A gust will bring the helm and/or sheets into play, keeping the boat on a steady course while the helmsman sits taking in the view. A tack sees the boat behaving exactly as if it had a full complement of crew, with helm put down, sheets eases at the right time, then sheeted in as the boat gathers way on the new tack.

And, according to Sheahan, there was virtually no time lag in the adjustments.

The system has three main elements; a computer system, a hardware package and a hydraulics package. The system developer, John Bell, has many years of experience in the marine industry and the systems have been developed in conjunction with two UK universities.

The company says the EasySail system would be best fitted to a larger quality yacht, between 45' and 60', although the first fully working demonstrator system is currently fitted to a Jeanneau 43 based in Lymington.

The cost of the full installation is around £35,000 but costs can be reduced if such things as winches, roller mains and genoas, etc are not required.

EasySail comes in a comprehensive kit of parts, they say ideally suited for installation into new production yachts, or retro fitted on a one-off basis.

The kit contains all electronic, hydraulic and mechanical components to complete the installation.

Due to major differences in the design and build of yachts they say it's impossible to give an accurate estimation of total installed costs but, as a guide, if fitted to a Jeanneau 43DS, costs would be approximately £35,000 including UK VAT.

This, they say, should be compared to the cost of electronic winches, large format sun readable instrument systems and electrically powered furling systems, probably totaling £30,000 and still not offering the safety and ease of use offered by EasySail automatic system.

David Pitman Computayacht Ltd T: 01590 645082 M: 07966 400 486 E: david@strawberrymarketing.com