SOLAR SAILING

Solar energy to power trans-Atlantic voyage
Renwick McLean, November 28, 2006 (International Herald Tribune)

- More than 500 years after Christopher Columbus first sailed to the Americas, a Swiss catamaran is scheduled to depart from southern Spain on Wednesday in an attempt to make the first trans-Atlantic crossing in a boat powered entirely by solar energy.
- The journey, conceived by Marc Wüst, a manager at a Swiss manufacturer of solar-powered boats called MW-Line, is intended to promote the commercial potential of solar energy in water travel…
- The boat, called Sun21, will not set any speed records. It is expected to arrive in New York only in May, after making several stops to promote the project. Its average speed, four or five knots, or seven to nine kilometers an hour, is slower than that of most sailing yachts, although it has the advantage of traveling in a straight line rather than tacking back and forth to harness the wind.
- Solar power is scarcely used in boat travel today, and the technology is not yet advanced enough to be commercially viable for trans-Atlantic voyages…[but] solar power could replace the gasoline-powered engines used by sailboats for inland navigation in rivers, canals and marinas, where winds are often insufficient…
- Solar power could also eventually be used in commercial shipping…
- Weather permitting, the Sun21 is scheduled to depart Wednesday morning from Seville…

- The boat, which measures 14 meters, or 45 feet, long and 6.5 meters wide, is topped with a canopy containing 62 square meters, or 667 square feet, of solar panels.
- Half of the energy will be stored in batteries, enabling the craft to travel at night. The panels should produce enough energy for the boat to continue traveling through prolonged periods of cloudy weather, albeit at a reduced speed…
- The boat is well-equipped to handle the high waves and strong winds it may encounter at sea, and should have no trouble completing the trip…The crew of five includes a physician…
- The use of solar power in water travel today is limited to some recreational boats, a few ferries and a handful of cruising boats capable of traveling longer distances…the engines are very quiet and do not pollute…
- The estimated cost of the project is about €450,000, or about $590,000. It is being financed entirely by a group of private sponsors…
- The boat began its voyage of 7,000 nautical miles in Basel, Switzerland, on Oct. 16…