Please select your home edition
Edition
Exposure Marine

The other types of sailing

by Mark Jardine 12 Dec 2022 11:00 PST
Emirates Team New Zealand's wind powered land speed world record attempt at South Australia's Lake Gairdner - December 11, 2022 © Emirates Team New Zealand/James Somerset

Look on Wikipedia and the opening paragraph for Sailing's entry is, "Sailing employs the wind - acting on sails, wingsails or kites - to propel a craft on the surface of the water (sailing ship, sailboat, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ice (iceboat) or on land (land yacht) over a chosen course, which is often part of a larger plan of navigation."

Sailing isn't defined by the boat or craft, but by the physics of deriving power from the wind, and as this has become more and more efficient, it has been possible to sail faster and faster.

While Emirates Team New Zealand's main focus is on defending the America's Cup, they have a little side-project going to break the land speed record. When it's not been raining, Glenn Ashby has piloted 'Horonuku' on South Australia's Lake Gairdner, a large endorheic salt lake, and on Sunday he achieved the goal, recording 222.4 kilometres per hour (that's 138.2mph or 120 knots) in just 22 knots of wind.

This is a marked improvement over the 202.9km/h recorded by Richard Jenkins on 26th March 2009 in Ecotricity Greenbird on Lake Ivanpah, California, USA.

Some may see this as a distraction from the America's Cup but Emirates Team New Zealand Principal, Matteo de Nora, sees things differently: "The land speed project has been a new opportunity to push the boundaries in aerodynamics, structural forces, construction methods and materials fields. What is often underestimated is that the technologies we explore in challenges like this - or in an America's Cup campaign - are ultimately the foundation of tomorrow's technology. Being ahead of the times in technology is what fascinates us about all the challenges faced by the team so far."

The team aren't done yet, and aim to push the record even further, most likely in early 2023. Maybe they're trying to target the record claimed by an ice yacht of 143mph on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin, way back in 1938, but there are some doubts about that speed and how it was recorded.

Many moons ago, in Southampton, a group of friends and I invented a radio-controlled land yacht class, which we eventually turned into a one-design called the 1DL. We had some great fun racing them in the late 90s and early 2000s in car parks, using traffic cones as marks, and even revived them recently for an event. The retail boom signalled the end of regular racing, as the car parks started to get filled with cars, but maybe we can get them back out in the downturn and as shopping continues to move online.

Back on to the water, the Bembridge Illusions held their 40th Anniversary Regatta over the weekend. For those who don't know the class, it's a sit-in 12ft keelboat designed by Olympic bronze medallist Jo Richards. It's a bit like a 2.4m, as used in the Paralympics until 2016, but also has a spinnaker.

It was a bitterly cold weekend in the UK, but 23 hardy sailors still went out to enjoy the racing, which continues throughout the winter on the Isle of Wight. Being so close to the water there really is no place to hide when the bow hits a wave!

All this goes to show, once again, how diverse sailing can be. Fast, slow, ancient or modern, on land, on ice, on sea, or above the sea, you can be powered by the wind in many ways.

With foiling boats, the boundaries are blurred between surface-borne craft and flight, leading to the question, 'is gliding sailing?' After all, another word for a glider is a sailplane, they use naturally occurring currents of rising air, and they share many similarities with modern sailcraft in both wing and foil shape.

In the same way, kitefoilers are also similar to paragliders and, as you can see below, they're certainly not afraid of getting some airtime. Maybe sailing is a bigger pastime than we thought?

At the end of the day definitions are just what is meant by a word. As long as we're out enjoying the wind and the world around us, who really cares what the actual definition of sailing is? The great thing is that there are so many ways we can enjoy it.

Mark Jardine
Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor

Related Articles

Harald Findlay on the 2025 Edgartown Race Weekend
A Q&A with Harald Findlay on the 2025 Edgartown Race Weekend When it comes to racing sailboats on the East Coast of the United States in the summer months, few places are as classic as the waters surrounding Martha's Vineyard's northwestern flank. Posted on 18 Jun
Sailing and the summer solstice
Celebrating sailing and the longest day of the year If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom. Posted on 17 Jun
Video Review: The Amazing Cure 55
Composite Construction meets Cruising Convenience It was two years ago at the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show that I talked to Dave Biggar about his ideas and plans for the Cure 55. At the 2025 show I got to step on board the yacht and see how his ideas became reality. Posted on 17 Jun
The Big Bash
Every summer the tournament rolls into town. A short format of the game. Fun and excitement abound. Every summer the tournament rolls into town. Local and international players. A short format of the game, run over a relatively compact six-week season. Posted on 15 Jun
The oldest video footage of Kiel Week
A look back into our video archive at the Kieler Woche of the 60s and early 70s In our series of articles looking back in time through our video archive, we visit Germany. Kiel Week is been a crucial event on the world circuit, and here we look back at the Kieler Woche of the 60s and early 70s. Posted on 15 Jun
Nick Olson on PredictWind's newest features
Nick Olson discusses PredictWind's newest features PredictWind has long been a leader in presenting high-quality marine forecasts. Nick Olson discusses the company's newest features. Posted on 12 Jun
The X-Yachts Gold Cup Experience
A celebration of sailing, of X-Yachts and, most importantly of all, people Having just returned from Haderslev, Denmark - which is the home of X-Yachts and played host to the X-Yachts Gold Cup 2025 - I was left wondering if this was a racing event, a rally or a social celebration amongst close friends. Posted on 10 Jun
Getting excited for the Van Isle 360
Quoting a famous line from Pink Floyd's "Time" As I pack for the first half of the 2025 Van Isle 360 International Yacht Race, I find myself thinking about the last time I did this race, a certain Pink Floyd song, and the great adventuring, sailing and time with friends that awaits. Posted on 3 Jun
Robert Burke on HRCS's Dyckman Marina facility
Robert Burke discusses the upcoming closure of HRCS's Dyckman Marina facility Community sailing organizations are a fantastic and affordable way of drawing new sailors into the sport. Unfortunately, the Hudson River Community Sailing is being forced to close one of its two locations in January. Posted on 3 Jun
The call of the mighty
See the words Admiral's Cup and you immediately think approachable, real, hardcore action See the words Admiral's Cup and you immediately think approachable, real, hardcore action, braving the elements, and glory for the victorious. As an Australian, you have King Louie (the late Lou Abrahams), and the late Sir Jim Hardy as the poster boys. Posted on 1 Jun
Allen Dynamic 40 FooterPredictWind - Wave Routing 728x90 BOTTOMLloyd Stevenson - Catalyst Yacht Tender 1456x180px BOTTOM