French foiling trimaran L’Hydroptère got into record setting mode last Saturday, 20 January, reaching an almost unbelievable average speed of 46.5 knots over a 500m course.

After some modifications to the boat over the past few months, Alain Thébault and his team in Port Haliguen, France now have have the outright world speed record over a 500m course firmly set as their target. This record is currently held by windsurfer Finian Maynard who averaged 48.2 knots down 500m of trench in the south of France.

While the 500m record is still up for grabs, L’Hydroptère did manage to break Finian Maynard’s unofficial record of 39.97 knots for a mile with a new average of 41.74, but are still hunting for the elusive 50kts of boatspeed. Watch this space.