Report From The Fringe–Landsailing: The LA Times takes us into the world of sailors who head inland when they want to rip it up. Their arena: Ivanpah Dry Lake Bed, a flat, arid, godforsaken scrap of desert that is five hours from downtown LA and happens to be custom-made for the art of sailing 3-wheeled pocket rockets at ridiculous speeds. The wind howls, and:

The sailors crank in the sails and their yachts take off like jets, swiftly disappearing in the vortices of dust that twirl behind them. All you can hear is the wind rushing through their rigging and the whir of wheels on clay. On a downwind leg, one craft peaks at 66.8 mph.

Click here to check out a Flash slideshow. And, yes, these guys have an annual “America’s Cup of Land Sailing” regatta. They just don’t spend $100 million to win it…



America’s Cup 2003: “Heh-Heh. Eat my dirt, Dryass…”

(Photo: Mark Harris)