For those of us who can't get enough of foiling sailboats, here's an in-depth look by CNET into l'Hydroptere, the "fastest sailboat in the world." Molly Wood interviews the inventor and skipper, Alain Thébault, who has been drawing and dreaming of flying since he was 10 years old.

"The engine is passion," Alain explains. "All I have is the wind, my pencil, and my passion." That passion has taken him all over the world in search of an outright speed record, which he has already achieved: 56 knots over one nautical mile.  Even so, it's "never perfect:" Alain has not yet achieved his next dream, a Transpac record.

Even after watching America's Cup catamarans foiling, this boat looks pretty extreme—and it includes a galley, though many won't recognize it as such.

Enjoy this look into the process of designing and building a flying foiling sailboat.

Written by: Carol Cronin
Carol Cronin has published several novels about the Olympics, sailing, hurricanes, time travel, and old schooners. She spends as much time on the water as possible, in a variety of boats, though most have sails.