Land sailing, also known as sand yachting or land yachting, is the act of moving across land in a wheeled vehicle powered by wind through the use of a sail. The term comes from analogy with (water) sailing. Historically, land sailing was used as a mode of transportation or recreation. Since the 1950s it has evolved primarily into a racing sport.
Vehicles used in sailing are known as sail wagons, sand yachts, or land yachts. They are typically three-wheeled vehicles that function much like a sailboat, except that they are operated from a sitting or lying position and steered by pedals or hand levers. Land sailing works best in windy, flat areas, and races often take place on beaches, air fields, and dry lake beds in desert regions. Modern land sailors, generally known as "pilots", can go three to four times faster than the wind speed, because of Bernoulli's principle. A gust of wind is considered more beneficial in a land sailing race than a favorable windshift. A similar sport, known as ice yachting, is practiced on frozen lakes and rivers. Another variation is the Whike, which combines land sailing with bicycling and can therefore also be used in everyday traffic because it does not fully depend on wind.
Contents |
The earliest known use of land yachts was in Ancient Egypt, where they were apparently built for leisure. The Chinese had "wind-driven carriages" since the 6th century AD, during the Liang Dynasty, and eventually mounted masts and sails on large wheelbarrows.[1]
The earliest text describing the Chinese use of mounting masts and sails on large vehicles is the Book of the Golden Hall Master written by the Daoist scholar and crown prince Xiao Yi, who later became Emperor Yuan of Liang (r. 552–554 AD).[2] He wrote that Gaocang Wushu invented a "wind-driven carriage" which was able to carry thirty people at once.[2] There was another built in about 610 for the Emperor Yang of Sui (r. 604–617), as described in the Continuation of the New Discourses on the Talk of the Times.[2]
European travelers from the 16th century onwards mentioned sailing carriages with surprise. In 1585 (during the Chinese Ming Dynasty), Gonzales de Mendoza wrote that the Chinese had many coaches and wagons mounted with sails, and even depicted them in artwork of silk hanfu robes and on earthenware vessels.[3] In the 1584 atlas Theatrum Orbis Terrarum written by the cartographer Abraham Ortelius (1527–1598), there are large Chinese carriages depicted with sails and masts.[4] Likewise, there are the same Chinese vehicles with sails depicted in the Atlas of Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594), as well as the 1626 book Kingdome of China by John Speed.[4] The English poet John Milton (1608–1674) popularized the Chinese sailing carriage in Europe with a poem written in 1665.[4]
The precursor to the modern land yacht was invented in the autumn of the year 1600 by the Flemish scientist Simon Stevin in Flanders as a commission for Prince Maurice of Orange. It was used by Prince Maurice for entertaining his guests. In 1898, the Dumont brothers of De Panne, Belgium, developed a land yacht whose sails were based on contemporary Egyptian sailboats used on the Nile River. The first races were held on the beaches of Belgium and France in 1909. Land yachts were also used in the late 19th century and early 20th century to transport goods on dry lakes in the United States.
The modern land yacht, a three-wheeled polyester/fibreglass and metal cart, often with a wing-mast and relatively rigid (full-batten) sails, has been used since 1960.
In 1967 a French Foreign Legion officer organized a land yacht race across the Sahara Desert. Teams from 7 countries assembled at Colomb-Béchar in Algeria and using French-designed and built machines for the most part, sailed 1,700 miles (2,700 km) through Algeria, Spanish Morocco and into the capital of Mauritania. Due to the harsh conditions, the idea of racing was abandoned, though at the time three young American boatbuilders, Larry Pardey, Richard Arthur and Warren Zeibarth (Captain, Pardey), were leading the race, with scores double those of any other team. The story made the cover of National Geographic in November 1967. A reinactment of this event took place three years later and was filmed by National Geographic.
The world land speed record for a wind powered vehicle was broken on 26 March 2009 by Richard Jenkins in his yacht Greenbird with a speed of 126.1 mph (202.9 km/h).[5] Wind speeds were fluctuating between 30–50 mph (48–80 km/h) at that time.[6][7]
The previous record of 116 mph (187 km/h) was set by American Bob Schumacher on March 20, 1999 driving his Iron Duck vehicle. Both records were set on Ivanpah Dry Lake near Primm, Nevada, USA.[8]
A previous attempt at the record by Britons Dale Vince and Richard Jenkins at Lake Lefroy in Western Australia in their carbon-neutral vehicle, Greenbird, failed on 12 September 2008.[9]
There are a number of basic types, or "classes", of land yachts. Because of the very different nature of each class, they compete separately in races. The largest class of yachts are known as Class 2, which may have masts as large as 8 metres (26 ft). The massive sail area provides significant power, although the speed of Class 2 yachts can sometimes be limited by their large size. These are sailed mainly in continental Europe and not sailed at all in some countries such as the United Kingdom.
The Class 3 is probably the most popular yacht design, almost identical to the Class 2 in appearance, but significantly smaller. Class 3 yachts are generally made from fiberglass, sometimes in combination with other high-tech lightweight materials, such as carbon fibre, Kevlar, or various composites, with a wooden rear axle. They are capable of reaching speeds up to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h).
The Class 5 is much smaller than the 2 and 3, and is in a very different shape. The pilot still sails the yacht lying down, but unlike the 2 and 3, he lies in a seat that is suspended from or cantilevered off the chassis, rather than inside the body. The chassis is usually made of steel and aluminium, with a fibreglass or carbon–Kevlar seat. Class 5 yachts are capable of reaching speeds up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h), and some have been faster, closer to 70 miles per hour (113 km/h).
While Class 2, 3, and 5 yachts must meet certain guidelines, the specifications are flexible to an extent.
