Can anyone imagine what this is like to experience. Holy **** x 2.

 

Beyond cool!

 

Fargo truck, it's now 835 nm in 24hrs.

 

Banque Populaire at 40 knots!

http://www.voile.banquepopulaire.fr...iatheque.html?allid=445,611,&txt=&nbPerpage=8

 

BP5 and G3 close to finish, both to finish under 4 days for an Atlantic crossing and beating G3's old record - with BP5 also setting new record 24 hour run of 907 nautical miles. Incroyable, eh? Makes the motorsailing canters look very retrograde and pedestrian.

 

Nine hundred nautical miles a day.... these things are getting about the same distance a car on the rural highways would, if you could drive it for 24 hours straight. These are seriously impressive boats... as long as nothing breaks.... can the thousand-mile barrier be that far off?