Patent ID: 8156879

Claim:
A sailing craft comprising a tilting sail system, said sailing craft having a hull having a bow and a stern, a port side and a starboard side, said sail tilting sail system comprising: a. a sail comprising an rigid aerofoil body capable of omni-directional attitude for wind propulsion, wherein said rigid aerofoil body comprises a top skin, a bottom skin and a frame, and wherein the rigid aerofoil body encloses a volume of air and has a centre of gravity; b. a vertical mast for supporting said aerofoil body, wherein said vertical mast has a top end mounting a swivel and pivot joint for connecting to the aerofoil body by way of a mounting member at a point disposed above said centre of gravity so that the aerofoil body is biased towards a horizontal position, and wherein said swivel and pivot joint permits and allows omni-directional attitude of the aerofoil body, and further wherein the vertical mast has a bottom end fixed to the sailing craft; c. a wind force damper disposed within said top end of said vertical mast and connected to the swivel and pivot joint and hence to the aerofoil body for damping wind forces transmitted from the aerofoil body to the vertical mast; and, d. aerofoil body control means for controlling the attitude of the aerofoil body for optimizing aerofoil inclination and surface area exposed to wind direction and for placing the aerofoil body in a forward propulsion attitude relative to wind direction.