Go Fly A Kite
The Sail Kite is made from recycled spinnaker sails.
The kites are an adaptation of the Patang, the traditional paper fighter kites of India, a highly manoeuvrable flyer in all types of wind. No new plastics are used in the making of the kites. They are handmade in India from recycled spinnaker sails, the spindles are made from locally recycled plastic, the spars are bamboo, the string is cotton, and the packaging is recycled cardboard. Each kite is a unique combination of reused sail cloth colours.
For more information, check out our website kites.playgroup.design.
The Sail Kite is made from recycled spinnaker sails.
The kites are an adaptation of the Patang, the traditional paper fighter kites of India, a highly manoeuvrable flyer in all types of wind. No new plastics are used in the making of the kites. They are handmade in India from recycled spinnaker sails, the spindles are made from locally recycled plastic, the spars are bamboo, the string is cotton, and the packaging is recycled cardboard. Each kite is a unique combination of reused sail cloth colours.
For more information, check out our website kites.playgroup.design.
Interview
20 May 2025
A conversation about recycling between Clemens Habicht and Juergen Jentsch, sailor and president of the International Tornado Association, the world leading catamaran class since 1967.
A conversation about recycling between Clemens Habicht and Juergen Jentsch, sailor and president of the International Tornado Association, the world leading catamaran class since 1967.
In this moment we lift a hull and fly high, and sail faster than a monohull.
Colourful kites made from repurposed and retired sail spinnakers.
A conversation about recycling between Clemens Habicht and Juergen Jentsch, sailor and president of the International Tornado Association, the world leading catamaran class since 1967.
A conversation about recycling between Clemens Habicht and Juergen Jentsch, sailor and president of the International Tornado Association, the world leading catamaran class since 1967.
CHThis project actually began when you suggested I could use (kites) old spinnaker sails to make my kites. When do you use a spinnaker or gennaker sail?
When do you use a spinnaker or gennaker sail?
JJWe have three sails; the mainsail, jib, then the kite, our kites are 25 square metres, with this combination you can reach speeds of 50 km downwind. When we are sailing downwind, the wind comes from behind. In this moment we lift a hull and fly high, and sail faster than a monohull.
CHIn sailing, a spinnaker sail is actually called a kite, and in kites the piece of fabric that you use is actually called a sail. There is a great parallel between these two worlds. There is no better material to make a kite than a spinnaker sail, it is a light weight ripstop nylon, it is engineered to be perfectly suited. What makes a spinnaker sail no longer useful for sailing? When does it stop being a sail?
This project actually began when you suggested I could use (kites) old spinnaker sails to make my kites. When do you use a spinnaker or gennaker sail?
When do you use a spinnaker or gennaker sail?
We have three sails; the mainsail, jib, then the kite, our kites are 25 square metres, with this combination you can reach speeds of 50 km downwind. When we are sailing downwind, the wind comes from behind. In this moment we lift a hull and fly high, and sail faster than a monohull.
In sailing, a spinnaker sail is actually called a kite, and in kites the piece of fabric that you use is actually called a sail. There is a great parallel between these two worlds. There is no better material to make a kite than a spinnaker sail, it is a light weight ripstop nylon, it is engineered to be perfectly suited. What makes a spinnaker sail no longer useful for sailing? When does it stop being a sail?
Hubert with a spinnaker sail.
Cut spinnaker sail colours.
CHWhat makes a spinnaker sail no longer useful for sailing? When does it stop being a sail?
JJWe are using our sails as long as possible, in regattas if you sail with light to medium winds you can sail it for two years, when we were an Olympic class the intensity was higher. There is a process of UV light damage and stretching, different wind conditions, basically the elements take their toll, when the kites break there is mostly a technical reason behind it, when the manoeuvre is not perfect it could be torn. If you see these super yachts, after one test they say, hmm, not good anymore, then you have a brand new spinnaker that’s no use anymore, this is absolutely crazy.
CHIn India kites are flown in competition with the goal to cut down your opponents kite, at the end of a fight the kite falls down very slowly, or it is broken, or it gets caught in a tree, what’s quite beautiful is that because they are made of paper and bamboo after a week in the elements it no longer exists, it just disintegrates, there is no rubbish.
JJThat is the history behind the idea, with the difference these kites will be reusable.
CHThe spinnakers I have been collecting, I’m using broken spinnakers, the ones that are completely torn and worn through by the weather, I’ve seen a lot of sails that have been repaired, but even those are no longer reliable at some point. You can’t make another sail out of a broken sail, but you can make many kites from just a single sail. Part of the intention of the Sail Kite project is to demonstrate that you can make something new out of something that is old.
