An oil-trading billionaire and an Olympic gold medalist who helped equip racing boats with underwater wings that make them fly above the waves—revolutionizing the sport of sailing—are now betting the same technology can reshape what it means to travel by water. Torbjorn Tornqvist, co-founder of oil-trading powerhouse Gunvor Group Ltd., spent about a decade and hundreds of millions of dollars in a chase for the America’s Cup, sailing’s top prize . The regatta centers around a design competition, and in 2017, Mr. Tornqvist’s Artemis Racing produced one of the fastest sailboats on record. The key was hydrofoils, devices that lifts boats above the water, accelerating them to highway speeds. Sailors call it “flying.” The team, led by Iain Percy, a British two-time Olympic gold medalist, lost to eventual champion New Zealand . So the two men began to discuss moving beyond the sport, adapting the same technologies to the […]