Ferrari goes nautical

Earlier we wrote about an ocean racing sailing hero working with an industrialist on carbon-free sailing. Michel Desjoyeaux is working with Michelin on the Wisamo project. We are now seeing something similar in Italy; Giovanni Soldini is working intensively with Ferrari on a 30-meter sailing hydrofoil. The news might not have even made it to our columns, were it not for the fact that Ferrari reports that the technology will also be applicable to sail-powered cargo ships.

Foiling
Ferrari has rocked the sailing world with the unveiling of its Hypersail project. The Italian car brand is developing a revolutionary 100-foot foiling monohull to run entirely on renewable energy – without diesel or other fossil fuels. Led by offshore legend Giovanni Soldini and designed by Guillaume Verdier, this groundbreaking project combines Ferrari’s F1 technology with cutting-edge sailing technology. The boat will launch in 2026. This is not a marketing stunt with a Ferrari logo on the mainsail. This is a completely newly developed ocean yacht that draws on Ferrari’s engineering expertise, from flight control systems to aerodynamic models straight out of Formula One….

Flight control algorithms
The Hypersail concept radically breaks with traditional thinking in offshore sailing. Verdier’s design allows the 100-footer to fly at three contact points: a central foil at the end of a canting keel, a foil on the rudder, and alternating two lateral foils. That combination of canting keel and foil is perhaps the most startling element. It is a bold technical contrivance that has never been attempted before, although Soldini did pioneer the use of a non-tilting central foil on a modified MOD 70 with which he previously campaigned. Mastering a fully foiling – or flying – sailboat in the open ocean is a technological labyrinth of unprecedented complexity. This is where Ferrari’s racing experience plays a crucial role. The yacht’s flight control systems are derived directly from Ferrari’s most advanced Formula 1 technology: flight control algorithms that adjust the sailing yacht millisecond by millisecond, aerodynamic modeling tools that analyze wind currents and waves in real time, and energy management platforms that optimally distribute any available power. Ferrari has already filed nine patents related to the sailing yacht, with another six pending.

The entire marine industry
“Designing a yacht for offshore racing is perhaps the ultimate expression of endurance,” said Ferrari chairman John Elkann. “Hypersail pushes us to go beyond our limits.” What really sets Hypersail apart from other high-performance offshore sailing yachts is its ambition for complete energy independence. No diesel, no internal combustion engine, no backup generator whirring under the deck. Hypersail is designed to sail solely on renewable energy – solar, wind and kinetic energy all managed in real time. That energy must power all systems on board: from critical flight controls and keel and foil controls to navigation and communications. No system will run on fossil fuel anymore. If Ferrari succeeds in achieving this total energy independence, it could represent a seismic shift for the entire marine industry – from superyachts to commercial shipping.

Sailing hero in business
Soldini is an icon in Italian sailing with more than 30 years of experience in solo and crewed ocean racing, including two solo world circumnavigations. Combining spectacular sailing knowledge with deep technical expertise, the veteran performs both the role of team boss and visionary architect of the project at Hypersail. “It’s an exciting challenge, backed by a truly unique team,” said Soldini. “Ferrari’s contribution is driving the development of control technology never before seen in offshore sailing.”

Although Hypersail is currently under construction in Italy and will not be launched until sometime in 2026, yesterday’s unveiling of this innovative project sent the international sailing community into an uproar. Soldini, however, is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding an exact launch date – a wise approach given the technological complexity of the project. “There are a thousand things to bring together,” he said. “We will definitely launch the boat in 2026, but I’m not going to make any commitments about which quarter. The boat will be launched next year and then we will begin a debug phase that hopefully will be short.”

Soldini declined to comment on specific sporting goals. “Before we set sporting goals, we want to finish what we are doing, develop the boat and launch it. Then we will see what we can and cannot do,” Soldini said. Exactly who will eventually sail the Hypersail remains in dense fog for now, although Soldini hinted that a crew of eight to 12 sailors will be needed to master this technological monster.fER

Editor’s comment:

Although Soldini is primarily aiming for a step forward in ocean racing and the ringing communication distracts from the possibilities;  technological advances are always interesting. But there are questions: a crew of ten is quite a lot for a ship that is presumably extremely lightly built. And how many containers can a Hypersail freighter soon carry? On the other hand, many hi-tech developments from Formula 1 found a place in “more ordinary applications. We continue to follow it.

Source: Clubracer.be, Eddy Lekens
VIDEO. Ferrari presents  Hypersail: 
Photo Soldini: Ferrari

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