Awesome footage.
And yes it is incredible how a pissy little Drone can not only keep up with but then out speed and cross around in front of the bow.

God I love sailing , fantastic footage thank you for posting

Awesome footage. Other than providing some nice eye-candy, does the drone have another, more practical function? You could use it to check out the boat's trim, or inspect the sheaves at the top of the mast. I suspect the pro-sailers on these boats would have a very good idea about what was going on if things didn't "feel" right (or if the metrics didn't add up), but they might benefit from a different perspective.

More aerial goodness, this time from a helo. I'm surprised there aren't more kite boats. Where are all the tinkerers?

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Achernar said..
Awesome footage. Other than providing some nice eye-candy, does the drone have another, more practical function? You could use it to check out the boat's trim, or inspect the sheaves at the top of the mast. I suspect the pro-sailers on these boats would have a very good idea about what was going on if things didn't "feel" right (or if the metrics didn't add up), but they might benefit from a different perspective.

Or watch out for wind shifts in light weather if racing (instead of sending someone up the mast). Or watch out for shipping containers (wifi alarm to the boat?) Or a start committee or protest committee could use the footage. Farmers and other land managers use them a lot. Great tool.

Done a few hours in helo's and I'd say that most were taken from a helicopter