France’s Grain de Sail unveiled its most ambitious plans to date for a significantly large new cargo sailboat. The company said that Grain de Sail I and Grain de Sail II will soon be welcoming a new cargo sailboat to its Grain de Sail fleet.
After commissioning its first cargo sailboat, Grain de Sail I, the company decided to expand its fleet by building a second cargo sailboat, twice as large. In August 2022, it began the construction of this new vessel.
After 17 months of construction, the second sailboat set sail for the first time on March 15 heading to New York.
Its third ship, Grain de Sail III, will be a cargo sailboat entirely powered by wind (except for port and channel maneuvers), with a maximum air draft 62,50 m with 4000 m2 of sails (43 055 ft2), with retractable daggerboards. A ship that crosses the Atlantic in just around 13 days.
The 360-foot pure 110-meter-long sailboat, expected for launch around 2027, will be able to complete transatlantic crossings in around 13 days.
The development of this ‘revolutionary’ project is underway, Grain de Sail said, allowing the company to continue reducing CO2 emissions by over 90% for many years to come.
“A pure 110-meter-long (360 ft) sailboat capable of carrying 200 20-foot containers for a load of around 3,000 tons in the hold. This is our future sailing vessel,” the company said in its announcement.
Together with L2Onaval and Les Chantiers de l’Atlantique, Grain de Sail is developing cutting-edge technology for large rigid sails, featuring three masts with reefing capabilities, all equipped with a SOLID SAIL rigging system.
