Speed Sailing Legends, Insanely Fast Trimaran 'Lending Club 2' Spotted In San Francisco Bay, Training For Transpac Record
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- Insanely fast barely begins to describe the concept of a massive 105-foot, three-hulled trimaran rising up out of the water and skimming the tops of waves at up to 46 miles per hour. Now imagine sailing it 2,225 miles from California to Hawaii in the Transpac race next month.
"Lending Club 2" is the name of the racing machine, and if you saw the America's Cup boats off San Francisco, you have some idea of what this is like. This vessel has a third hull, though and is longer than the 86-foot America's Cup AC72 class catamarans the screamed past the waterfront in 2013.
Renaud Laplanche, the CEO of Lending Club and a San Francisco sailing legend, commands the speed demon along with American speed sailing veteran Ryan Breymaier.
After setting a world speed sailing record in April, crossing the English Channel at an average speed of over 30 miles per hour, they brought their 105-foot craft back to the Bay to plan the next record. They'll sail it from Los Angeles to Hawaii in the legendary Transpac race, beginning in 19 days.
The race will feature a crowded and dizzying array of other classes of yachts as well, including the classically rigged schooner Martha, and an even more high-tech record-setting trimaran, "Hydroptere" will be crossing from Los Angeles at the same time.
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