When people sail dinghies or catamarans, they often have to ‘hike’ ie lean their bodyweight over the side to stop the boat being blown over too far by the wind.
This technique is used to increase speed, but it results in a lot more air drag because the crew’s bodies act like a large air brake.
Today’s invention is a lifejacket which the rearmost crew member wears when hiking. This would have a cross section (perpendicular to the spine) with a teardrop-shaped profile in the direction of travel, so the airflow over the crew would result in less drag.
