My father held a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a M.Sc. in Marine Architecture from the United States Naval Academy. Dad was the lead designer of the Essex Class aircraft carrier hull; he was also a true gentleman with a superlative sense of humo(u)r and the heart and patience to be a wonderful parent.
I had lengthy conversations with him regarding the possibility of hydrofoil sailing vessels. He claimed that such a ship was an impossibility - I felt that the design was practicable. I lost my father in 1975, but wish for myriad reasons that he had been with us when the 75-foot beauty shown below made its debut in 2012. Had he seen it, Dad would have clapped me on the back and said "You were right all along, son. Let's go get a beer!"
I wonder how lift production in a hydrofoil "wing" traversing an incompressible fluid (water) varies from that of an aircraft wing encountering compressible airflow. Extra credit for an explanation of that beautiful sail/wing....
- Ed
