Proafile v5.0 | Updated: Jul 28, 2010

News Proas

Sailrocketry

Posted by on 01/17 at 06:52 PM


"To one who has turned lifeless materials into a thing alive and forced it to do his bidding against the resisting forces of nature in silence, without fuel and without defiling air or water, there can never be anything more wonderful than the sailboat. "The sailboat never offends the senses of fish, fowl or man. To make it move faster is to make it more a thing of freedom and beauty."
--Bernard Smith, "The 40-Knot Sailboat," 1963


When I was a kid, I read 'The 40-knot Sailboat' by Bernard Smith, who introduced me to proas and sailing hydrofoils and all kinds of amazing ideas about boats that fired my imagination in the same way that race cars or starships fire others. Flying over water, using only the power of the wind... it seemed like magic. Magic that might actually work...

I even made a balsa wood model of an aerohydrofoil when I was fourteen, which didn't go anywhere at all, let alone fly. Discouraged, I soon turned my attention to baseball, but fortunately, others kept at it. Paul Larsen is behind the Vestas Sailrocket speed sailing proa - a project inspired by Bernard Smith.

Vestas Sailrocket averaged 47.36 knots (nearly 55 mph) over a 500-meter course on Dec. 3, and it just goes to show that practice makes perfect. It's a brilliant name, since Bernard Smith was a rocket scientist.

"I am now safe in the knowledge that no one can dispute that this is a very viable concept of enormous potential. In fact, I think it is perhaps one of the most significant speed sailing craft of all time. The concept behind this craft is future proof." --Paul Larsen


Comments

  • You may want to follow the Hydroptere too (hydroptere.com). I’m constantly changing my screen background between these two. They’re such different approaches to the problem, one making a “known boat” go faster through refinement and the other starting with a fresh sheet of paper.

    We’re getting to the point where foil ventilation and cavitation are as important for these guys as they are for power boat racers. See also wotrocket.com for more on what happens at the leading edge of a foil. Personally, I’m with the proas, but I saw the foiler tri a few weeks ago and I want a ride.

    Posted by John Turnbull  on  01/19  at  05:05 PM
  • Hi John,

    Yes, I do follow the aqua copter and I agree, would love a ride - a remarkable beast. Funny how both approaches achieved major disaster recently!

    Posted by Editor  on  01/20  at  09:33 PM

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