Land Yacht

Land Yacht

The original idea for yachts is truly simplistic: to harness the wind in a way that it provides infinite propulsion without using oars. And being the wind the only constituent needed for yachts to be effective, yachts took on a more recent form – land yachts.

Although there were evidences that show land yachts as far back in old pharaohic Egypt, these evidences were more of an independent discovery that doesn't hold any influence to the land yachts that surfaced on the mid century. But like the land yachts of old Egypt, the first land yacht to surface in Europe was built for leisure, an odd invention that took advantage of the inventor's access to a wide prairie with constantly strong winds.

The first ever record of a land yacht was attributed to Simon Stevin of Bruges, Flanders. During this time, any apparatus that run on propulsion not relying on horses was enthusiastically pursued by many. Around 1600, during the time when the more popular steamboat engine was also discovered, Simon Stevin invented the land yacht. Stevin presented it to the Prince Maurice of Orange where the prince and his consort took the actual test of the machine on a beach between Scheveningen and Petten. The carriage was propelled solely by the force of wind, was Simon Stevin's huge success. It has the speed comparable or exceeding that of a carriage drawn by horses. The only problem of course was its dependency on the wind, which would become a problem on city streets.

Without obstructions to serve as windbreakers, yachts have become the best maritime vessel up to the century when combustion engines took over. But on land, especially on city streets where wind is not in its strongest, the population saw little use of Stevin's invention.

Land yachts however became the greatest pastimes of country and rural areas, where wind blows unobstructed and unrestrained. On dune areas, on wide stretches of beach and sand, this becomes the best playground for the growing population of land yacht enthusiasts.

Even then are still sporadically widespread, only to those areas that fulfill the requirement of wide open space. Parts of Europe (especially Belgium who are quick to honor the sport as its birthright), United States and Africa where vast plains and deserts become ideal land yachting spaces, land yacht racing are fast becoming local events.




Land yachts are rare practical examples of perpetually moving machines which is a vital principle in science that gets much attention due to its potentially useful properties.