Abstract: Objectives An event-triggered control algorithm based on rotor rate regulation is proposed to address the path following issue of the sail-assisted vehicles under time-varying marine environmental disturbances and limited signal transmission. Methods Firstly, the traditional LVS (Logical virtual ship) guidance principle is improved, and an intervened LVS guidance law based on finite boundary circle is constructed, which effectively reduces the communication load of the guidance system and mitigates input saturation. Secondly, the radial basis function neural networks are used to approximate the system uncertainties online, and the dynamic surface control technology is integrated to avoid the “explosion of computational complexity”. Furthermore, by combining robust neural damping and adaptive techniques, a robust adaptive control algorithm based on an integral event-triggering mechanism is designed, significantly reducing the frequent transmission of control commands and mechanical wear on actuators. Finally, all error signals of the proposed control algorithm are guaranteed to be semi-global uniform and ultimately bounded stability (SGUUB) via the Lyapunov theorem, and the numerical simulation is conducted in the presence of simulated marine environmental disturbance. Results The results demonstrate that the proposed sail-assisted strategy achieves an 11.6% improvement in propulsion energy efficiency under sea state 4 conditions, while exhibiting low communication load and strong robustness in path following performance. Conclusions The research findings provide a practical and feasible technical pathway for the green transformation of marine vessels.