SP80

On November 24th 2012, Paul Larsen took the sailing world by surprise by smashing the world speed sailing record with an average speed of 121,1 km/h on a 500m track. 7 years later, his record remains unbeaten. At SP80, we are a team of EPFL students and Alumni and we passionately believe that thanks to the alliance of sailing, kitesurfing and engineering, we can significantly outperform this record but also set the standards of a new generation of sailing boats. Based on this vision, we are developing our own innovative sailing craft to show the potential of our ideas. In 2018, we validated our concept with the help of full scale kitesurfing-tests but also with the development of a stability-and-velocity-prediction-program. Today, we are focusing on the design of our technologies and on the creation of scientific, technical and financial partnerships to achieve our goals and boost the development of new technologies for sailing and other potential applications. SP80 is a technological project purely dedicated to disruption and innovation without direct market opportunities. However, by partnering with sailing-world stakeholders, research institutions and industrial companies, SP80 will stimulate scientific research and technology development. It will lead to patent registration and licensing for future innovations in diverse applications such as energy production, maritime transport or competitive sailing.