Sailing speed record (500 m)

What to remember

Walvis Bay, Namibia, 24 November 2012: steering the Vestas Sailrocket 2, Australian sailor Paul Larsen averaged 65.45 knots over 500 metres, or 121.1 km/h. It was the first record above 60 knots. On 18 November he had also taken the nautical mile record, at 55.32 knots. Both marks crowned the 10-year project he led.

Since 1972, speed sailing records have been sanctioned by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. They are measured either as an average speed over a set distance or as the distance covered in a set time. The 500 metre, or “outright”, record is one of the three most sought after.

The record's history shows how varied the craft have been: Tim Colman's Crossbow II catamaran at 63.70 km/h in 1977, Simon McKeon's proa at 86.15 km/h in 1993, Alain Thébault's hydrofoil trimaran l'Hydroptère at 95.11 km/h in 2009, and a kitesurf ridden by Robert Douglas at 103.06 km/h in 2010. Between 1977 and 2012, the speed rose by 90.1%. On land, the highest ratified sailing speed was reached by Glenn Ashby in the land yacht Horonuku, peaking at 225.58 km/h on 24 February 2023.