IS THIS THE FUTURE OF SAILING?? - (Episode 336)
October 26, 2025 · 28 min · 370K views · Indonesia
White catamaran sails under kite on open sea
What this video covers
A sailor named Ferdinand has removed the mast from his boat and replaced it with a kite-propulsion system, and the Parlay Revival crew joins him to test it.Watch The system uses an 11-square-meter foil kite on 80-meter lines controlled by an onboard computer that flies automated figure-eight patterns to generate pull; a load sensor caps force at a user-defined limit, and the kite depowers by climbing higher when that threshold is reached.2:16 In roughly 6 knots of true wind, the boat made 4 to 4.5 knots downwind with 130–180 kilograms of force on a single Dyneema line — numbers Ferdinand equates to a 110-square-meter spinnaker.21:06 The system cost €35,000.23:18 Testing was done in light air, so the autopilot mode could not be demonstrated; Ferdinand flew the kite manually throughout.14:05 Colin's assessment: the force numbers are genuinely comparable to a large downwind sail, but full reliance on electronics and feedback sensors in 20-plus knots of wind raises serious reliability concerns — a software glitch at speed could dump the kite into the water with consequences similar to a spinnaker wrap.26:24 More electronic redundancy and fail-safes would be needed before the system is offshore-viable.27:46
Boats in this video
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