For centuries, large sailing vessels were a widespread, sustainable form of mass transit—until the late 19th century, when the steam engine and later the diesel engine drove them to obsolescence. Today, aviation dominates. But does it have to? Ohanda One is a utopian speculative design project and philosophical journey toward a modern revival of commercial sailing. It is a vision of what future travel on large sailing ships could look like and a reminder how vital it is for us to shape shared utopias, believe in the seemingly impossible, and dare to imagine how beautiful that future could be.

The development of large passenger sailing ships ground to a halt in the late 19th century. Since then, we have seen occasional large, modern luxury yachts, but crossing the Atlantic on a scheduled liner service by sail has long ceased to be an option. For countless travelers, Hamburg, London and Bordeaux were the main gateways in Europe for these sea voyages. But more often than not, the journey was grueling; it took an unpredictable amount of time, the ships pitched and rolled, and the relentless motion left many seasick.

Today, when people travel by sea, they do so on massive cruise ships—floating mini-cities packed with shopping malls and entertainment hubs. These vessels have immense energy demands, polluting our air on a global scale and disrupting marine ecosystems with noise and other emissions. From today’s standpoint, it seems far-fetched that people would accept longer travel times unless it is for leisure, accompanied by the constant distraction of consumerism and entertainment.

But is flying truly our only option? Or could this “wasted” time be put to better use? With today’s technology, can we not engineer superior ships that minimize rolling and leverage highly accurate weather forecasting? Furthermore, if the wind dies down, couldn’t these ships rely on clean electric propulsion? What will it take to just give it a try? How do we bring innovation into the world? What is required to make it happen? What is our ideal vision, and can we achieve it together? Where lie the boundaries of the feasible? Where does utopia begin, and where does it end? We look forward to exploring these questions and many more related topics with those who want to join the journey of Ohanda One …