Land Sailing

Land Sailing is a sport in which land yachts (yachts with wheels) are used to race on land. The land yachts are moved by maneuvering the sails along the direction of the wind. Land sailing was mostly used for recreation until the 1950's, after which it slowly evolved into a competitive sport. Land sailing is currently popular in the United States and Europe.

Land yachts are typically three wheeled vehicles that vary based on the size of the mast and sail used. Yachts used for racing divided into different classifications based on the size. Races are conducted separately for different classifications during competitions. The classifications are, Class 2, Class 3, Class 5, Standard Class, Miniyachts, Class 7, and Class 8. The class 3 yachts are the most popular ones used for racing.

Races are conducted on specially designed courses, at locations that have abundance of wind, mostly on beaches. Yachts easily travel in excess of 100 mph during races. The fastest speed ever recorded was 126.1 mph, when wind speeds were recorded between 30 to 50 mph.

beach sailing

Many national and local competitions are conducted in several countries. The most popular international competition for the sport is the European Championship, which lasts for an entire week. The Landyachting World Championships held every four years is the next major international competition for the sport.

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Similar Sports

• Land Windsurfing — similar to traditional Windsurfing though performed on land rather than water, using a four-wheeled deck to travel across the surface. Also known as "Terrasailing", "street sailing", "land sailing" and "dirt windsurfing"
• Kite Landboarding — using a kite and wind power to manoeuver a huge skateboard-type board over land.
• Ice Yachting — sail boats called ice yachts are used to race on frozen lakes and rivers
• Sailing — a sport that involves moving a boat by using the power of the wind.