a trip in a sand yacht, the formula 1 of the beaches

On the beaches of Pas-de-Calais, the champions of sand yachting are training at full speed, Thursday, September 29, for the races which will begin in a few days. They move with the help of the force of the wind. Hugo Perron learned this discipline in Sainte-Cécile (Pas-de-Calais), before becoming world champion in 2012. « The tank goes up to 130km/h. At ground level, for the uninitiated, those who have already done karting, the sensations are quite similar »he explains.

A sand yacht is a more complicated machine than it seems. Each piece is unique. This craft at 15 000 euros each is to be managed with dexterity. The weekend of 1^er and October 2, there will be a hundred of them competing on a multi-faceted beach, between bumps and tarpaulins. So it’s a week full of speed ahead.