"The principle of this demonstrator boat is to welcome on board our major innovation, a kite, a kite to tow boats with sails that can range from 25 to 200 square meters", explained Yves Palier before the launch. in the water using a crane from his catamaran, in the port of Meyran in Gujan-Mestras (Gironde), in front of many onlookers.
Heir to the framework of his hydraplaneur, with which the navigator broke several world records and almost lost his life during the Vendée Globe in 2000, the catamaran was then piloted by its famous captain using hydro-generator turbines in the direction of Arcachon, its home port.
A veritable floating laboratory and commercial showcase, the Seakite, 18 meters wide by 15 meters long and without a mast, will enter a fully automated kite sail test phase in the coming days.
The "Seakite" of navigator and engineer Yves Parlier, on October 25, 2022 in Gujan-Mestras, in Gironde MEHDI FEDOUACH AFP
The kite sail in vectran (liquid crystal polymer), an "extremely light and resistant" material can be fitted to all types of ships.
By making "dynamic flights", the kite will capture the energy of the wind "like a wind turbine blade", which will be used to propel the boat.
"We see the kite as a hybridization of the technical engine. This represents an immediate saving in daily fuel consumption of 20%", detailed the handyman sailor, winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, the Route du Rhum or the Transat Jacques Vabre.
In the crosshairs of his company Beyond The Sea: the merchant navy which will have to accelerate the reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions from 2023 to adapt to the new rules of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Navigator and engineer Yves Parlier on his "Seakite" catamaran on October 25, 2022 in Gujan-Mestras, Gironde MEHDI FEDOUACH AFP
With 90% of global transport by cargo, "there is a huge market and room for all solutions that work", assured Yves Parlier.
After the first tests in the Bassin d'Arcachon, the skipper and his team will begin a three-year odyssey along the French coasts, in the Mediterranean and then for a double transatlantic crossing in 2026.
© 2022 AFP