Under sail?

[VegasCrossfire]

I am looking at Windstar for next year, but I have a question. I tried to read threads but never found this mentioned.

 

Do they really sail the ships without the engines ever or do they always keep the engines on? The thought of being under sail sounds heavenly to me.

I can hardly wait to book!

[StageTroll]

They never turn the engines off, they need them for electricity on the ship. They do use the sails and they really do make a difference but 'pure' sailing isn't common. They need a lot of wind to really sail and make good time. I believe they need 12-14 knots just to keep a heading. Even with engines though, it's heavenly!

[r&rd]

It depends on many factors: wind direction, seas, amount of time to get to next port, and the captain ( some make more of an effort to be fully under sail power than others. We have found Tahiti, Caribbean, and Istanbul to Athens to be the best bet for sailing - but don't count on it for much time. As one captain put it: we could be under sail the whole cruise but you wouldn't go where you wanted to go.

[dandee2]

I'm no sailor so the following is from my observation.

 

The ship do not tack between destination. If the wind is from the right direction, the capt will use all the sail area available but due to scheduling, it cannot naviguate like a real sailboat. They will roll the sail back in if they flap around or create drag.

 

I know from reading the book from Novinsky that they have to put sail back-in when the wind is greater than 30 kts (correct me if I'm wrong please). On our cruise last week, Capt Macally stated that the record speed for the Wind Surf (with propeller feathered) is about 12 kts. Must be quite a sight.

 

dandee2

[milepig]

I don't know what the original intent was, but in my experience the sails are there mostly for decoration. Many days they'd go up for sail away and then be immediately furled.

 

But, there was one glorious period where we were under full sail for hours and we we could actually feel the ship moving with the wind. Fabulous, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to happen often.

[bphman]

The unfurling of the sails is a grand event. We were on the Wind Surf and they play "1492" that is on sale in the shop and then the sails are in full bloom. They do sail under full sail power if possible. We had a lot of wind and it was nice. One problem, with full sails you have a lot of motion because the strong winds often translate into rough seas.

[stcruise]

Just returned from the Wind Star. The stats from our sailing that were posted in the daily sheet covering Feb 1-6:

 

Total time at sea: 45.1 hours

Sails up: 35.9 hours

Sails only: 16.5 hours

 

They do try to use sails only when they can - it's very dependent on weather conditions and time needed to get to next port. Also, in speaking with the captain, there are incentives offered to the captains based on fuel efficiency which, of course, being under sail only helps.

[SailorJM]

We've sailed a Windstar ship 4 times: sails primarily for decoration. Up leaving port and entering port, but not a lot otherwise. Star Clipper ships have them out a little more often.

 

If you want a ship that uses sails all the time, IslandWindjammer.com's Diamant or SailWindjammer.com's Mandalay (formerly a Windjammer Barefoot Cruise ship of the same name). These ships have their sails up whenever they are at sea unless there is just no wind at all.

[VegasCrossfire]

Thanks everyone for all the answers!

 

Although we decided to book a "regular" cruise ship for 2014, I now have some great ideas for 2015.

 

Thanks!