WIDN blog

The Vestas Sailrocket has been a seven year project for design team led by Malcolm Barnsley. When pilot Paul Larsen sets the new world record, as seems almost certain, the team won’t just glory in the fact they are the fastest but will know they have pioneered unprecedented efficiency in a green-powered vessel.

The SailRocket employs a concept in which the sail and keel elements are positioned so that there is virtually no overturning moment and no net vertical lift. This means the boat no longer has obvious stability limits and its only significant response to wind gusts is a change in speed. This design means the boat does not need to be burdened with ballast, which is used to balance conventional yachts.

Sailrocket maintains stability without ballast by harnessing opposing forces of wind and water, with the wing pulling on the leeward side and a hydrofoil or downward fin pulling down opposite. The design means the vessel can accelerate at 10 knots per second to a proven top speed of 52 knots.

If you consider other quests for great speed, there’s no telling what the innovation may help pave the way for. The Science Museum in London is currently holding the exhibition Fast Forward: 20 ways F1 is changing our world. It shows how a seemingly useless waste of resources has given the world numerous gifts, including lightweight materials that have allowed space probes land on Mars and fishing rods that made it easier to catch your dinner.

The Sailrocket team is currently in Namibia waiting for the right conditions to allow the boat to cruise into the record books at more than 50 knots (60 mph). You can see a video of the boat in action by clicking here.