Vestas Sailrocket

The Vestas Sailrocket was built to capture the sailing speed record competing in the B-class for 150 to 235 square feet of sail. It is piloted by the project leader Paul Larsen and sponsored by Danish wind turbines manufacturer Vestas. In 2008, the first version reached a reported unofficial speed of, before crashing.
After being upgraded to a second version, the Vestas Sailrocket 2 began a campaign to break speed records in November 2012 off Walvis Bay, Namibia. On 12 November, it made a run over a distance, then on the 16th. It attained on a run on the 18th and simultaneously on 500 metres. On 24 November, with wind speeds at roughly, it ran the 500-metre course at with a peak. Both records are ratified by the World Sailing [Speed Record Council] for the 500m and the mile.
A Swiss team of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne university students and engineers, including members involved in the development of previous record-holder Hydroptère, formed in October 2019 to develop a new hydrofoil boat, SP80, to exceed the Vestas Sailrocket 2 record in 2022, with a target speed of 80 knots. As of April 2023, the speed record attempts were pushed back to 2024 and are scheduled to take place in Leucate.