French adventurer tests out 'aerosail' ahead of planned Mediterranean crossing

• Stephane Rousson's invention uses only the wind to travel
• Plans to fly from Nice in France to Calvi on island of Corsica
• Uses the same principal as a sailboat, and connected by cables
• Failed in a 2008 mission to cross the English Channel 

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Frenchman Stephane Rousson's 'aerosail' above the sea.

Rousson and his partners' ambition is to create an innovative, efficient, and silent maritime vehicle, only using the wind as means of propulsion.

By the end of October, the adventurer and researcher hopes to have crossed the Mediterranean, from Nice to Calvi on the island of Corsica. 

Aerosail unique principle of flight allows the user to pilot, like a sailboat, an airship linked by a cable to a stabilized keel, called the Seaglider. The cable acts as the mast and the airship as the sail.
And so Rousson went for a practice run in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, southeastern France prior to his planned crossing.

Back in 2008 Rousson was forced to abandon a scheduled crossing of the English Channel at the half-way point in his pedal-powered airship due to strong winds.
He will be hoping for calmer conditions on his Mediterranean challenge, otherwise there will only one winner in the man v the elements battle.