I Do Not Understand This

I can't tell what's going on here. Either a very clever engineer has found a way to sail faster than the wind on land -- or a very clever engineer has found a way to fool people into thinking he has found a way to sail faster than the wind on land. Read all about it at Make Online, and be sure not to skip the comments.

Common sense says it's bogus. Sailing faster than the wind implies you could sail forward even if the wind speed is zero.

But the defenders of the claim keep pointing out that the vehicle is extracting energy from the wind, based on the difference in wind speed and ground speed. So in still air it would just sit there. Note that the propellor does not drive the wheels as it spins; the designers are very clear on that point. So they're not proclaiming free energy or perpetual motion.

One thing which makes it hard to tell who's right in this discussion is that both the skeptics and the proponents are quick to hit the flamethrower trigger. I can't tell which one is the petulant crackpot because everybody sounds like a petulant crackpot.

I'm not enough of an engineer to tell if this is sound science or clever handwaving. Either way, however, it's an interesting project. I look forward to seeing the experiment repeated by people other than the initial designers. And if someone can explain this without sounding like a petulant crackpot, I'd be very grateful.

UPDATE: Facebook commentator (commentatrix?) Francesca Pardo Berger furnished this link which sheds some light on the subject.

Comments

[Jonathan Hirsch]

I think the mast is an airfoil. This takes advantage of the push/pull, just like when you are traveling on a beam reach when sailing.