Land Speedsailing

Land Speedsailing is a windsurfing on a board with 4 steerable wheels that can be powered by a small conventional windsurfing sail. Land speedsailing provides all of the fun one can have of sailing, but without getting wet. It mixes the sailing skills of windsurfing and the balance and agility of skateboarding. It's ideal for light wind and winter conditions.

You have to use a much smaller sail than on the water, because it rolls more easily than a board pushes through the water and because you need to limit your speed (you have no brakes). The board needs steering suspension like a skate board, so that you steer it by tilting the board with your feet. As the axles tilt, the axles also yaw - front and back can both steer.

This board was built entirely by Henry Nicholson-Cole (son of DNC, TWC committee member) using yachting foam and carbon fibre pre-preg matting - the suspension and steering components are built of solid carbon fibre. The only non-composite materials are 2 metal axles and 4 trailer wheels with ball bearings, rubber blocks for suspension and a couple of bolts. The board uses a conventional mastfoot UJ in a track. There are speedsailers available on the market for about £300 if you Google for 'speedsailing', and you will find a growing body of people trying it. (Henry's board is not for sale, he built it as a research project in composite construction.)

You cannot tack, you can only gybe, because the board only steers when it's moving (unlike a windsurfing board that can rotate in the water during a turn, even when stalled as in a tack). It's a lot more painful if you fall off, but you do not usually fall off because you are on a stable platform, not on slippy water with only a dagger board to prevent leeway. If you have a comfortably small sail, it's easy to put it through its paces. Foot positions are different to surfing on water because you do not move your foot back or need to lift the nose to plane - speedsailing boards accelerate uniformly and remain flat.

Without brakes, the only way to stop is to do a turn, as in skiing - thus you need plenty of space, as you cannot edge or skid as you can with skis, and you have to look far ahead to anticipate running out of space or running into obstructions. GPS measurement shows that you rapidly reach frightening speed even with a small sail. Perhaps future versions can have drum brake wheel hubs with a cable connection to a caliper on the boom, but this would make rigging suddenly a lot more complex. A technique of backing the sail could be developed.

Kneepads and helmets are recommended! (HNC, please note!)

If you Google for Speedsailing, it's clear that the term also implies various forms of sailing that are aiming for speed records, including special yachts. So to avoid confusion, it's easier to call it 'land speedsailing'.

Links: Speedsail.com Surf-wax.co.uk ; see also: Kitewing (skimbat) sailing...

Board by HNC, Report by davidnc@trentwindsurfing.org.uk