Human powered Ships followed by Sails, Motors, Nuclear - but Kites?
As the title of this post discusses, what has powered waterborne craft over the centuries has changed. Treehugger (yeah, I know, much more to the Left than I am, but there I am a conserv-ative) has a quick story about kite powered ships.
Now, I'm not talking about the run of the mill sailboat / yacht with a runaway sail....it really is all about using kites. And of course, these are not the grammar school kid type nor even sophisticated fighting kites that adults will fly in competition.
These are jumbo industrial kind that will be employed to help move massive cargo ships across the seas. While this may sound like a wacko idea, it has now come to the testing stage, as you can see here:
That horizontal "thing" at the top of the pole at the bow of the ship is the kite - currently it is furled in, but is supposed to be flown at some height above the ship.
From Sky Sails own site:
By using the SkySails-System, a ship‘s fuel costs can be reduced by 10- 35% on annual average, depending on wind conditions. Under optimal wind conditions, fuel consumption can temporarily be reduced by up to 50%. Even on a small, 87 metre cargo ship, savings of up to 280,000 euros can be made annually.
Here is another rendition of what Sky Sails thinks:
