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Wind powered vehicles appear to have originated in Pharaonic Egypt or it is there that the first evidence is available to us. Lots of sand in Egypt!
Then, as the illustration to the left shows, large, heavy wooden land boats were built in the Netherlands by Simon Stevin (Flemish mathematician and engineer) for Prince maurice of Orange that he used for the amusement of his guests sometime around 1649.
At the end of the 1800's, the Dumont brother in De Panne, Belgium built some land boats using sails copied from the Egyptian boats used on the Nile. The first land boat races appear to have been held on the beaches of Belgium and France (they have tides that can go down 18 feet twice a day so they expose long, wide stretches of hard sand). Across the oceans, concurrently, land yachts were being used to transport goods on dry lakes in the US and Australia.
By the 1950's, land yachts were already popular in the UK where associations and clubs soon sprouted and standards and rules for racing were quickly established by a nation who loves to codify things. But it was only starting in the 1960's with the development of polyester and fiber glass as well as light weight alloys, that the three wheeled land sailors that we know today arrived on the scene,.
The most popular commercial land wind sailors to day also use the most common sailing boat style of sail, the triangular "Bermudian" rig as opposed to square sails that require the wind to be mainly behind the craft. The Bermudian sail will sail closer to the wind i.e. more directly into it, which gives much more ability to go where you want to go, within reason. Computer design has also allowed these sails to produce more drive from whatever wind is available.
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With this new breed of land sailors and land yachts, came the inevitable need to compete and many of to days land sailors live to beat others just as sail boats draw fierce competition as well as just those who love to sail for the pleasure of it. Competitions are spread over all continents: from the vast beaches of Western Europe, New Zealand and Brazil, dry-lake surfaces in the USA, Argentina, Australia and Africa to frozen lakes in Canada and Scandinavia (using skates instead of wheels).
National landyacht associations are united in the International Land and Sandyachting Federation called FISLY. This organization sets up the racing rules. Every two years, world championships are organized. Besides that, there are lots of local races and competitions every week and annual European and Pacific Rim championships.
Racing yachts are divided in four classes by FISLY: Class 5 and Class Standard have a tubular steel or aluminium frame and mast with a glass fiber seats. The bigger Class 3 and Class 2 yachts have a lightweight glass fiber hull and wing-shaped mast and (mostly) a wooden rear axle.
Class 8 Land Yachts - also referred to as kite buggies or parakarts - differ from other classes in that the sail is replaced with a large traction kite, usually flown on 20 - 40m quad lines. The buggies are also considerably smaller and more maneuverable. This relatively new class of the sport is still undergoing rapid development but has become popular in recent years due to its portability, relative low cost and flexibility. Kite buggying also uniquely offers the pilot the possibility of getting real air time as buggies are sometimes launched into the air by the traction kite. Class 8 activities are generally grouped under racing, using large kites and very large and heavy buggies to accelerate to over 70MPH, freestyle where smaller, lighter machines perform freestyle tricks such as airs, spins, wheelies, reverse flying, etc, and endurance or cruising where distances of hundreds of Kilometres are covered in trips lasting several days. Look under Transat des Sables and Gobi Kite Buggy Challenge.
Racing yachts speed up to 120 km/h (the world speed record is set at 188 km/h by Bob Schumacher (USA) in 2001). Even at very low winds, racing yachts ride at up to three times the wind speed, reaching easily 70 km/h. Due to the lightweight and aerodynamic build, racing yachts boost to top speed in about 5 seconds. Turning markers are usually taken at full speed.
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One of the largest events in Land Yachting in the world is the European Championships, involving Land Yacht pilots from all competitive classes (excluding parakart, class 8) from all over Europe.
In the US, there is North American Land Sailing Association (NALSA). They promote the sport and pastime of land sailing for the exclusive enjoyment of members of the Association and to provide a forum for communication among the members that will advance the sport.
But by no means is all land sailing or yachting racing oriented. With the prices coming down especially with our own Wind Chaser™, anyone can just go out for a few hours on the nearest beach at low tide, or even a foot ball field or a large empty space and have fun. Whole families can own a couple of land sailors and take off for a fun week end by themselves, with friends or even on organized vacations. (for more on family recreation this click here).
We want to thank Wikipedia for the bulk of our information here and for the illustration to the left. An invaluable resource. But many other sites have also offered bits of information as well.
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