Spinnakers on cargo ships

[Alan]

removehtml]The first cargo ship departed the UK today headed for South America and has deployed a HUGE spinnaker to help save fuel. This is just the beginning of a new generation of 'green' energy saving efforts by the British commercial fleet to decrease energy costs for ocean transportation of goods.Error: Error: expected [/URL], but found [/removehtml] instead[/removehtml]

 

[Patrick S/V Shangra-La]

Wind is free

It seems the more we progress the more we turn back to the past to solve our problems. There was a -25 degree wind chill for the game in Green Bay, I don't think they would agree with global warming!

 

[tommays]

photo

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44371000/jpg/_44371962_beluga203.jpgIt is just a TINY one for testing at 1722 sq ft Tommays

 

[richk]

following winds?

Guess one would need a following wind to make a go of it!

 

[Jon6436]

It's a "Kite"

I heard about this on NPR this morning. The reporter, on board in the North Sea, described the 'chute' as a "kite." I guess that the idea is simliar to Kite-Boarding, where one rides a surfboard being pulled by a high-tech kite.It would be interesting to see some pictures of this ship with its kite in flight.

 

[Brian D]

Wonder what the ratio of...

Gallons per hour consumed vs. sqft of the sail? Will there be a savings in delivery or with cost go up because one depends on a constant wind to keep the sail functional?Interesting idea.

 

[tommays]

skysails

skysailsTommays

 

[Paul Z]

CV-13

First time I heard of a sail on a modern ship was the USS Franklin; A CPO rigged a sail to help with steering once the ship was able to make her ownway after being almost sunk by a Kamakazi.

 

[Jon6436]

To "Tommays" - Thanks for the picture.

Sorry that I missed the link to it in your 1st posting.