Engineered for the open ocean. Powered by the wind.
Designed by VPLP. Built by Norse Shipyard.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever."
CalypsoAn explorer yacht can be built to be genuinely efficient and quiet, using technology that already exists — applied with intent rather than gesture.
The Wind Voyage 110 — codename Project MG — is under contract at Norse Shipyard with delivery in late 2028. Oceanwings® technology has been operating in the Atlantic on the cargo vessel Canopée for over two years. This is industrialisation, not experimentation.
Battery packs added to a diesel yacht do not change the underlying physics. Shore power moves emissions to a generating station you cannot see. Wind Voyage replaces the energy source — wind, sun, and water — and uses fossil fuel only when nothing else can keep up.
Every major builder now offers an expedition model. Same hull, same engine, same underwater noise signature. Wind Voyage is a fundamentally different answer to what a serious explorer yacht should be in 2026 — and what it will still be in 2050.
Six minutes on the case for wind-powered explorer yachts — the technology, the team, the route from operating Atlantic cargo vessel to the 110-metre flagship now under contract at Norse Shipyard.
From the Wind Voyage playlist on The Yacht Channel — Paul Madden's independent maritime channel with over 4.5 million cumulative views.
Full Wind Voyage Playlist →Each yacht in the Wind Voyage range is engineered for unrestricted, low-emission ocean travel — built for real exploration, in the most remote waters on the planet. Three vessels, one shared technical DNA: Oceanwings® primary propulsion, diesel-electric hybrid architecture, ice-capable hull, and the autonomy to reach the planet's most remote anchorages.
An intimate, family-scaled wind-powered explorer designed for luxurious ocean living. Forward observation lounge, double-height atrium, and a dedicated owner's office at the stern — the entire interior shaped around a single family's life at sea.
The flagship of the Wind Voyage range. Four Oceanwings®, panoramic forward observation deck, certified helideck, and a beach club opening at water level. Built to charter-grade Passenger Yacht Code standards for 12–36 guests across long-range expedition itineraries.
A purpose-built shadow vessel that extends the reach of the mothership. Dual helicopters, expedition tenders, submersible and dive operations, additional guest accommodation, and the workshop capacity for true off-grid voyaging.
Every Wind Voyage yacht is built around a single idea: that wind, sun, and intelligent engineering can do most of the work that fossil fuel does on a conventional explorer yacht. Below, the ten systems that make it possible.
"I believe that ocean exploration is more exciting and more important than space exploration."
OceanXplorer
Two-element rigid Oceanwings® developed by VPLP and ocean-proven aboard the cargo vessel Canopée. Fully automated, rotating through 360°, adjusting camber on demand, and reefing themselves in excessive wind. Primary propulsion that delivers thrust on most points of sail and shuts down safely when the weather turns.
When the yacht is moving under sail, the propellers turn freely and the propulsion motors operate in reverse — generating electricity from the water flowing past the hull. Above eight knots, hydrogeneration alone covers the full hotel load, allowing days at sea with the generators silent.
Photovoltaic cells integrated directly into deck surfaces and into both sides of each Oceanwing® — turning surfaces that already exist into productive collectors. In tropical anchorages, solar contribution offsets a meaningful share of daytime hotel load.
"Pioneering spirit should continue — not to conquer the planet or space, but rather to improve the quality of life."
Solar Impulse 2A diesel-electric power plant feeds a common DC bus shared by propulsion, hotel loads, and the energy storage system. Generators run only at their most efficient load points. At low speeds or in port the yacht operates on batteries alone — silent, vibration-free, emissions-free at the dock.
A central energy-management system continuously balances production from wings, solar, hydrogeneration, generators, and batteries against propulsion demand and hotel loads. The cleanest available source is always doing the work — the diesel runs only when nothing else can keep up.
Advanced superstructure and hull insulation keeps interior temperatures stable in tropical heat and polar cold, dramatically reducing HVAC load. Air-conditioning runs from the battery bank, allowing generators to remain off through the night without compromising guest comfort.
Waste heat from the generators, propulsion motors, and HVAC condensers is captured and redirected — preheating boiler water, supporting underfloor heating in cold-water cruising, and warming the spa pool.
High-efficiency watermakers, advanced purification, and rainwater capture together eliminate any practical limit on fresh water aboard. Boiler water is preheated by recovered generator heat and by surplus solar.
An advanced battery bank supports the full hotel load through the night and recharges in a single afternoon of combined solar and hydrogeneration. Chemistry selected for marine duty cycles and long service life.
Refined through tank testing at MARIN in the Netherlands and extensive CFD simulation. The hull form is shaped for low resistance under sail and under power, with appendages and propulsion units placed to minimise drag whenever the wings are doing the work — the same architectural discipline VPLP brings to America's Cup campaigns and record-breaking offshore racing trimarans.
"Wind propulsion isn't theory. Canopée has been operating for over two years in the Atlantic with verified data. VPLP designed both Canopée and the Wind Voyage 110. We are not experimenting on our clients — we are industrialising something that already works."
— Paul Madden, Founder, Wind Voyage
Ocean crossings and polar expeditions, each planned around the wind — with a leg-by-leg wind picture that shows how much of every passage runs on wind power, not fuel.
"The only limits are the ones you accept."
PangaeaThe most credible name in modern sail-powered design. Four decades at the intersection of performance sailing and naval architecture — from America's Cup campaigns to the 121-metre Canopée. Co-developers of Oceanwings® and co-owners of the Wind Voyage IP.
VPLP.FR →European engineering standards combined with the hull craftsmanship that has made Turkey the natural home of serious expedition-class builds. Aegean coast, polar-class steel hull capability, and the commercial-grade build standards required for a vessel of this complexity.
NORSESHIPYARD.COM.TR →The Maritime Research Institute Netherlands — the world's leading independent hydrodynamic research institute. Wind Voyage hull forms are validated in MARIN's seakeeping basins and through MARIN's CFD capability, the same facility that has tested every serious commercial sail-assisted vessel of the past decade.
MARIN.NL →
"The deep ocean is the last frontier on the planet we can still actually go to."
TriesteContact our team to receive the full project presentation, specification package, and General Arrangement drawings. Every enquiry is read by a member of the Wind Voyage team; we respond personally within two business days.
