French company Airseas has developed the Seawing, a kite to help propel cargo ships, which it says could cut their carbon emissions by an average of 20%.
I dunno anything about kites but maybe the wind is always strong enough up there so that it never falls.
I would suspect that a ship with these kites has an alternative method of traversal if the kite needs to dry or whatever. If that’s even a problem at all.
In the open ocean wind is fairly consistent and predictable. If there was a risk of the wind dropping too low you’d stow the sail. Even if it did hit the water, you’d have to stop while you hauled it in but it’s not impossible.
Yeah how the fuck would you get the kite up initial?? And what happens if the wind dies and it lands in the water…
You could probably launch it using a airgun or something.
Yeah but what about after it hits the water. How do you dry it before loading back in?
I dunno anything about kites but maybe the wind is always strong enough up there so that it never falls.
I would suspect that a ship with these kites has an alternative method of traversal if the kite needs to dry or whatever. If that’s even a problem at all.
In the open ocean wind is fairly consistent and predictable. If there was a risk of the wind dropping too low you’d stow the sail. Even if it did hit the water, you’d have to stop while you hauled it in but it’s not impossible.