We report instability of a superheated granular layer when a droplet is deposited on top of the layer. We find that the instability caused by evaporating vapor may trap or cause the droplet to sail away from the deposited position. The sailing motion is triggered by an unstable pressure distribution originated from fast fluidization of metallic grains. We provide a predictive model and experimental verification of the enabling conditions for sailing motion based on limiting criteria for fast fluidization.

• Received 2 March 2020
• Accepted 17 September 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.168002