The sail of the future?

Wing sails are nothing new. At the cutting edge of sail technology, we can see wing sails coming to the fore. Witness the Latest America’s Cup boats, or speed machines like the Vestas Sailrocket 2 that set sailing speed records back in 2012.

But we are yet to see wing sails on production boats. That, however, may be about to change as Beneteau is seriously testing a Sense 43 with a single wing sail on a free-standing rotating carbon-fibre mast.

Beneteau says it has committed itself to in-depth research on the development of a sailboat for a new generation of cruising sailors.

The ‘Wing Sail’ currently under study is under development by a team led by Bruno Belmont, Beneteau Group’s Sailboat Strategy Manager, and is tasked with perfecting an easy to use sail.

The developers began by observing and analysing existing research on the different forms of wind propulsion. The information generally available endeavours to optimise performance as opposed to simplifying use, whereas the goal of the Beneteau project is to ease propulsion as much as possible while providing similar performance to traditional sails.

A meeting with inventor Guy Beaup, took place in the summer of 2012 and marked a decisive stage in the progress of the project.

When asked where his many inventions come from, he replied: "When I need something – before asking where I can buy it, I look at how I could make it". Despite being a newcomer to the world of sailing, Guy decided to travel the seas at the age of 25 and set about building his first boat, which included a junk-inspired rig. The absence of a sailing background led him to tackle each and every question without any preconceived notions. The result of his process let to the creation of the wing sail on his boat which stood up to its promise of a simple and strong method of propulsion. When he returned from a 60,000 mile circumnavigation, his invention stood out as a major innovation within the sailing industry.

Beneteau immediately decided to purchase the patent on this wing sail and welcomed Guy Beaup as a partner in all of the stages of its development.

Beneteau says that the Sense 43 was chosen for the initial testing period as its size was sufficient enough to create significant strain and the boat's design worked well with the rig development in progress. The first outings made in September of 2013 were extremely encouraging, however an innovation of this scale will require long months of testing, performance comparisons and boat plan development before mass production can be considered. The objective is to be able to equip certain ranges of Beneteau sailboats with a wing sail within 18 to 24 months.

So hold on to your hats folks, we may soon be seeing wing sails gracing our harbours and oceans – and maybe even our race tracks –  in the near future.