...and attach a HD camera to the rig, so they can spot pirate ships from further away, and give them time to maneuver away sooner....

About time this was adopted by the entire shiping industry!

Good news, about time. Solar power next?

Imagine that, using wind to power a ship.

the HD cam idea is great..and so is the idea of fabric incorporated PV cells on dat canopy !

A book by Ray Stannard Baker published as early as 1899, over 110 years ago titled; \"Boys Book Of Inventions\" dedicated a chapter to kites, and ended with predictions of being able to use kites in nearly the same manner as this.

I just watched Water World (Kevin Costner) for the first time last night. (I know, where was I the last 15 years?!) I thought the movie was a bomb, however the ship he sailed, a tri-haul, had some real slick gadgets. One of which was a cannon deployed Kite engine to use in a get-away. When I saw this the very next day, it gave me chills and thrills. :)

I remember saying to my brother (a shipwright) about fifteen years ago \"I have seen the future, and it is kite powered!\". I had been reading in an obscure little publication called \"Catalyst\" (newsletter of The Amateur Yacht Research Society www.ayrs.org), about the theory of a wind-powered water-borne speed record craft, combining a kite with a \'chien-de-mer\' (see \'Zeppy 3\' Gizmag article) which is a streamlined,curved fin keel, shaped to oppose the lateral force of the kite and translate it into forward thrust. This is essentially what a sailboat does anyway, but this device is extremely efficient, having very low-drag and displacement. So the combined pair forms a craft which is the absolute bare bones of the dynamics of sail power. There was also much discussion of the practical possibilities and benefits of sail and kite power for cargo vessels, so it\'s nice to see that it\'s actually coming to life now. Presumably, it can be quite tricky to \'reef\' or otherwise \'reduce\' a kite of this scale in a strengthening wind, but hat\'s off to the companies giving this a go. Good Luck to them.

We need this type of vessel for Pacific Ocean transport. The distances warrent great fuel savings.

Seriously?.. I\'m not going to be one one running with that thing to get it off the ground. What\'s wrong with just using plain ol\' sails?.. I gotta think of everything!!