The "Standart" Class is unique in that it is the only recognised international monotype sand yacht with all yachts identical. Similar to Class 5 in shape and function, they must follow a special design supplied by the French manufacturer Seagull. This class is widely popular because it means the outcome of a competition rests entirely with the pilot, as the yacht itself cannot provide an advantage or disadvantage.
"Miniyachts" are small land yachts which are aimed at the leisure market, however, any type of land yacht can be raced and the identical nature of these yachts make them ideal fun racers due to their similar size and sail area. This style of yacht uses a traditional style land yacht rig with a smaller chassis and body where the pilot is able to sit in a conventional way and control the sail with a simple main sheet. These are the smallest, cheapest and lightest yachts available and are tremendously safe and easy to sail with basic instruction.
The basic definition of a miniyacht is "Any assembled land or sand yacht that fits inside a continuous loop of rope 5.6 m long is a miniyacht". Some designs of mini yachts can be dismantled and carried in the trunk of a car. They can be sailed equally well by small children and large adults and have the added advantage of going on grass as well as sand or concrete. These yachts are very usable and they are a truly fun inexpensive class for all the family popular in Europe, America, UK and Ireland.
Class 7 yachts are built like skateboards with a sail, much like a land-borne windsurfing board. These are also called Speed Sail and are fully recognised by FISLY as part of sand yacht clubs, they are also sailed for fun and hobby.
Class 8 Land Yachts - also referred to as Parakarting, or kite buggying - differ from other classes in that the sail is replaced with a large traction kite, usually flown on 20–40 m quad lines. The buggies are also considerably smaller and more maneuverable. This relatively new class of the sport is still undergoing rapid development but has become popular in recent years due to its portability, relative low cost and flexibility. Kite buggying also uniquely offers the pilot the possibility of getting real air time as buggies are sometimes launched into the air by the traction kite. Class 8 activities are generally grouped under racing, using large kites and very large and heavy buggies to accelerate to over 70 mph (110 km/h), current record 133 km/h Arjen Vandertol(ref NABX 2010), freestyle where smaller, lighter machines perform freestyle tricks such as airs, spins, wheelies, reverse flying, etc., and endurance or cruising where distances of hundreds of kilometres are covered in trips lasting several days. Look under Transat des Sables and Gobi Kite Buggy Challenge.[10] Also "Mad way south challenge over 2500 km in the western Sahara. 24 hour Distance Record holder Peter Foulkes (n.z.) 623 km
New Zealand designed Blokarts and UK designed X-sails are small, fast and maneuverable and therefore able to be sailed in small urban areas. They can be packed into a case able to be carried in a car or as luggage on a plane. The hand steering allows disabled people to be able to use them and compete with able-bodied competitors. Blokarts and X-sails are capable of speeds up to 62.5 miles per hour (100.6 km/h)(Scott Young, Red Lake, AZ, U.S.A. 27 March 2009).
Other types of miniyacht that have foot steering are the Ludic, Potty and Skoot. At good venues, these miniyahts often sail informally together with kite buggies.
One of the largest international events in the sport are the European championships, in which competitors of all classes from all over Europe travel to a sand yachting venue for a week long competition. The Wirral Sand Yacht Club, on Hoylake beach, hosted the event in September 2007.[12] Argentina held the world championship in 2008. St Peter Ording was the venue for the 2009 European Championships. De Panne in Belgium will host the 2010 World Championships[13] in Sept - October. Attendees included local politicians Esther McVey and Stephen Hesford, alongside the Mayor of Wirral, the Head of the International Governing body for Sandyachting, and at least some of the 150 competitors from Argentina, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden Italy, Ireland, Chile, Denmark, USA, Australia and the UK.
In the US, annual competitions are held by local clubs and by NALSA, the North American Landsailing Association. The largest regatta is regularly held the last week of March on the playa at the California-Nevada border near Primm, Nevada. The classes sailed in the US include several one-design classes, international class 5 (5 m² class in the US), and open classes solely based on the sail/wing area. The European yachts sail with the appropriate US open class according to their sail area.
Promoting international competition, there are periodic regattas including FISLY and other landsailing nations, mostly on the Pacific Rim. The host and venue of this regatta rotates, and the 2009 event will be hosted by NALSA at the March regatta.
A history of sailing in the US can be found at Nalsia.org.
Blokart racing is a new but growing sport administered by the International Blokart Racing Association (IBRA) who sanction events and set the international racing rules. Blokart World Championships have been held biennially since the inaugural event at the home of Blokart in Papamoa, NZ in 2008. The 2010 championships was held in Ostend, Belgium. The 2012 event is being staged on the dry lake bed at Ivanpah, California. Blokart racing is held on purpose built tracks, airport runways, parking areas as well as beaches and dry lake beds. Blokart race events are held around the world, with major events such as New Zealand Open, European Open, British Open, Australian Open, and the North American Open held annually.
Blokarts are raced in two classes – production and performance, and in various weight divisions. The production class is based on the basic blokart design. In the performance class additional parts from the manufacturer are allowed such as carbon fibre mast sections and an aerodynamic shell, adjustable downhaul and modification of the sail battens to alter the shape of the sail. Blokarts have four standard sail sizes, 2.0m, 3.0m, 4.0m and 5.5m, with sail size choice being dependent on wind strength and weight of the sailor, with heavier sailors requiring larger sails, and smaller sails being more efficient in stronger winds.
Needham, Joseph (1965). Science and Civilisation in China. Vol 4 part 2 Mechanical Engineering.
Mini Class Land Yacht plans and construction notes.... http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Land-Yacht-Sailing/Construction/Build-a-Landyacht-Lake-Lefroy-Mini-Yacht/