Yves Parlier goes kiting

Three-time Vendée Globe competitor Yves Parlier has long been convinced of the usefulness of kites as alternative ship propulsion. “From my first sailing trip around the world in 1992, I had a safety kite on board.”

Like many astronauts, world sailors often see the importance of a smaller carbon footprint after their voyages. Parlier is no exception, as is his colleague Michel Desjoyeaux, who is developing the Wisamo wing, an automated inflatable wing project, with a Michelin Group start-up .
Parlier believes in kites. Even when he was sailing in the many races he participated in, he had a kite on board, as an extra safety measure in case his boat was de-masted. Now he has been working on innovations for the benefit of the planet for almost 18 years, with his company Beyond the Sea.

World sailing with kite

With his giant catamaran LeSeaKite, he wants to demonstrate that kites are the future as alternative wind propulsion for all types of ships. In 2022, his company Beyond The Sea announced that Parlier would undertake a circumnavigation of the world with his kite-powered catamaran. However, those plans did not materialise. The project was postponed and eventually cancelled, due to technical difficulties and other obstacles related to implementation. Parlier is known for its ambitious projects and innovative approaches, but world tours involving new technologies often require extensive preparation and testing.

Cooperation with sea trawlers

It doesn’t stop Parlier. At a recent Assises de la Mer conference, he announced the collaboration between Beyond the Sea, Les Abeilles and the French Navy. Les Abeilles is a French shipowner specialising in sea towage and protecting the French coast using sea tugs and units specialising in pollution response, chartered by the navy. A four-year agreement provides for the development and testing of large kites on the Abeille Jason, based in Cherbourg, and the Abeille Mediterranée in Toulon. This is a major innovation for a sector in the midst of an energy transition.

The aim of this ambitious partnership is to test in real conditions automated kites ranging from 50 to 400 m² to tow ships and reduce their carbon footprint. The contract, signed in Bordeaux, symbolises a strategic step in the maritime energy transition.

Two types of kites

Beyond the Sea offers kites not only for large ships, but also for smaller ones. For the smaller ones, there is the LibertyKite®: a traction kite for pleasure craft; designed as a single kite or with a launch system. Mainly for safety, or the fun of kite flying. Intended for pleasure boating, small-scale fishing and ocean racing.
The much larger SeaKite® is a complete automated vessel traction system, consisting of a kite, traction sensors and autopilot, capable of towing all or part of any type of vessel, up to large merchant vessels. Seakite is designed for commercial shipping, fishing, research, tankers, bulk carriers, container ships and cruise ships.

Sources: Mer et Marine, Beyond the Sea, SudOuest, LNC, Figaro Nautisme.
Headline image: the catamaran LeSeaKite is pulled at 20 knots by a 50m2 kite.

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