 We are well into the 21st century and one of the big things on the minds of the world technologists is improving propulsion.
Cars, trucks and buses are moving from conventional gasoline powered internal combustion engines to hybrid engines, diesel engines running on vegetable oil and fuel cells. Airplanes manufacturers are designing better and more powerful jet engines. Submarines are being built with engines that require no moving parts
Rocket scientists are trying to figure out the best means of propulsion to use for sending spacecraft to Mars and beyond. Hightech solutions to get from point A to point B with greater efficiency and lower cost are appearing constantly.
And yet sometimes the best way to move forward is to go back. The brightest and best in the means of propulsion have come to the startling conclusion that if you want a reliable, inexpensive way to move ships across the ocean you might try the wind.
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This is used instead of regular masted sail which although is a tried and tested technology however same apart from being complex to build and operate place a large number of constraints on a vessel. It must have adequate ballast to offset the weight and pull the masts and sails, for one thing. Also the masts and rigging can seriously complicate loading and unloading not to mention reducing available storage space.
In addition, for vessels over a certain size, you run into problems of geometry and physics. The idea is not to propel a ship by wind alone - a conventional diesel engine will help it along on days when the winds blows from the wrong direction, is too strong or dies away entirely. But since kite reduces the need of engines it is expected that it will reduce fuel consumption to half.
In the last couple of years it has become clear that marine diesel engines are having a greater environmental impact than many experts had believed.
| These engines release pollutants such as sulphur, nitrogen oxides, marine diesel oil, etc. Engines by itself contain sulphur 500 times more than what is allowed by European Union countries. It is estimated that cargo ships will account for three quarter of all Europe emissions of sulphur dioxide.
Could this signal a sea change for sail?
The coming of steam sent the worlds great sailing fleets into decline. The internal combustion engine finally finished them off. So it would be a strange twist of fate if the age of sail were resurrected by what amounts to a child’s toy.
Although the shipping industry is conservative, when the switch to use kites finally comes, it will contribute greatly to many. The ship owners will save on fuel and the environment will be saved from pollutants. As for the sailor, he will be able to drink his gin and tonic without missing out on any drops as kites prove to extend more stability in rough weather than conventional sails.
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