The sails for Flotilla Phase 1 were created especially for this project. Marcus, the structural engineers and I worked to create a sail specification which would work for this unique structure rather than a sail boat.

In particular, the sails were designed and built to be completely flat so that the wind blowing against them turns the whole structure in the ground like a giant weather vane. Ordinarily, boat sails are designed to be ‘baggy’ so they can billow out to catch the wind to drive the boat forward. In the case of this structure, this forward movement would put unnecessary force on the mast and the booms. The flat profile of the sails maximises the turning force.

For Phase 2, the plan is to reuse existing second-hand boat sails to be sustainable and reduce costs. These can then be resold at the end of the project. To avoid the issue with the bagginess of the sails, these can be tied in a particular way that effective flattens them without permanently altering their shape so they can be used effectively for this project and still be used on boats again.