( CNN ) -- Sailor Paul Larsen hopes that 2012 will be the year that he and his team will break the world speed sailing record -- and he believes he has the right contraption to do it . The Vestas Sailrocket 2 is half boat , half plane , and hopefully it will soon to be the fastest sailing vessel on water too . `` Everything above the water is an aeroplane and everything below the water behaves just like a boat , '' says Larsen , a professional sailor who 's now turned his attention to breaking the speed sailing record , describing it as his lifetime mission . To attempt the feat , Larsen and his small team of naval architects , engineers and yachtsmen and women , created the sailrocket -- a hybrid boat/plane . `` A large part of this boat is flying , it 's supported by aerodynamics , '' says Larsen . `` When it 's going at high speed , it 's like a well-built paper airplane . '' The record is open to any craft , as long as it 's using wind and water , and there is at least one person on board . Currently it is held by American kite surfer Rob Douglas , who reached 55.65 knots ( 103 kilometres per hour ) over the required 500 meter course in 2010 . The group held the record briefly three years ago , but they 've come across some strong competition for the title , with wind surfers proving to be the toughest opponents . Last month the team made another record attempt in southern Africa . Walvis Bay in Namibia provides the ideal wind conditions for the sailrocket . The group spent days trying to reach 60 knots -- the speed they believe will not only get them the record , but also keep it with them . `` The boat is based on this whole new idea , '' explains Larsen . `` It 's got no overturning forces . '' He says the wind and water forces are in alignment . `` It 's like someone trying to push you over by pushing at the soles of your feet . '' The craft may be using the latest technology , but its concept is based on a craft that was written about nearly five decades ago . American rocket scientist Bernard Smith wrote about a sailboat in 1963 that he believed could reach 40 knots -- a concept that was well ahead of his time . Larsen 's team tracked down Smith in 2007 to tell the then 97-year-old that they had broken the 40 knots , using the ideas Smith came up with 44 years earlier . Building on that design , they have since been able to go 50 knots and are pushing to go even faster . In Namibia last month they were unable to go any faster than 51 knots , but Larsen is certain they 're not far off the mark . He thinks it 's a matter of redesigning the boat 's foils . `` One of these days we 'll get the foil right and I think we 'll smash the record . '' The professional sailor is determined that there is no vessel like it in the world . It 's because of this Larsen is reluctant to talk openly about the specifics of the sailrocket 's design as they continue their endeavor to break the record . He 's now back in England working on new foils that will hopefully provide them with the edge they need to get the record . They aim to return to Namibia , perhaps as early as April , to try again . But the attempts are not without risks . Larsen likens the sailrocket 's 500 meter course to an aircraft going down the runway , but with too much weight in its nose so it ca n't take off . `` It is dangerous , '' he concedes . `` You go out there and you do n't realize the consequences if the smallest thing goes wrong . '' He says the worst crashes are the ones when the boat dives directly into the water . `` That 's a killer . At least in the air you slow down . '' But despite the dangers , Larsen and his team wo n't stop until they hit the 60 knot mark and take with it the world speed sailing record .
Based behind Vestas Racing , aims to break world ocean sailing record . Creators say it is like a boat below water and a plane above it . Record is held by U.S. Navy surfer who reached 55.65 knots over 500 meters .