Project Green Jet - a vision of the future of sailing

“I incorporated the word “jet” in the title of the boat specifically because it is a jet whist setting up and trimming the sails, meaning it is both fast and easy,” Sifrer says, who aims to utilize computerized automated systems and touch screen interfaces so that one person can do the job of a team of sailors. Hydraulic motors will pull the sail to its 55 metre height (top of the rig is 62m) in around 30 to 40 seconds and each sail can rotate through 160 degrees on a pivot point to best catch the wind. Navigation is touch-screen and simple, though the system that sails the boat is far from that, not to mention monitoring an array of weather information systems.

So how close is this concept to reality? It appears to us to be much closer than most concepts this far out of the square. The basic calculations for Green Jet have already done by Marin and interior design will be finished in Art Line Interior Design from Netherlands.

“The concept is completely new and of course it needs to be put into the wind tunnel for testing and tank testing and later applied to scale model, but as we know, nowadays everything is possible!,” says Sifrer.

Sifrer is seeking backers so he can get ships in the water and further his science. His web site can be found here. He can be contacted here.

“We are in marketing phase which includes searching for potential investors. That kind of vessel could be built by German, Italian, New Zealand or Netherlands shipyards and we’re seeking interest so we can explain what’s possible. Because we are developing new systems the cost of Green Jet will probably exceed 70 million euro and it will take from 3-6 years. From there it gets easier as we understand how things will work to their optimum.

“We are very young team with what I believe is a great vision,” who gained a lot of experience working for Seaway creating tooling and design for Bavaria, Jeanneau, Grand Soleil, Shipman carbon yachts ...

Sailing is the art of controlling a sailing vessel. It would seem that at some point in the next decade or so, we’ll see a vast sailing ship under the control of just one person. Perhaps one day even as reliable as a car, it’s onboard systems having long since mastered the incredibly complex art of sailing and with full knowledge of approaching weather and sea conditions.

Mike Hanlon