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Land sharks: twenty-first century sailors are kissing the sea goodbye and kicking up some serious sand

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Brian Libby

IMAGINE SAILING ACROSS A LAKE AT a speed of 100 mph. Now picture that lake without water, and you've just invented land sailing--only it already exists. With traces in America as far back as the 1700s, the centuries-old sport is now gaining popularity in the deserts and dry lake beds of California, Oregon, and Nevada--and anywhere else with long, sprawling expanses, including empty parking lots in the city of Chicago.

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Modern land-sailing crafts have two fires in back and one in front, and have been clocked traveling as fast as 116 mph, a world record set by Bob Schumacher in 1999 at a race in Ivanpah, Nev. The key to moving is manipulating your sail to harness the wind while minimizing drag. "Your rear axle is your ballast, and you sit on it, between the two tires," explains Terry Fulbright, the 2001 winner of the America's Cup of Land Sailing, the sport's biggest prize. Learning to land sail is easy, Fulbright says, adding, "If you've got your drag down and a good lift on the sail, you're going to go like hell."

Until now, the only problems have been the cost and size of equipment: Land sails can run as much as $15,000, and a typical ride requires its own trailer to lug it around. But new, more affordable compact models are attracting younger crowds who are spreading the sport's appeal. (New Zealand-made Blokarts start at around $2,000 and fit in a car trunk.)

The sport is growing so quickly, in fact, experts say that within a few years, land-sailing junkies will swarm beaches, paring lots, and backcountry roads with the same sort of thrill-seeking camaraderie as skateboarders do now--and could finally number in the tens of thousands. As John Nicholson of the Hamilton Blokart Club in New Zealand says in summary: "It's a sport that is accessible, affordable, social, and competitive."

Land sharks: twenty-first century sailors are kissing the sea goodbye and kicking up some serious sand

Men's Fitness, May, 2005 by Brian Libby

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