Position keeping control of an autonomous sailboat

Abstract This paper addresses the problem of reaching and keeping a target position for a sailboat. A method to control sail angle is proposed, using an adaptive adjustment of the sail to regulate the acceleration of the sailboat. A tacking strategy is defined to navigate into the wind, arrive upwind to slow down the boat and then to stay close to the target point. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The stability of the sailboat using the proposed control has been proven.