Originally published at: Kitesurfing but for huge ships to cut fuel use for cleaner trips across the ocean | Boing Boing
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12 year-old me living in Kansas would have killed for something like this to use on my Windwagon.
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Add in some cutting edge bubble technology and we’d get even more efficient!
ETA: I commented here because I love flying kites and energy saving measures, so this article really hits the spot.
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I remember seeing an article in the Economist about this several years ago. Why isn’t it already a widespread technology? Is there some problem with the idea in practice? Such as difficulty getting the kite into position in the first place?
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2005, in fact: Sailing ships with a new twist
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Glad some tech bro came up with the idea of using the wind to propel ships across the sea. An essential innovation. 
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Yeah, but now there’s motors, for when the wind ain’t blowing.
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It saves on having to pay for rowers!
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It’s probably being sabotaged by the fossil fuel fuckers.
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It would have to be fairly sophisticated software to operate as described. The wind is constantly shifting in many subtle ways that require a lot of attention. I imagine it would be a major PITA to retrieve the kite if it flops into the water.
It’s possible that the software and/or processing power has caught up with the demands of the task. It’s also possible that it hasn’t yet.
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Discounts for rowers on cruise ships! /s
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Yeah, I also remember this idea from back then. It looks like it’s a different company though, the one from 2005 is ‘SkySails’ out of Germany while this latest one is ‘Airseas’ out of France.
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That sounds like fun to test.
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This reminds me of the clipper ships owned by the wealthy in Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
they had these parasails as well which seemed like a nice bit of plausible near-future dystopian tech, now being realized as we plummet into that possibly bleak future…
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A ship? With “sails?” What a time to be alive
Sailors, 2023…BCE
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So. Sails. They reinvented sails.
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video for the bbs
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Ben Franklin allegedly figured out he could use a kite to help him swim across a pond: The Time Ben Franklin Casually Invented a Form of Kitesurfing | Mental Floss Also, there is a newer company attempting to erect sails from cargo containers: https://www.outsailshipping.com/
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Oh… those are “encouraged volunteers”
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