In 1994, Alain Thébault, with the support of Éric Tabarly, developed the Hydroptère, a catamaran that "flies" thanks to its foils and drift. The boat is fragile, but the sailor has set several records, including the absolute record for sailing speed (50.17 knots) in 2009.
Passionate since childhood about flying boats, he now embarks on a new adventure, creating a zero-emission flying river vehicle for urban environments: the Sea Bubble.
The hydrofoil
The idea - rather futuristic - came to him from his three daughters, who live in large cities, congested by road transport. The wharves are saturated and the waterways are available for travel.
Alain Thébault then decided to create electric flying bubbles capable of flying on water. For this purpose, the Sea Bubble will be equipped with foils - two large wings that lift the boat from the water with speed - but also with electric propulsion (two engines and batteries recharged by solar panels).
This river vehicle looks like a small cabin with four "legs" and many glass surfaces. It can accommodate 4 people and will travel at a speed of 18 km/h (speed limit in Paris.) However, this will depend on where it is used. In San Francisco, the speed limit is 30 km/h.
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has already shown an interest in the project and hopes that Paris will be the first capital to test the first two prototypes of electric flying bubbles on the Seine. But the project could also be of interest to London or the United States.
The Sea Bubble will first be used as a taxi, with a driver, as a personal vehicle or in self-service, in the same way as a Velibus. These urban vehicles will be a new way of looking at rivers, lakes or rivers. It remains to be seen how to moor them even if the sailor has his own idea on this: use the pontoons of the batobuses.
To carry out his crazy project, Alain Thébault can count on the financial support of Henry Seydoux, director of the Parrot drones, but also of luxury houses, such as Courrèges, who would already be involved.
Alain Thébault
While the prototypes are under construction, the first tests on the Seine should take place in spring 2016. Mass production is expected to begin in 2017.
The sale price should be around ?12,000 and about 100 orders would be placed. So when will there be flying bubbles on the Seine?
