Saw the link on SA...

A great comparison between orange II, open 60 multi/monos, kitesurfers and windsurfers



Results:
http://www.grandprixpetitnavire.com/defi/resultats.php

fastest time
1 : GITANA 11
2 : GITANA 10
3 : GEANT

first maxi : ORANGE 2
first multicoques 60 pieds : GITANA 11
first multicoque 50 pieds : CREPES WHAOU
first windsurf : BRUNO ANDRE ex aequo avec GERALD PELLEAU
first kitesurf : PAOLO RISTA
first engin de vitesse : NAVI OUEST


MULTICOQUE MAXI
ORANGE 2 11' 19" 26 nds 50

MULTICOQUES 60 PIEDS
GITANA 11 09' 12" 32 nds 60

WINDSURF
Bruno ANDRE 11' 28" 26 nds 16

KITESURF
Paolo RISTA 13' 41" 21 nds 92

In those conditions the Open 60 Tris smoke everything!

Best average speed over the 5 nm 32.60 knots.
compared to the windsurfer with 26.16 kn and orange II with 26.5 kn.

Those average speeds are amazing, looks like it was no more than 15-18knots windspeed, at most.
Now if they sailed the same contest in 25knots plus, this is what they`d be up against :
http://www.bestmedia.com/videos/laird_hamilton.htm

Still, those big tris are not slow !!

Cheers
Steve

Well, that link has ruined any chance for productivity at work today!

See that gitana 11 being lifted out of the water on its bruce foils ?

Wouter

Yes, that was very cool. I wonder what that must feel like - smoking along on one hull out of three and it starts to lift you out of the water!

Was that a Hobie 18 at the end going kitesailing?

Yeah!

Orange 2 needs wave action to strut its stuff against the competition.

Where in the videos was the Hobie 18 with a kite?

Fortunately, there were no Americans involved in this speed sailing event, no American cats flying 2 hulls, or American trihulls flying 3 hulls - such as coming out of the water on Bruce foils as noted by Wouter... (thanks Wout).

Naw- Americans would rather run buzzing jetskis and sail obsolete sailboats!

Signed, the owner and driver of the only hydrofoil-equipped flying cats- Hobie 18, Hobie 16 and A-cat- in the Americas, in fact- the entire Western Hemisphere!
Dave Carlson

don't have timings to hand, but at some point during there are a few seconds of an 18 with a kite and then again near the end.

Towards the end, there's a shot of a Hobie-18 without a rig. At first I thought I'd see an outboard on it, but then you see the control lines for the kite. I don't think you get to see the kite though.