After a week at the dock for resistance tests, the Ultim SVR-Lazartigues will make her first sail on July 31, 2021, less than 10 days after her launch. If this first outing went very well, according to her skipper, François Gabart, the latter made us enjoy the second one on video.
With Tom Laperche, who will be his co-skipper on the Transat Jacques Vabre next fall, he took advantage of a beautiful summer day to fly his hydrofoil machine. At 25°C, with clear skies and mild seas, the carbon bird started to fly with 14 knots of wind.
Just launched already operational! It must be said that today, numerical studies allow us to push the design and virtual tests very far to achieve flying boats as soon as they are launched. A lot of aerodynamic work has been done on this new trimaran, so that it can fly longer without its skipper being too affected.
The SVR-Lazartigues trimaran stands out from the other Ultims in its category by its cockpit directly integrated into the central hull under the deck. Visibility is ensured by two bubbles, which also give access to the deck. An external cockpit allows maneuvers to be carried out from the back of the boat.
Over the next few weeks, François Gabart and Tom Laperche will be going on a series of sea trials to get to grips with the boat and prepare as best they can for the Transat Jacques Vabre. The match is likely to be close between the latest boats, such as the Maxi Banque Populaire XI and François Gabart's Ultim Bleu, and the rest of the fleet, whose performance is no longer in question.
