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Hydroptere: The world's fastest sailboat hoping to sail across Pacific in record time | Mail Online
truely a gigantic sailboat, highly stressed hydrofoils, the works. Top speed 56 knots (64mph), any guesses at the cost?

A guy with a surfboard and a kite reaches 55.65 knots...
Windsurfing versus kitesurfing | Xtremesport

not that kite surfing is easy, just watched a guy doing it yesterday, but the equipment is trivial, and they are neck and neck with multi-million dollar behemoths for top speed for wind powered over water.

Though I think the trick here is to be able to carry sufficient food & crew to do the trip. Not easy on a sailboard :-)

Oh yah, a machine like that catamaran circumnavigated the globe in 45 days nonstop, beating out powerboats and nuclear submarines by 15 days, (the powerboat had to stop for fuel also).

The kiteboard is only for speed/cost comparison, not saying it is for crossing the ocean:) Though there are more kites coming into play in maritime, even on tankers. I should try one on my canoe.

I see a future for cargo ships and oil tankers with this technology.

regards
Mech

I think that future is here, claims of %10-%35 (up to %50 "instantaneous") reduction in fuel consumption on cargo ships with a big kite that is flown by a computer (winches on the control lines)

Cargill ship will be largest ever to utilize kite power

Ha, it's a hydrofoil boat.
That's where the advantage is - cutting down on the water drag.

Still has a sloppy flexible sail though, so there's still room for improvement - if a rigid sail can be built light enough to keep the boat hydroplaning.