Sailing

Sail technology has come a long way since the days tall ships were carried along by billowing clouds of canvas. In fact, new aerodynamic discoveries coupled with exotic materials have turned modern sails into veritable works of high tech art. Today, sailmakers know that the less a sail distorts (through stretching, shear, compression or shrinkage) the more force or drive remains available to power the boat - especially helpful when you're in a close race for that final buoy. Now, the innovative designers at North Sails have woven an interesting array of tricks into their unique new 3Di line of "canvas" - laminated, heat-molded sails that hold their shape so well, they come close to performing like rigid airfoils. Read More

If the idea of floating along in a boat propelled only by the gentle push of an ocean breeze is your idea of relaxing then you might want to steer clear of the aptly named VESTAS Sailrocket 2. Designed and built from the ground up with a focus on speed, the boat and the VSR2 team have headed to Walvis Bay in Namibia with the aim of breaking the outright world speed sailing record for the short distance 500 meters (1,640 ft) of 55.65 knots (64 mph/103 km/h) set in October 2010 by American kite-surfer, Rob Douglas. Read More

Like its Super Nova and Ocean Empire LSV stablemates, the 78 meter (256 ft) Ark Angel LSV (Life Support Vessel) from Sauter Carbon Offset Design harnesses energy from a variety of renewable sources to achieve up to 100 percent reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. When using its four 400 kW Daimler Bluetec Turbo Compound DD16 diesel engines, Sauter says that the green megayacht is capable of sailing at 28 knots while still reducing fuel consumption and emissions by 50 percent. Read More

If you want a superyacht that really stands out at the next annual billionaires meeting then why not give it a theme? Yacht Island Design thinks there’s a market for such vessels and has set about developing several themed yacht concepts. The first is "The Streets of Monaco," a 155 m (508.5 ft) long yacht that looks to “reflect the style and sophistication of the principality” and includes a fully functional go kart circuit that recreates the famous Monaco Grand Prix circuit along with other Monaco landmarks. Read More

Earlier this year Sauter Carbon Offset Design unveiled its Super Nova 60 megayacht – a design which harnesses energy from a variety of sustainable sources including solar, wind and waves to produce "the world’s first carbon neutral megayacht." Now the company has gone one step further with plans for its Ocean Empire Life Support Vessel (LSV). This 144-foot Catamaran design adds hydroponic farming to its array of sustainable technologies making it, according to the designers, the world’s first totally self-sufficient zero carbon LSV ... meaning it could theoretically stay at sea indefinitely. Read More

South African Guy Joubert has been adventuring into every corner of Africa since before the age of ten, and in his adult years his pursuit of fishing, sailing, surfing, diving and exploration has enabled him to try first-hand the traditional native watercraft of numerous countries. So when Joubert decided to design a modern day, high tech, expedition quality, multi-purpose adventure sailing craft, it’s not surprising that the design should have DNA recognizable from outrigger sailing craft that evolved over thousands of years … made of modern materials, and with ingenious use of space and propulsion methods. The Crusoe craft is your fully adaptable go anywhere, do anything mobile home and equipment locker. Read More

Are you “mediagenic, geeky, youthful, and insanely adventurous”? Those are the qualities that Steven Roberts is seeking in the new owner of his custom pedal/wind/solar-powered micro-trimaran, the Microship. A self-described “technomad,” Roberts is a huge fan of high technology and self-propelled solo adventuring, and the quirky little boat is clearly the lovechild of those two passions. It has a host of high-tech features, yet is intended for escaping the rat race and living simply. Ironic? Maybe, but it comes with a great story. Read More

Looking to claim the environmental high ground at the next megayacht owners potluck get together? Sauter Carbon Offset Design has unveiled what it calls “the world’s first carbon neutral megayacht,” and it could be just what you’re looking for. Harnessing energy from sustainable sources such as photovoltaic (PV) cells, power sailing kinetic energy regeneration and wingsails, the Super Nova 60 is capable of generating enough surplus energy to allow it to cruise carbon neutral for 7,000 nautical miles a year... and it can feed energy back into the grid while docked. Now you can enjoy cruising around the Mediterranean in luxury with an environmentally clear conscience. Read More

What do you do if you want to draw attention to the threats faced by the world’s oceans, in particular the huge amount of plastic waste that ends up in them? Easy, you sail across the Pacific Ocean, visiting and documenting environmental hot spots along the way. That, at least, is what the crew of the Plastiki are in the process of doing. The group of six adventurers set out from San Francisco on March 20th, with Sydney, Australia as their final destination. Three and a half months into the 11,000 nautical mile journey, they’re currently about 4,000 miles from the finish line. What makes their odyssey particularly remarkable is their sailboat, the Plastiki – a craft made almost entirely from recycled and/or recyclable plastic that gets the majority of its flotation from approximately 12,500 two-liter plastic bottles. Read More