On Friday January 17, students from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and Rotterdam Mainport Institute (RMI) will compete in the annual competition. In the Shallow water basin of MARIN will be determined who designed and built the fastest sailing cargo ship in the Netherlands.

The students of  TU Delft and RMI all follow the minor course Sailing Yachts and must design and build a sailing ship. The theoretical foundation is made in the first quarter of the academic year; in the second quarter students must work in teams to put the theory into practice. On January 17 they will present their sailing ship at MARIN and participate in a spectacular sailing competition. The sailing ship models will be assessed on speed, turn speed and innovation. The students must use their knowledge and creativity to make a theoretical design into a fast sailing model.

The 2020 edition focuses on ‘sailing cargo shipping’. Wind propulsion as a way to reduce emissions from ships gets a lot of attention within the maritime sector. The participants are challenged to transport as much cargo as possible, as quickly as possible by using wind propulsion. In addition to the maximum dimensions, the design requirements state that the propulsion of the ship model must come 100% from wind. The results will be assessed on both speed and amount of load transported.