Sail Rocketry
“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…
First Flight
A working hapa model has finally been accomplished by Frenchman Luc Armant. It is the realization of the theoretically perfect sailboat: an airfoil and hydrofoil, tied together by a single line in tension. The massless sailboat has long been the dream of sailing pioneers from Bernard Smith’s aerohydrofoil to D. Costes’ chien de mer (seadog) to the hapas of J. Hagedoorn. The achievement cannot really be overstated, IMHO. Well done, Mr.…
Tornado wins Watertribe Everglades Challenge
Via the Boat Design Forum: Tornado sailors, Steve Lohmayer and Jamie Livingston, going under the team name of Lumpy and Bumpy, have won the annual Watertribe Everglades Challenge in a record time of just under 36 hours.
The Everglades Challenge is a 300+ mile adventure racing event that runs from Tampa Bay’s Ft. DeSoto beach to Key Largo. The previous record for the event was set last year with a time of two days, 8 hours, 56 minutes…
Sailing over melting ice
Something about this project has captured my imagination - Sébastien Roubinet is attempting to sail the Northwest Passage (Alaska to Greenland) this summer - yea, SAIL it! Thus far, only nuclear subs and diesel-powered ice-breakers have managed the fabled voyage (a voyage that inspired many an explorer, including Captain Cook’s Third Voyage (thanks to Peter for the correction), who met his bloody end in Hawaii - “stoned” by the irate…
Wharram Islander 55 Launched
Check out the new pics of Wharram’s latest - launched in Indonesia. The yacht will most likely sail to Europe around the Cape of Good Hope, to be used for charter in the Mediterranean and/or Caribbean. It reminds me of a double-hulled Turkish gulet or Arab dhow. James Wharram Designs
Wharram GRP Tiki 8m catamaran announced
James Wharram Designs has announced the completed prototype of a new production moulded GRP catamaran: the Tiki 8m by Multimarine Composites Ltd. “The design features gently curved V section canoe hulls with stern hung rudders on skegs. A wingsail sloop rig with boomless mainsail provides a low centre of effort for increased stability. With a trampoline forward, and GRP bridgedeck tray with self draining trampoline seats, it also has a…
About Proafile
PROAFILE is an online journal devoted to outrigged sailing canoes and especially the proa, that unique and fascinating invention of the seafaring peoples of Oceania. We are interested in all aspects of outrigger sailing vessels, including research, history, design, building, sailing, racing and cruising.
More than those of any other island group, the sailing craft of the Marianas Islands, by reason of their swiftness and elegance,…
