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wingsail design since 2018 by French where apparent wind takes precedence under engines alone. Critically, despite tech startup AYRO has the potential to over true wind. AYRO’s wingsails gen- originally being developed to be handled leave a much larger legacy; by provid- erate propulsive force even when the by some of the world’s most skilled and ing a new approach to wind assisted apparent wind angle is as low as ? ve de- experienced yachtsmen, OceanWings propulsion that can signi? cantly reduce grees, so they can adapt to 95% of con- operation is fully automated, requiring a the impact of modern shipping on the ditions found at sea. And in that remain- ship’s crew only for supervision.

environment. ing 5%, the system ef? ciently mitigates the added drag from inactive wing-sails, Scaling Down for Commercial Ops

The Inception of OceanWings automatically switching to ? ag mode to While technology or ideas coming

The original Americas Cup rigid two- ensure minimal impact on the vessel and from the yachting world to ships would element mainsail was pushed by the enable safe operations and navigation normally mean a scale up effort, the design team and renowned naval archi- tecture ? rm VPLP Design, along with its co-founder Marc Van Peteghem, were tasked with the job of integrating it on the BMW Oracle Racing trimaran.

Drawing inspiration from his experience and achievement, Marc embarked on a journey to adapt this high-performance wind energy system for commercial vessels. His vision was clear: to reduce the use of fossil fuels and, by extension, shrink the carbon footprint of shipping.

This vision resulted in Marc becoming the co-founder of AYRO in 2018, and the subsequent birth of OceanWings, the company’s unique wingsail solution en- gineered to combat the climate-related challenges that loom over the maritime industry. While ? ve years in the mak- ing, OceanWings arrive at a time when regulatory pressures are mounting to ac- celerate the shift towards sustainability within the sector.

At the heart of AYRO’s pioneering wingsail technology lies a dynamic inter- play between primary and secondary sail components. It’s a symphony of move- ment and interaction that sets Ocean-

Wings apart, eclipsing the performance of conventional sails and single element wing-sails. The key is a cleverly designed slot gap that orchestrates the ? ow of air between these two sail elements, igniting a powerful acceleration along the wing’s leeward edge, known as the extrados. The principle takes a cue from aircraft wings in motion and the result is balance and in- credible performance even at narrow ap- parent wind angles.

This is crucial for ships in motion, www.marinelink.com 13

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