Welcome to The Tech Race.
Hi-tech sails, inspired by aeronautical engineering,
can allow athletes to travel at speeds of over 100kmh.
(AERODYNAMIC SAILS)
The shape and material of a sail is key.
Thanks to aerodynamics,
sailing boats and windsurf boards can reach higher speeds
than their motor - the wind itself.
The material and shapes are the main evolving features.
In the past the sails were a triangle,
and now we carry an aerofoil on the sail,
exactly like an aeroplane's wing,
but vertical, not horizontal.
The lighter and stronger the material,
the more sophisticated it is.
That's the key point.
(SPAIN)
(BARCELONA)
(AEROLITE SAILS)
Kiko Igual, as well as being one of the best sail designers
in the country, is the Spanish Olympic windsurf team coach.
At a sail factory in Barcelona,
he experiments to create the perfect sail.
It takes roughly 12 hours to produce just one,
as each sail is produced by hand.
The great revolution came when carbon did.
It's very like Kevlar,
with the same mechanical possibilities,
but with a longer lifespan.
It's lighter
and has let us gain more speed in the tables.
For example, the tables are now at around 50 knots.
It's crazy - that's 100kmh.
(CARBON FIBRE IS UNAFFECTED BY UV EXPOSURE
(AND PROVIDES LOW STRETCH)
In lightweight sailing,
depending on category rules,
you can't use either laminated material, Kevlar or carbon.
Each category has its own type of sail,
its own material.
In elite competition, we need materials
with maximum lightness and maximum strength.
For example, in the Olympic category 470,
they use this.
This is used for cruise boats.
Kevlar, Technora, carbon...
It all depends on the category.
This material has a compound of carbon, Dyneema and Technora.
This is the best you can get in sailing now.
Kevlar and Dyneema are used to create racing sails,
as they are some of the strongest textiles
in existence - so strong that they are used to create
bulletproof vests.
The newest racing sails take advantage of polyethylene,
which is high-performance and lightweight,
whilst offering more resistance than steel.
This is so sophisticated.
A thread just 0.9mm thick
holds 80 or 90 kilos.
That's a heavy load.
You'd think a swing was floating, without thread.
The shape of sails has varied a lot over the years.
In ancient Egypt,
the invention is credited to the goddess Isis,
with the aim to achieve soaring speeds,
stronger resistance and enhanced performance,
Sails have been made from papyrus, leather, linen, cotton
and even esparto.
As an Olympic sport, sailing was first competed
at the Olympic Games Paris 1900.
The engine is the most important thing in sailing,
just as with cars.
We can have a spectacular chassis,
a spectacular boat,
with keels, profiles below, a perfect fin,
but if the engine doesn't work, we're not going anywhere.
The sails are one of the most important parts of the boat.
In my case, we carry normal sails,
not too thick nor too thin,
because we are a lightweight crew.
If crew members can't handle the sails,
the boat can reverse, despite having them.
Eventually, after training a lot,
you can handle it perfectly,
and give it your all in the regatta.
And you feel the joy of navigating and running.
Now the problem is we're at the limit
of the speed we can attain,
because we've a much greater speed
than the prevailing wind.
With a wind of 30 knots, we sail at 45 knots,
15 knots faster than the wind.
It's difficult to know how far we'll get.
35 years ago we were sailing at 18 knots,
and now at 50 knots.
Finding the best shape for sails which score high
in aerodynamic tests is a researcher's biggest headache.
However, sailing faster than the wind is now a reality.
(THE TECH RACE)