The sand yacht, riding on the wind

Sailing at sea has a long history, but could you also do it on land? Yes, with a sand yacht. There are a few problems though.

What is a yacht?

In short, a land yacht is a wheeled vehicle that moves with the help of sails. By changing the position of the sails, just like on a sailboat, you can make the most of the wind and make clever use of Bernoulli’s law. And sometimes even moving a little against the wind.

In theory, a sand yacht sounds like Columbus’s egg. This way you can travel hundreds of kilometers without petrol, or for example a horse. Ideal of course, in these times of high excise duties and oil prices. In practice there are quite a few disadvantages, so that the sand yacht has never become very popular outside the beach.

Simon Stevin, inventor of the sand yacht

Simon Stevin, a refugee from Bruges who lived just before Galileo, was, you could say, a pretty smart guy. He invented the decimal system, the scientific method and showed that a perpetual motion machine using gravity is impossible.

He was annoyed by the snail’s pace of transport in those days. Couldn’t you use sails instead of horses? What the thrifty Dutchmen also claim is that sails need a lot less fodder than horses. No sooner said than done and Stevin started tinkering.

Fastest mode of transport on land ever, for four centuries

In 1602 the result was the first sand yacht in the Netherlands (the Egyptians and Chinese preceded it). This cell car was able to drive from Scheveningen to Petten over the beach in less than 2 hours, a distance of 80 km.

That was unprecedentedly fast for the time. This speed will only be surpassed by a steam locomotive four centuries later, in the 19th century. Of course it had to be windy, so that in the following two centuries this sand yacht was only used for the entertainment of guests.

Can only be used in a few places

Like the Chinese and Egyptians, who had windy plains, the land chariot was of practical use only on flat terrain where the wind was strong. The sand yacht was also a sometimes used form of transportation on the great windy plains of North America.

On inland roads, the sand yacht is less suitable, because a lot of space is needed around the sand yacht for the sails. And let’s not talk about trees and viaducts.

In the Netherlands, where every square meter is used for something, sand yachts are only useful when the wind is blowing, on the beach. And for racing competitions, of course. The land sailing world record is currently set at a speed of just over 200 km/h. So for the time being we won’t see sailboats whizzing by. Do you want to drive on wind power? Then it is best to buy an electric car or bicycle that is charged with sustainable energy.