What makes a spinnaker sail no longer useful for sailing? When does it stop being a sail?
We are using our sails as long as possible, in regattas if you sail with light to medium winds you can sail it for two years, when we were an Olympic class the intensity was higher. There is a process of UV light damage and stretching, different wind conditions, basically the elements take their toll, when the kites break there is mostly a technical reason behind it, when the manoeuvre is not perfect it could be torn. If you see these super yachts, after one test they say, hmm, not good anymore, then you have a brand new spinnaker that’s no use anymore, this is absolutely crazy.
In India kites are flown in competition with the goal to cut down your opponents kite, at the end of a fight the kite falls down very slowly, or it is broken, or it gets caught in a tree, what’s quite beautiful is that because they are made of paper and bamboo after a week in the elements it no longer exists, it just disintegrates, there is no rubbish.
That is the history behind the idea, with the difference these kites will be reusable.
The spinnakers I have been collecting, I’m using broken spinnakers, the ones that are completely torn and worn through by the weather, I’ve seen a lot of sails that have been repaired, but even those are no longer reliable at some point. You can’t make another sail out of a broken sail, but you can make many kites from just a single sail. Part of the intention of the Sail Kite project is to demonstrate that you can make something new out of something that is old.
Alexia Spalding selecting used sails at The Sail Exchange, a recycling facility in Sydney Australia.
Suraj Pal Singh sewing kite sails in Delhi.
CHFor the spindles we are using the Precious Plastics model of locally sourcing material that is then individually made into the spindle at a very small production scale. Spindles already exist in the world, there is no need to make new spindles, but there is a need to find useful products to stop things becoming landfill.
For the spindles we are using the Precious Plastics model of locally sourcing material that is then individually made into the spindle at a very small production scale. Spindles already exist in the world, there is no need to make new spindles, but there is a need to find useful products to stop things becoming landfill.
Recycled from locally sourced plastic. Spindles manufactured by Carbon Fusion in Delhi using the Precious Plastics process.
CHEvery part of this kite is made from either recycled or organic materials, natural cotton instead of nylon string, bamboo for the spars instead of fibreglass. I imagine that as a toy these will be likely shared by children and adults and so it becomes more than just a kite, it becomes a way to talk about the idea of recycling, to introduce the idea of recycling as a positive value. It is better because it is recycled. It is better than using new fabric.
JJYes, for me that is the basic idea because I love recycled products. When I heard your idea and listened to your story I thought, this is it!
CHYou mentioned that these things are thrown away normally, they don’t have another use, finding another use you said the sail can fly again.
JJA second life. For me it is important that all kites can fly a second time, high above us, and give fun to young and old alike. Above beaches or over fields, people coming together, to talk, have fun, enjoy fresh air, use the elements nature provides.
CHWhat is it that you love about sailing?
JJI love sailing the elements. The weather, the changing winds every day. I love the waves. I love flat water. For me after some minutes it’s like a holiday when I’m sitting on a Tornado, unlike anything on land. I live in the Alps and every year I catch the same virus. When I’m sitting on my Tornado I’m a different person. I’m relaxed, I’m enjoying the elements. Sailing with what nature delivers.
CHI’m not a sailor but I understand that feeling of being in a moment with nature.
Every part of this kite is made from either recycled or organic materials, natural cotton instead of nylon string, bamboo for the spars instead of fibreglass. I imagine that as a toy these will be likely shared by children and adults and so it becomes more than just a kite, it becomes a way to talk about the idea of recycling, to introduce the idea of recycling as a positive value. It is better because it is recycled. It is better than using new fabric.
Yes, for me that is the basic idea because I love recycled products. When I heard your idea and listened to your story I thought, this is it!
You mentioned that these things are thrown away normally, they don’t have another use, finding another use you said the sail can fly again.
A second life. For me it is important that all kites can fly a second time, high above us, and give fun to young and old alike. Above beaches or over fields, people coming together, to talk, have fun, enjoy fresh air, use the elements nature provides.
What is it that you love about sailing?
I love sailing the elements. The weather, the changing winds every day. I love the waves. I love flat water. For me after some minutes it’s like a holiday when I’m sitting on a Tornado, unlike anything on land. I live in the Alps and every year I catch the same virus. When I’m sitting on my Tornado I’m a different person. I’m relaxed, I’m enjoying the elements. Sailing with what nature delivers.
I’m not a sailor but I understand that feeling of being in a moment with nature.
Master flyer, Vimal Dave demonstrating how to fly the Sail Kite without any tail at all.