Innovation & Sustainability

Wind in the Sails, Science on Board

Sailing meets science: At the Seascape try-out sailing event in mid-June, organised by Paul Pawelka, anyone interested had the chance to try out the Beneteau First 18. I had the honour of sailing on the boat skippered by Angelika Stark, a multiple national and European champion.

Also taking part was the High Performance Sailing Team (HPS) from Graz University of Technology, Austria’s first student sailing club. Daniel Schnizer explains that the HPS combines elite sport with innovation. As well as competing in regattas, the team develops new technologies for sailing, which, via elite sport, also find their way into grassroots sport.

There is no doubt that they possess sailing ambition and expertise. Their successes speak for themselves: podium finishes in 2021, 2023 and 2025, including first place in the Round Palagruza Cannonball and third place in the S-Cup. In 2026, they will be competing in the second division of the German Sailing League.

One highlight is Vincent Philipp’s Mola-Mola project, an autonomous sailing drone inspired by the Microtransat Challenge. As a research platform, it provides valuable insights into optimal sailing performance and environmental factors for final-year dissertations. Such drones are also used in climate research.

Another platform is the ACAT, an A-class catamaran. The flexible rules of this class offer plenty of scope for innovation. The team has already developed its own foils as part of a final-year project.

For performance sailing, they use Gerhard Fließ’s Deskbreeze tabletop wind tunnel. The team is currently building a J70 model to better understand how boats behave in the Sailing Bundesliga. Since this year, a data logger has also been in use, which will provide deeper insights in future.

I know from experience that research and regattas cost money. Support is needed so that HPS can continue to develop the sport of sailing from Austria on a global scale. Sponsorship or donations help to drive these innovative projects forward. If you would like to make a contribution, please get in touch at office@hps.or.at. Every bit of support helps!