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Re:What if Gas Cost $100/gal? by tlrobinson on Tuesday May 27, 2008 @03:28PM (#201323)
Interesting idea, but that sail looks tiny for that size ship. I can't imagine it does much.
Re:What if Gas Cost $100/gal? by nostrademons on Tuesday May 27, 2008 @06:35PM (#201492)
The sails in the picture are being winched in. Normally, they fly like a kite, about 200 m above the ship, and tow it forwards. The winds are much stronger up there. It also looks like the kite has been partially furled - the picture on Wikipedia looks much bigger:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Beluga_Skysails

Re:What if Gas Cost $100/gal? by nazgulnarsil on Tuesday May 27, 2008 @04:01PM (#201342)
the gas savings outweighed the cost of the parachute or they wouldn't have done it. 1% savings on a ship that size is significant money.