SUMMER 2019SW070F
To any bystander witnessing
this bizarre craft whisk past,
l’Hydroptèrewould be con-
sidered a freak of naval
architecture, but the experi-
mental hydrofoil-craft design
of Frenchman Alain Thébault
eventually proved its fl ight
concept. In 2009, l’Hydroptère
claimed the title of the world’s
fastest sailboat by break-
ing the outright nautical-mile
record with an average speed of
50.17 knots. Here, it’s shown in
May 2002.
PHOTO: JACQUES VAPILLONBill Ficker enjoyed many a
champagne shower over
an extensive racing career
that included a Star World
Championship title and his
fi rst Congressional Cup win
in 1974. Con Cup teammate
George Twist dumps the
bubbly with crewmembers
Dennis Durgin, John Edgecomb,
Du y Du eld and Mark Hughes.
Soon after, Ficker steered
the 12-Meter Intrepid to an
America’s Cup win.
PHOTO: TOM WITHERSPOON/
SAILING WORLD ARCHIVESOlivier de Kersauson, of
France, launched his audacious
110-foot trimaran Geronimo
in 2001, after the nonstop
sailing cannonball run known
as The Race. After three
unsuccessful attempts,
de Kersauson and a 10-man
crew fi nally bagged the
Jules Verne Trophy with a
63-day circumnavigation.
A series of record-breaking
attempts followed before the
boat was heavily modifi ed and
sailed solo around the world
in 2016 by Thomas Coville as
Sodebo Ultim—in 49 days.
PHOTO: CHRISTOPHE
BAUDRY/DPPI/GERONIMOThe International 50-foot Class
bore some of the most exciting
racing of the 1980s and early
1990s. The rise of IOR was
fueled by big egos, big crews,
and hard races sailed in any
conditions the rugged boats
and crews could fi nd. Its inter-
national regatta circuit brought
the heydays of custom designs
and boat building, which
peaked with the 1989 Admiral’s
Cup, considered “the Year of
the Fifties.”
PHOTO: JH PETERSONMany a youth and college
sailor has cut their teeth—
and shins—in the modern-era
Flying Junior dinghy, which
remains a widely used double-
handed dinghy in college
sailing. The Flying Junior was
originally designed in 1955, in
the Netherlands, as a training
boat for the Olympic-class
Flying Dutchman and contin-
ues to hold favor today as an
ideal trainer.
PHOTO: SAILING WORLD
ARCHIVESG