After crossing the Channel in 2005 faster than Blériot in his plane, l’Hydroptère broke two world speed records in the beginning of 2007, thus showing her combination of reliability and performance.
The concept of l’Hydroptère is simple – freeing her from Archimedes’ Principle, by lifting up the hulls of the boat through a vertical thrust developed by the foils, which are like sea wings. 
Alain Thébault’s flying trimaran now holds the record for being the fastest sailing craft over one nautical mile, with a new record established on 8th November 2009 with an average speed of 50,17 knots, more than 8 knots faster than her competitors. Moreover she is still the fastest over 500 meters, with her record beaten on 4th November 2009, with an average speed of 51.36 knots.
l'Hydroptère crossed over the legendary 50-knot speed barrier, which is the equivalent of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier and entered the history of Sailing. l'Hydroptère's calendar is now orientated towards deep sea.