Kite Sails For America's Cup

by Dean Jordan on 14 Feb 2003 The 2003 America's Cup regattas brought the world's best and fastest high tech sailing yachts to compete in New Zealand, but none more exotic than the USA team's yacht which flew a kite sail spinnaker designed by KiteShip USA during the Louis Vuitton Cup trials, to prove once and for all that regulation designed kite sails could be a decisive advantage in the America's Cup.

'We brought a 280-square meter OutLeader Brand kite sail to Auckland,' says Dave Culp, President of KiteShip USA in Santa Cruz, California, happily. 'When put to the test, our 70-meter kite sailing crews triumphed over traditionally equipped competitors that were flying 20-meters more sail area, and we pulled away every time!'

KiteShip USA is the innovations leader in wind-powered sea transportation solutions. 'In Spring of 2001 Chris Todter approached KiteShip and asked 'is it possible?' says Dean Jordan, spokesperson for KiteShip Corporation, KiteShip USA's parent company. 'Under highly secretive development for a year and a half, this engineering endeavor has truly paid off. It's patent pending, and is featured in our OutLeader Brand products line.' Jordan adds.

'In any racing class, a sail that exploits steadier airflow at altitude without disturbances from the vessel's own motion produces smoother power transfer with a minimum of control input,' explains Culp, who with 25+ years of kite sailing experience is a co-developer along with Dean Jordan, Frank de Winter and Ron Swenson of OutLeader Brand spinnakers. 'We've demonstrated 30-50% more wind-power transfer over traditional spinnaker designs,' Culp notes.

The use of free-flying kites in place of traditional sails is not new, but it is a rare sight. If KiteShip USA's demos for the 2003 America's Cup prove anything they forecast that everything is about to change in the design of ISAF and IACC-legal racing spinnakers.

'Offshore and cruising boats, as well as the commercial shipping industry, will reap the power and fuel-saving, alternative energy benefits of kite sails,' says Jordan. 'We've designed a future; and see it now,' he grins. Visit www.kiteship.com, or contact info@kiteship.com for more information.

FAQs:

1. Q) KiteShip USA's sailing demonstrations were so successful, why wasn't the OutLeader Brand kite sail utilized in the Louis Vuitton Cup races?

A) We perfected this kite application a few weeks too late in the client's design cycle. There simply wasn't enough time for them to implement the kite sail for the regatta at the scale they felt necessary to win.


2. Q) Is anyone else planning/working on using big kites for yacht racing?

A) Yes. At least one other America's Cup syndicate has been working with kite sails. Assuming they solved the same engineering challenges we did, don't be surprised to see kite sails yet in the 2003 America's Cup.

3. Q) Is the KiteShip USA spinnaker legal?

A) KiteShip Corporation designed and engineered the OutLeader Brand kite sail to be ISAF and IACC regulation legal. That was the challenge, and what we produced performed beyond everyone's expectations; that's what's so exciting.

4. Q) Is this just another design 'trick,' like Team New Zealand's 'hula?'

A) 'Using the wind to propel boats most efficiently' is the fundamental core of yacht racing today. Kite sails in many forms have been around for cultural millennia. OutLeader Brand sails are simply faster, safer and more powerful than other types of wind-power harness systems and have broad applications in yachting, recreational sailing and elsewhere.

Visit www.kiteship.com, or contact info@kiteship.com for more information.